INFUSING WELLNESS: EASTERN TRADITIONS IN THE WESTERN CONTEXT

In the past few decades, the Western culture has adopted the concept of wellness from ancient Eastern traditions and infused alternative healthcare into the mainstream. Wellness is commonly defined as an optimal state of health in the mind, body, and spirit. This state is achieved through a balance of energy found in all things, including the human body. Eastern Traditions support the notion that this energy is governed by the elements of nature. Eastern architects such as Tadao Ando and Geoffrey Bawa offer lessons on how design can connect humans to nature and appeal to our sense of well-being within a place. This thesis builds on the implications of both Eastern health and design traditions to develop a building typology in the West that promotes healing in our underserved communities. It aims to heal and educate people by providing spaces for healthy, natural and preventative activities. It explores a process of design for well-being in which the users experience the healing qualities of nature in a space. The resulting wellness center acts as a threshold for the community between the dense urban condition and the natural environment