Haneen Aldameary
WELL: An Introduction
WELL is a hub where students can achieve holistic wellness through recreational, creative, and meditative practices. It is designed with the philosophy that interiors should elicit comfort for the mind and soul, relying on the integration of visual and natural elements with specific compositions to create spatial harmony. WELL addresses the prevalent mental-health struggles amongst university students by providing spaces to rejuvenate their energy so that they can participate in further intensive academic activities. It enlivens the obsolete Brutalist building of 40 George Square, while simultaneously reviving the spirits of its users.
WELL: The Master Plan
WELL: The Spiritual Sanctuary
This project evolves and details a key zone within the overall master plan of WELL, namely the Spiritual Sanctuary. It investigates the relationship between interiors and people’s psyche, and how they respectively project their energies onto each other. This project aims to maintain the essence of the historic Brutalist building by conserving and reusing existing elements from the site, providing a balance between the harmonious, ‘soft’ aesthetic befitting spiritual spaces and the more ‘rough and solid’ character of Brutalist architecture.
WELL: The Spiritual Sanctuary
Focus & Reset: A Micro-Insertion
This small-scale project explores the adaptation of a 3 x 3 m space on the 11th floor of the same Brutalist building. The space is intended to support the activity of one person in relation to the overall student learning experience. An adjustable layout was created with individual block units that move along tracks in the ceiling to allow for adaptable use of the space. The design combines aspects of studying ('focus') and relaxation ('reset'), to help provide a place for students to achieve balance — especially those who struggle with their mental wellbeing during their academic studies. The materiality of wood, metal, and concrete was inspired by the site itself and the Brutalist movement in general.
Focus & Reset
Haneen Aldameary
