Raising resilience

Abstract

RESEARCH QUESTION: How can architecture assist in building confidence in children, so they are resilient when faced with mental distress?

ABSTRACT: “It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.” This quote from religious leader Dieter F. Uchtdorf suggests we have the power to decide how much we let disappointment and challenges affect us. Children and adolescents often face many difficulties, and many are unable to understand how to cope with these difficulties. How can architecture assist in building confidence in children, so they are resilient when faced with mental distress? This investigative research focuses on the design of an after-school care facility that seeks to teach children aged 5-12, resilience. The premise of this design is students can build inner strength if they can learn to push their comfort zone, through playful architecture. New Zealand possesses the highest youth suicide rate for the age bracket of 15-19 years across 34 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and EU countries - a statistic that demands urgent action. This design aims to provide a solution before a problem even develops, by preparing children to be strong through free play, providing an architecture that will allow children to fail and keep persevering in an encouraging environment. The design aims to create a dialogue about overcoming fears and build a supportive network through friendships formed with mentors and peers. This project responds to the public’s desire to change the mental health system. The recent ‘Mental Health and Addictions Report’ calls for a system that prevents mental stress rather than one that responds to psychiatric illness. Theory and precedents are drawn from architectural history, the He Ara Oranga: Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addictions, Salutogenesis and the Te Aranga Design Principles, all of which will inform the investigation and guide the design outcome.