Architecture as Medicine: Design Components That Accelerate Healing for Spinal Cord Injury in Hospital Environments

Can architecture heal? This question is central to the idea of ​​integrating design into medicine. While the fields of architecture and healthcare have historically run parallel, the emerging concept of healing architecture places design at the forefront of human well-being. For Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) patients, in particular, whose journeys to recovery are long, complex, and deeply personal, structures built for healing become more than environments; they become a form of treatment. This thesis explores how architectural elements can accelerate the physical and psychological recovery of SCI patients. It argues that architecture is a critical contributor to the therapeutic experience. Grounded in historical context and supported by a variety of case studies, this research examines how architecture can be used as medicine by using design components that could accelerate healing for Spinal Cord Injury in hospital environments. It also reflects my personal journey as a former SCI patient, offering an insider's perspective on the profound relationship between place and healing. Chapter 1: From Body to Building, The Historical Bond Between Medicine and Architecture is, dedicated to understand deeply how architecture is effected by, and has a strong the relationship with, human and medicine. Chapter 2: The Evolution of Hospitals, Healing Spaces Across Civilizations and Time, is the chapter of the history and the evolution of hospital designs by using case studies. Also by comparing them with one and all, it is aspired to thoroughly understand the development in different eras, discussing the architectural aspects and the background reasons of their designs. Chapter 3: Spinal Cord Injury and Human Centered Architecture ,Designing with Empathy is examining the factors that may cause spinal cord injury, its physical and psychological effects on patients and treatment methods are discussed. In addition, the importance and fundamentality of empathy in designs for such a case are emphasized and architectural elements that can accelerate the patient's recovery or make them feel good are investigated. Chapter 4: Healing Gardens as Therapeutic Architecture, Nature’s Role in SCI Recovery examines the historical development of the concept of a healing garden and its importance in the recovery process of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) patients. In this context, the research focuses on how natural elements that contribute to the recovery process can be used in gardens and how these elements can be integrated into architectural design. The section also includes comparisons of architectural areas through case studies carried out at different scales. Chapter 5: Interview Insights, dedicated to interviews with psychiatrists, physiotherapists, healthcare professionals and SCI patients were included in order to seek an answer to the question of "how can a more appropriate hospital be designed?" and preparations were made for the project phase. Lastly in the Chapter 6: Design Proposal, A Healing Space for Spinal Cord Injury Patients (Ex Ospedale Militare Alessandro Riberi) represents the stage where the theoretical foundation of the thesis turns into a concrete architectural proposal. With the historical, conceptual and user-oriented data presented in the previous sections; a hospital spatial design that is sensitive to the needs of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) patients, integrated with nature and accelerates recovery has been developed. The case study is the “Ex Ospedale Militare Riberi”, located in Turin.