> Loneliness / Solitude​

> UK

>FINALIST

Team Members:

​
Naomi Au

To treat loneliness as a “disease” to be eradicated is fallacious. The feeling of loneliness is a human condition. The problem is not a lack of connection or opportunities for connection, especially in a digital age where it is always easy to reach out when one is determined to establish connection with others. 

TO DEAL WITH LONELINESS IS TO UNDERSTAND THE FEELING ITSELF. IT IS IMMENSELY HELPFUL WHEN WE REALIZE OUR INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE ON OTHERS AND HOW THOSE INDIVIDUALS SHARE THE SAME EXPERIENCE. TO QUOTE PAUL TILLICH, THE WORD LONELINESS DESCRIBES THE PAIN OF BEING ALONE AND SOLITUDE EXPRESSES THE GLORY OF BEING ALONE. WE ARE ALL ALONE AND AS SUCH, WE ARE ALL CONNECTED THROUGH THIS UNIVERSAL EXPERIENCE THAT IS BEING HUMAN.

The proposal is a mental wellbeing retreat for individual to confront their feeling of loneliness. The architecture creates a shared experience between the occupants and provide spatial cues that evoke one’s awareness of others’ journey within the facility. Milk glass floors are used to provide limited visual of the neighbor above, allowing the occupant to see other’s experience of a similar space. One’s presence on a floor would directly affect the one below. To compensate a subsequent loss of privacy, digitally controlled lifts are used as primary means of circulation. This disorientates the inhabitants and generate anonymity that allows occupant to experience the space without being overly conscious. The water flowing through the facility runs parallel to the movement of the occupants. A gate is placed at the top of the artificial waterfall, controlling the amount of water flowing into the void. This generate audio cues for those within the garden as the sound of the waterfall reflects the number of individuals who have retreated into their own private space.