COURSE: ARTI 320: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES DATE: SEPT-DEC 2024
ARROWSMITH LODGE
The Arrowsmith Lodge project was an exploration of how interior design can transform long-term care facilities into spaces that prioritize well-being, autonomy, and sensory engagement. Too often, institutional environments overlook the emotional and sensory needs of residents, leading to impersonal, sterile atmospheres. This project sought to redefine aging-in-place design by embracing biomimicry and rhythmic fit, ensuring that the environment works in harmony with its inhabitants—just as ecosystems do in nature.
Designing with rhythmic fit means aligning human spaces with inherent natural rhythms, much like how ecosystems function in balance and harmony. By applying this principle, the design of Arrowsmith Lodge was developed to support the daily physical and cognitive rhythms of elderly residents, creating an environment that is intuitive, restorative, and deeply connected to natural processes.
PROJECT GOALS
PROJECT GOALS
Spaces were designed to support natural circadian cycles, using lighting, material warmth, and sensory modulation to create environments that transition smoothly between active and restful states.
Through this project, I explored how design can go beyond functionality to create environments that truly feel alive and in sync with their users. Arrowsmith Lodge is more than a place to live—it is a space designed to empower, comfort, and restore.
3. Designing for Sensory Comfort
1. Harmonizing with Daily Rhythms
Using natural textures, organic forms, and acoustically balanced spaces, the design mimics the way nature fosters calm and cognitive clarity while reducing sensory overload.
2. Facilitating Intuitive Navigation
The material palette was selected to reflect nature’s efficiency, incorporating renewable, durable, and low-maintenance materials that contribute to long-term environmental and human health.
5. Embedding Sustainable Functionality
Wayfinding was designed biomimetically, inspired by the way animals and plants guide movement in nature. Subtle color shifts, visual landmarks, and spatial cues allow residents to navigate their environment effortlessly.
4. Enhancing Social and Emotional Well-being
The spatial layout follows biomimetic patterns of clustering and flow, inspired by natural gathering spaces like clearings and river bends, ensuring that communal areas feel inviting while private retreats remain soothing.