Cohabiting Third Place:  Integrating Natural Hydrology with Healing Architecture

Washington D.C. has been ranked third among U.S. cities in terms of its percentage of youth who have reported a severe major depressive episode. Depression, stress, anxiety are the uninvited visitors of our day-to-day urban living. Most of the time we ignore our mental health unless we reach the threshold. We know nature is the best healer. The District also has reported the highest percentage of parkland but this statistic is not helping regarding Healing and Wellness. There might be a missing piece of the puzzle to reconnect with nature.

To dive deep into the missing piece, I have looked back to the basics, into the four elements of the planet, Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. This thesis is an exploration of the most important natural element, Water, along with the other three elements, as active participants in our everyday urban life, not only as a means of reconnecting with nature but also aiding with natural healing to our depressed, tired soul.

As with many other older cities, Washington D.C. mostly depends on the combined storm and sanitary sewer. During heavy rainfall, stormwater overflows the capacity of the sewage system and empties into the river with sewage. But there is an opportunity for the stormwater to be treated and reused at the site. Rainwater along with tapped groundwater as the perennial flow will be considered as the source of healing water in the dense downtown context of the District. The thesis will tell the story of the arrival of Water into the middle of the city. Water will be examined in all its forms and integrated with the Third Place, where the young working generation can come in the middle of the working day to catch a lunch break or after office rush hour to relax their stressed nerves and heal their inner soul. This design for a community learning center at First Street NE in NoMA neighborhood, Washington D.C. is an effort to trace the path of the long-lost Tiber Creek and to provide the inhabitants with a for Water and growth.