BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S FAULKNER HOSPITAL:
CANCER THERAPY CENTER
Class: 4.024 - Architecture Studio II
Project Description: designing a cancer therapy center in the Harvard Arboretum as an extension of the Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital in a three person group
THE SITE
The given site is the Harvard Arboretum, a preserved nature space across the street from the Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital. It is a frequented park for walks in nature, bike rides, and other park activities.
My group and I decided to position the Cancer Therapy Center directly across the street from the hospital to make it easily accessible for patients, while leaving some distance between the building and the street to provide privacy and quiet for the patients. The path to the building from the hospital and the path from the building into the arboretum are intentionally designed to conceal the building as much as possible until a person is walking directly up to the building.
THE PLAN
sanc·tu·ary /ˈsaNGk(t)SHəˌwerē/
1) a place of refuge and protection
2) the most sacred part of a religious building (such as the part of a Christian church in which the altar is placed)
The Cancer Therapy Center is designed around the definition of this word: sanctuary. The primary objective of the project is to provide a place of refuge and protection to cancer therapy patients. The center is intentionally designed to appear as a separate entity from the hospital: a "cabin in the woods" experience rather than yet another treatment room.
The layout of the building is inspired by the Maggie Center: the "heart" of the building is the large public gathering space that one walks directly into upon entering the building. The building has two wings that are more quiet than the main space, a private wing for consultation (the north wing) and a library wing (the south wing).
There are three clearing spaces around the building: the entrance clearing that one would walk through to enter the building, the secluded clearing beside the consultation wing designed for calming experiences with nature before and after therapy sessions, and the main clearing in the back of the building designed for social activities events. The clearing in the back features a porch with seating, a campfire pit, and a gazebo. Also accessible from this clearing is the pool of water along the library wing, intended to provide a calming and peaceful atmosphere. Each of the the clearing spaces also feature gardens to provide accessible nature spaces for the patients.
The entrance of the building is on the outer corner, hidden between two offset walls. It is intentionally concealed to create an experience of coming upon a "hidden entrance" into a peaceful, sanctuary space.
The heart of the building features amenities for a variety of different activities: a kitchen for cooking and baking, tables for eating meals, socializing, or playing games, a pool table, and couches for relaxing and watching TV. There is a coat rack by the main door into the space to provide a feeling of comfort and familiarity of walking into a home and removing one's coat at the door.
THE EXTERIOR
The exterior of the building is characterized by a combination of exterior walls of stone pieces and interior planes of wood planks. This design highlights the nature scene of the Arboretum where the Cancer Therapy Center is located, setting the scene of the Center being an addition to the Arboretum rather than an intrusion into the nature. The building is placed intentionally so that only two trees would need to be removed from the Arboretum for the construction of this building. In addition, the offset entrance is highlighted by the difference in material: the outer stone wall contrasted with the offset inner wood wall.
The definition of sanctuary above has two parts: a safe haven as well as the sacred part of a religious building where the altar stands. To incorporate this element, the main space has an offset, angular roof with one facade of large planes of glass. This is a contemporary rendition of the the large rooms in cathedrals where the altar sits, with the long planes of glass hinting at the intricate stained glass mosaics that were often displayed in cathedrals.
The geometry of the space that contains hints of a church also subtly call attention to the role of religion in emotional and mental healing for patients battling cancer.
The offset roof of the main space creates triangular skylights that bring natural light into the main space, brightening the room. Studies have shown that exposure to daylight has positive effects on one's mental, emotional, and physical health.
THE SECTIONS
The roof is designed to be a moss roof because it provides a smooth transition between the building and the Arboretum. In addition, it further supports the experience of "slipping between the walls" into a new world. By designing the building's roof to mirror the greenery on the ground, there is a created experience of "disappearing into the ground" upon entering the building. The Cancer Therapy Center therefore serves as a hidden sanctuary away from the world and the hospital, a place for rest, relaxation, and healing.