Freddie Hutchinson — Channelsea Tidal Gardens

Graduation year — 2022

Email — frederick.hutchinson@the-LSA.org

Tutors — Hannah Lawson& Maurizio Mucciola

Location — Channelsea Island, London Borough of Newham

Size — 37,000sqm

Objective —

Mass urbanisation and the rise of digitalisation are having a dramatic effect on wellbeing and mental health. This proposal aims to determine what can be done to urban environments to provide the same beneficial effects experienced living in a natural environment. Incorporating preventive treatment rather than relying on reactive measures could provide a better remedy to combat the stresses of urban life.

Motivation —

Rising urban density is projected to have severe impacts on both the infrastructures and inhabitants. Responsible spatial design must reflect the importance of understanding the effects of built space on both our biology and mental well-being. The incidental spaces of the public realm will undoubtedly play a key role in the management of stress at a population level and must therefore be given due consideration.

Strategy —

Natural cycles and environmental conditions can be incorporated into the building fabric, helping to define the form of the project through the environmental conditions of the site to indicate the necessary accommodation to tackle the problems of urban stress. This is combined with investigating how this goal will be achieved by improved seamless integration and access to restorative environments as well as enlargement of them in London’s cityscape.

Impact —

My project should enable a greater understanding of architecture’s ability to provide healing and tranquillity in stressful environments. Ideally the end result will be a better understanding of the relationship between environments and the chemical reactions in the body that enable healing to help mitigate the mental strain that our urban environment currently exerts upon us.