Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Facility for First Nations

BY SHIVATHMIKHA (SHIVA) KUMAR

This thesis presents a possible design for a safe and welcoming environment for First Nations children and adolescents born into settings and situations that were not under their control. The design provides spaces for individuals to receive guidance and psychiatric care from elders in their communities through engagement with the ecological environment, regional activities, and traditional and current healing methodologies. Each First Nation community has a unique history and identity grown from cultural practices dating back almost four thousand years. Models of healing environments are explored for the Ucluelet Nation and Toquaht Nation, located on Vancouver Island’s Pacific rim.