M.Arch

thesisI would like to design a Naturopathic Healing Center. This center will focus upon two primary ideas, the first is the Philosophy; and principles of naturopathic medicine and the second focuses on how nature can aid the healing process. This facility will offer a unique environment in which patients can seek care that a normal hospital would not offer. The medical care given will follow the principles of naturopathic medicine as will the architecture of the facility. It will also respond to and interact with the natural environment. The site will need to offer opportunities for the patient to interact with nature so as to provide a calming environment in which healing can take place. A facility of this type also needs a strong connection to a community. This connection will offer a rich interaction from which both can benefit. The Naturopathic Healing Center will not compete with western medicine. It will become an asset to western medicine. Naturopathic medicine is a branch of alternative medicine, which proposes that there is a healing power in the body that establishes, maintains, and restores health. Practitioners work with the patient with a goal of supporting this power, through treatments. Naturopathic medicine can be described as, "a distinctively natural approach to health and healing that recognizes the integrity of the whole person. Naturopathic medicine emphasizes the treatment of disease through the stimulation, enhancement, and support of the inherent healing capacity of the person. Methods of treatments are chosen to work with the patient's vital force, respecting the intelligence of the natural healing process.