Embodying spirit, fostering connections: the design of an integrated cancer treatment centre
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Date
2010-10-15T19:23:58Z
Authors
Westlund, Anna E.
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Abstract
For most people in North America, undergoing treatments for cancer occurs exclusively in a healthcare setting. All too often, this healthcare setting provides a backdrop privileging the technological requirements of conventional medicine over the well-being of the people who inhabit it. Conversely, this practicum project is founded on a different, more holistic approach to cancer care called integrative oncology. The project investigates how an integrative cancer treatment centre can be designed to be more than a technological backdrop, endeavoring to become an active entity that truly supports those dealing with cancer. The investigation includes an extensive literature review of theoretical and evidence-based sources that relate to fostering connections to nature on a variety of levels. Informed by this, a review of relevant design precedents and the functional issues of integrative cancer treatment, the investigation concludes with a design solution for an integrated cancer treatment centre and related findings.
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biophilia, cancer, embodiment, healing place, healthcare, integrated oncology, interior design, spirit, sustainable