ANALYSIS & CONCLUSION | dog-rehabilitation

COSMOS

CALMING ARCHITECTURE

IS IT APPLICABLE?

The ideology of cosmos, being aware of your physical location and surroundings, would contribute to psychological calming for a shelter dog. Allowing them to be aware of their natural surroundings would eliminate any approaching, unfamiliar threats. This reassurance removes the need of unnecessary aggression, provoked by their instinctive ‘fight of flight’ defence mechanism.

The central arrangement of a buildings ‘heart’, allowing users to socialise or be remain solitary, would promote positive benefits to a dog’s mentality. Enforcing the ‘pack’ ideology will promote mental stimulation by satisfying their social needs, resultantly reducing hyperactivity and unsociable behaviour derived by isolation, as experienced in shelters. Though, as supported by questionnaire response by CEO of ‘Dogs Deserve Better’, this notion is idealistic and the success of which is debatable. Loose dogs socialising would need monitoring to ensure no fights break out, therefore the level of safety precautions would need to be accessed. This is not applicable to dogs who have a dog-specific phobia; being placed in a ‘heart’ of socialising dogs would provoke negative psychological effects through heightened fear.

HEART

DOMESTICITY

The domestication process has moulded the dog’s needs, upholding a requirement for warmth and comfort from the surroundings of which we live. A home-like environment would provide visual and physical comfort, therefore allowing for psychological healing to commence. As stated by Heathcote & Jenks (2010), within a scheme there must just enough comfort deprivation to discourage architectural dependence, and not oppose the ultimate goal of recovery to find long-term homes.

MATERIALITY

A dog’s non-analytical mind will not recognise visual aesthetics. Nonetheless, the use of non-synthetic materials accompanied with all supportive sensory qualities, (e.g. texture, smell) would atmospherically set an essence of neutrality and warmth, igniting the dogs mental stimulation with many senses to explore. Durability of these materials is questionable, dogs will gnaw, chew and ‘mark’ materials of which they find of particular sensory interest.

TEMPLES OF HEALING;

INFLUENTIAL PAST PRECEDENTS

Setting a peaceful atmosphere, such as using sound absorption qualities like Ostra Hospital, will allow a dogs physical body to rest, resultantly allowing for mental recuperation. Methods of music playing and ‘K9 Storytelling’ scheme at visited shelters replicate methods of Islamic architecture, however are not as successful due to the contradictory kennel environment. Linking back to importance of all sensory messages to support one another in order to achieve success.

ANALYSIS;

MOTIVE

Precedents of successful calming architecture have a centralised motive surrounding patient-centred design. Dogs would benefit from a scheme centralised around providing the optimum environment for calm and mental healing.

However,

The use of colouration would prove ineffective due to dog’s being partially colour-blind to red and orange hues in particular, both recurrent colours used within calming precedents such as Richard Rogers Maggie’s Centre. In addition, dog’s undeveloped mentality causes their depth of analytical thinking to be minimal. Thus, they would not appreciate the emotional impact of colouration even if they obtained the visual colour-range of a human being.

Ultimately, though not all applicable, essences of calming architecture would directly benefit dogs when slightly adapted to suit the nature of the user. User-centred design aids the treatment of individual traumas and phobias, reducing the instinctive defence mechanisms contributing to fearful barrier aggression. Amplifying spatial awareness, nature integration, socialisation and mental stimulation all hold the potential to create an optimal environment for promoting healing, reducing aggression and encouraging psychological calm.

Overall, my initial hypothesis has been theoretically proven that calming architecture has strong potential to rectify the issues possessed by a shelter environment, that currently pushes a dog to display unnecessary aggression. This notion has not been proven in reality, nonetheless I believe my in-depth investigations and supportive primary research has set robust foundations in exhibiting its potential for success.

CONCLUSION

ANALYSIS & CONCLUSION