Project description

The Waiting Room is a response to the UK Governments announcement that it will be investing into mental health funding for university students with an aim of closing gap between university, NHS and local mental health services. This project imagines a conceptual mental health hub that acts as a space for preventative mental health self-care. Separate to existing clinical mental health settings it supports mental and emotional journeys while providing a place for students to just be. Users can actively learn and understand their mental health and well-being, the experiences of their peers and actively practice the NHS’s advised 5 ways of wellbeing. It also provides permanent and flexible spaces for getting emergency help for mental health issues without waiting lists as well as addressing and support external factors such as socio-economic issues that affect mental health. The building itself is covered in textiles that depict the Edinburgh landscape creating both a familiar and completely different environment for the user to explore.

Concept

My project imagines a preventative self-help mental health hub for university students. The mental health hub I have proposed moves away from the typical clinical mental health service setting and instead creates an immersive space that encourages and supports people to engage with the NHS’s advised five ways to wellbeing to support and cultivate better mental health and wellbeing.

1. Connect with others

Many connections can be forged in the waiting room. As the project proposes several bookable and flexible spaces for events and activities to be held. So that people can come together and connect through doing activities, making, and sharing knowledge and experiences.

A drawing of two silhouettes holding hands
2. Be Active

There are spaces in the building that promote an active lifestyle. Specifically, the movement and motion spaces where people can dance and take part in other active classes to get the body moving which causes positive chemicals to be released.

Silhouette of a figure running
3. Learn New skills

Building users can learn new skills in the arts participation space through learning new handicraft skills to contribute to the ever-changing communal tapestry wall that changes with Edinburgh’s landscapes. New skills can also be learnt in the more flexible activities spaces. Importantly the project proposes an opportunity for student to learn new skills from one another.

Silhouette of a figure playing the guitar
4. Give to Others

People have opportunities to give to others in the waiting room through spaces that provide opportunities for volunteering roles within the building. 

Two silhouettes with a present in-between them
5. Pay attention to the present moment

There are dedicated rooms for mindfulness and meditation within the project. The textile landscapes within the interior of the building also helps to engage building users with mindfulness, as they can observe and study their surroundings. All the activities in the building derive from existing mindfulness practices or from mindfulness practices that people did according to my own research for the project.

silhouette of figure sitting with legs crossed
Going beyond the 5 ways to wellbeing

There are also some factors that affect mental health which are beyond our control. Most of which are to do with socio-economic factors. I have addressed this in my project my having the basement level dedicated to more traditional drop-in mental health services, mental health first aid sessions and having flexible workshop shapes that can be used to run a variety of sessions whether that is to get advice about jobs and practical maintenance issues that come with moving away from home.

Importantly the building has a lot of spaces to just be. From my research I found that many students are just looking for a space where they can talk to friends, call home or just sit and spent some time without feeling that they are taking up space. Which is why a lot of the project is dedicated to spaces for people to just sit and relax.  

Drawing Inspiration from the Landscape

For my project I looked to nature to for inspiration as I found many students turned to the natural environment to practice mindfulness and find calm. I was also inspired by mindfulness practices such as forest bathing so my surrounding became a driving force for the project. I studied Edinburgh's cityscape, landscapes and seasons and translated them into an interior environment to celebrate the city, grounding the project as well as helping users connect to nature in an alternative setting.  

Textile samples

I used textiles to create a landscape within the building. I made several pieces to experiment with how textiles could be used to transform an interior. 

The Waiting Room

The Waiting Room as a project has become a celebration of finding enjoyment in the journey, bringing hope and excitement to a topic that is daunting to face. It is intended to empower and support people to take better care of their mental health and wellbeing, which is a valuable life skill. It does this by promoting exploration, sharing and learning new skills. Pushing people out of their comfort zone in a safe space where imperfection is welcome and celebrated as being part of a larger journey.