Francesca Denny

The UK residential construction industry faces a significant demographic challenge, necessitating the industry’s attention to its attitudinal reputation in order to enhance its future competitiveness and inclusivity.
This research aims to bridge the gap between Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policies in theory, and their practical implementation by investigating how ‘the community perceives policy in action; thereby formulating recommendations for enhancing diversity and inclusion in construction and aligning it with more progressive values. Examining the experiences and viewpoints of LGBTQ+ construction workers reveals the the impact of discrimination on both their personal and occupational spheres. The results indicate that the absence of strong commitment from leadership, insufficient training on matters of equality, and a general lack of awareness regarding the advantages of diversity have impeded the effectiveness of implemented policies.
Moreover, the study underscores the significance of establishing support structures to facilitate the entrance and progression of LGBTQ+ individuals in the industry; hence fostering an inclusive and equitable work environment within the residential construction sector.

The perception of psychiatric illnesses and the need for better institutions has been prevalent since the dawn of the "asylum era", dating back to the 18th Century. Prior to this, treatment of the incarcerated was a barbaric and unjust exercise in human welfare. Facilities provided were often unsanitary, with dozens of people sharing dormitories; many sharing beds with up to four others, or held captive to the floor with shackles. Although the days where the common misconception was that 'a lunatic can be cured only in an institution'  have generally passed over its six hundred year history, it is still widely considered that facilities offered by psychiatric hospitals and centres are a contributing factor in the treatment of patients with mental disorders.
From the early 'lunatic asylums' of Bethlem Hospital, to the 19th century investments in construction of healthcare buildings in England, addressing the need for psychiatric facilities has been a daunting task for both clinical practitioners and architects alike. Since the advent of the NHS in 1948, there have been calls for reform in public institutions; however, it wasn't until the late 1950s that a call for a new architecture was implemented by the World Health Organisation.
Through analysis of existing scholarship on asylum design theory from the eighteenth-century to the present day, and the creation of a therapeutic environment through the manipulation of space and its location, this thesis aspires to discuss the importance and need to develop a safe and healing environment in the creation of architecture for the mentally ill.

Aestheticians are taken to have the primary authority of architecture as a realm within philosophy; applying aesthetic theory directly to architecture, in order to ascribe an ‘essence’. It has become apparent that architecture is of wider philosophical interest than originally presumed. As questions arise within the philosophy of medicine as to what factors compromise our biological agency, it is becoming increasingly clear that architectural considerations are relevant to this field of study.
The philosophical influence on architecture focuses on the phenomenology of the built environment, and materiality in their sensory aspects. Most of our social activity, living and thriving as human beings happens within the built environment and philosophers of medicine are alert to the ways that space can be incapacitating and cause unnecessary distress, but do not typically focus upon architecture, despite this being a specific concern of ill and disabled persons. This essay argues that there is an apparent need to address the issue of ‘architecturally induced wellness’ within the realm of philosophy, and the built environment can be implemented to promote a fulfilling life, a sense of self and social interaction for the ageing, and allow them to experience a positive sense of wellness through the medium of the built environment.

Most of our social activity as living and thriving as human beings happens within the built environment. Phenomenologists such as Heidegger in his essay ‘Bauen Wohnen Denken’ and similarly, Gaston Bachelard, in The Poetics of Space focus on the lived experience of architecture and the implications of space on the service user. However, for the disabled, these spaces can be inhibiting and in some cases, isolate and cause unnecessary distress.
It is hard to deny the significance of architecture to human life, and philosophers of disability are alert to the ways that physical and social space can be disabling or incapacitating, but do not typically focus upon architecture — despite this being a specific concern for the wellbeing of disabled persons. As questions arise as to what factors compromise our biological agency, it is becoming increasingly clear that architectural considerations are relevant to this field of study. This thesis does not aim to repair the neglect of architecture by philosophy, but focuses on what are the most morally urgent aspects of that neglect vis á vis disability, architecture, and wellbeing.

The culture that we have created requires architecture in order to live and socialise, yet the architect is driven by the urge to create aesthetically pleasing buildings, an urge which habitually neglects the need for creating an essence and compromising the usability of the building. Prevalent especially in healthcare architecture, where the usability of the building by medical professionals overshadows the functional needs of the patient, requires design-based solutions which primarily focuses on the restorative essence and properties created by holistic design in order to benefit the user. The interaction between environment and recovery is heavily documented (Ulrich 1984,1992, 2002), yet perpetually falls on deaf ears in favour of the aesthetic.
It is now that returning to our vernacular roots, which supply us with the simplest, most effective form of addressing humanitarian needs, can help us combat these detrimental effects to our planet and rekindle the utilitarian connection between humanity, architecture and nature. Reciprocating our knowledge of utilising the sun and daylight into the building, passive ventilation and energy efficiency, we can strive to create a holistic approach to the intimate connection between design and nature in order to create ‘an essence in architecture: vernacular solutions to the humanitarian issues of the design for healthcare’.
Through analysis of existing scholarship on vernacular methods of sustainable design and the creation of ‘essence’ through the manipulation of space, this essay discusses the importance of creating high quality, aesthetically pleasing sustainable healthcare architecture in order to promote healing and wellbeing.