Today's social climate and working environments expose us to excessive expectations and demands and more and more people are diagnosed with stress-related illnesses. My degree project is an investigation of poetic design, healing spaces and fatigue syndrome and the importance of adapted health care environments that strengthen treatment and recovery. My mother has fatigue syndrome, she has been ill for over six years, and she still has severe symptoms that probably never fully will go way. So, the purpose of this project is, on the one hand an attempt to get a deeper understanding of her situation, and on the other, to shed some light on this illness that is getting more and more common, especially amongst women. Research shows that spending time in nature has healing effects for those with mental illness. Using my definition of poetic design as a method, I have transposed qualities of nature into an indoor environment that reconnects to humans deep and genetic relationship to nature. I am proposing a new type of health care space with a much-needed holistic approach. Focus is on treatments such as mindfulness, basal body awareness and yin yoga as well as different kinds of therapy and activities in a space close to nature. A holistic space including a garden, an indoor space and a piece of furniture that are designed to respond to the non-measurable and invisible symptoms of fatigue syndrome.

Domestic violence against women and children is a significant international issue. There are many obstacles survivors face, and the problem is more complex than is often perceived. This interior design practicum responds by focusing on the design of a transitional housing facility that creates a paradigm shift away from the institutional approach. The key interior spaces include areas that help individuals nourish and heal from their challenging experiences; the overall approach focused on establishing community networks amongst the residents. The overarching architectural language and designs were informed primarily by Japanese Zen, Theory of Supportive Design, Lifeboat theory, and Experiential Learning Theory. Additional literature investigation on Shinrin-yoku and Therapeutic Landscapes have helped to shape the final programme and design. Along with relevant precedent studies, a design has been proposed called Hana's Place, a transitional housing facility that is aimed at being a place survivors of domestic violence can call home.

Domestic violence against women and children is a significant international issue. There are many obstacles survivors face, and the problem is more complex than is often perceived. This interior design practicum responds by focusing on the design of a transitional housing facility that creates a paradigm shift away from the institutional approach. The key interior spaces include areas that help individuals nourish and heal from their challenging experiences; the overall approach focused on establishing community networks amongst the residents. The overarching architectural language and designs were informed primarily by Japanese Zen, Theory of Supportive Design, Lifeboat theory, and Experiential Learning Theory. Additional literature investigation on Shinrin-yoku and Therapeutic Landscapes have helped to shape the final programme and design. Along with relevant precedent studies, a design has been proposed called Hana's Place, a transitional housing facility that is aimed at being a place survivors of domestic violence can call home.