Next Generation Architects:
7th Annual Thesis Showcase
Cohabiting Third Place: Integrating Natural Hydrology with Healing Architecture
Sumayia Binte Samad
Thesis Abstract
Depression, stress, and anxiety are the uninvited visitors of our everyday life. We ignore our mental health unless we reach the threshold. Despite having the highest percentage of parkland, Washington, DC has been ranked third among U.S. cities in terms of its percentage of youth reporting a severe depressive episode.
This thesis is an exploration of the most important natural element, Water, along with Air, Fire and Earth, as active participants in our civic life, to reconnect with nature and to aid with natural healing to our exhausted soul. Utilizing the scenario of combined storm and sanitary sewer system of the District, stormwater along with tapped groundwater is considered as the source of healing water in the dense downtown context tracing the path of the long-lost Tiber Creek. The community learning center in NoMA neighborhood, is an effort to provide the inhabitants with a place for healing and growth.
