Transitional living campus : Maintaining a substance-free living environment

Abstract

Amid the social and medical harms of the twentieth century, drug abuse stands above everything as on one of the most devastating and expensive. Virtually all addictive drugs boost the reward system of the brain by flooding it with the neurotransmitter dopamine. The produced euphoria and the heightened pleasure can be so compelling that the brain wants that feeling back over and over again. “You don’t get over an addiction by stopping using. You recover by creating a new life where it is easier to not use. If you don’t create a new life, then all the factors that brought you to your addiction will catch up with you again.” This research paper is an attempt to study on drug abuse, behaviour of the abuser and the spatial behaviour of an individual with the habit of drug abuse/ addiction and how architecture can enhance the process of rehabilitation. These identifications form the basis for articulating a design strategy concerning architectural involvement in restoring and relieving their mind and soul. The research paper focuses on strategies and solutions to help the addicts to overcome their addictions through therapeutic architecture. The research paper focuses mainly on three objectives. 1. To help the patients to recover from psychological, mental, and physical problems caused due to substance drug abuse. 2. To help the addicts to live a normal life by being accepted in the society and being independent. 3. To create awareness and educating the people about the ill-efforts of alcoholism and substance abuse on the individual, the family and the society at large. This report consists of a theoretical study regarding relation of architecture and mind through therapeutic architecture and also enhances the scope and possible ways through which architecture can provide possible solutions for better rehabilitative measures. The main aim of this thesis proposal is to assist alcoholic and drug dependant people by providing rehabilitation measures. The project strives to provide rehabilitative measures in a very innovative, open and guided approach combining research, probable solutions and better design.