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ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8972-327X

Access Type

Open Access Thesis

Document Type

thesis

Degree Program

Architecture

Degree Type

Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)

Year Degree Awarded

2019

Month Degree Awarded

May

Abstract

The purpose of the thesis is to explore and find ways in making architecture part of the healing process within the specific healthcare setting of ambulatory care. To do so, the project aims at not only serving as a clinic for patients, but also to playing a role to make clinics a more human place by integrating healthcare and community. Understanding that architecture can be an important factor in long- and short-term healthcare and healing processes, the thesis focuses on ambulatory care facilities in rural areas. The project’s goal is to explore, understand and solve some of the problems that characterize outpatient clinics; such as waiting time and quality of healthcare delivery. Also, it focuses on studying indoor-outdoor spaces and treating them as environments that will improve the productivity of staff in work as well as designing a friendly patient and family environment. Through the lens of architecture, this research attempts to elaborate on the complex relationship between doctors, staff, patients, and community. The project argues that ambulatory care facilities should not be limited to only provide clinical space, but they should be flexible to account for future expansion and accommodate new technologies and to take into a high consideration the human scale. By introducing natural light, adding supportive programs and improving wayfinding in the clinic, this thesis will try to answer the following questions: How to design places for improved patient experience? How to lower the stress and confusion on a medical appointment? How to make ‘one-day’ patients’ part of a more integrated and wholesome experience? The site selected for this thesis is located in a historic district in Claremont, NH. This design is serving as a model that can be applied in rural towns with similar history and architecture.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/14366467

First Advisor

Pari Riahi

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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