Michael Welgus, Restorative [In]teriority [×]

We inhabit a world that’s seemingly driven by globalisation, consumerism and a field of social pressures that result in us working longer, socialising more and taking less “time out” for ourselves. This tends to lead to a collective community who are typically time poor, stressed and digitally dependent, resulting in a subtle decline in mental health and physical wellbeing.
This project investigates the idea of “restorative Interiority” a proposed design practice that focuses on the realignment of the mind and body, through a series of spatial and sensory interventions designed to help shift our focus towards an innate state of being. The project develops a series of carefully considered spatial sequences that provide the inhabitant with moments of medicinal exchange. These sequences aim to improve our mental and physical health while facilitating a connection to place, resulting in mindfulness and a form of mental refuge from the outside domain.
Spatial planning and programmatics are key to the design outcome, resulting in a carefully curated journey that plays on 'the meander.' Program is distributed across the site to ensure a subtle shift from passive to active. Passive and private moments allow for solidarity and respite, while open plan active zoning provides opportunities for community engagement and overall restoration. This set of spatial conditions not only responds to the sites program, but also begins to touch on an underlying current global issue of physical proximities within the COVID-19 pandemic. I aim to utilise the passive to active journey as a mode of social re-calibration, helping to restore the city’s social norms in a post COVID environment.
This body of work has re-enforced the importance of creating spaces we can connect with both physically and emotionally while extending the role of our built environment to act as an urban filter. Re-enforcing our future typologies as continuous public offerings, not just final products. a