Health & Community: A Reciprocal Relationship
Fifth Year Thesis, Manhattan, Kansas, Aug '04 - May '05

Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being (World Health Organization), not merely the absence of disease. When mental and social injuries are not addressed, physical healing is hindered. 

Through design studio Arch 707, a Neuro-Rehabilitation Center had been proposed in downtown Manhattan, Kansas. The intention of this project was not only to address the needs of spinal cord and brain injury patients, but to simultaneously satisfy a patient’s need for community and a community’s need for health.

Through collaboration with the Center for the Aging, a strong link was found between the services needed by both the elderly as well as neurorehab patients, allowing opportunities for social and mental stimulation to occur in the exchange. In a facility focused on complete physical, mental and social well-being, this critical connection became the driving force of the project.