HOBART WOMEN’S SHELTER
A PROTOTYPE HOUSING PROJECT FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN
A prototype housing project for women and children fleeing domestic violence in Tasmania, designed by architects Emily Taylor and Chris Clinton (from Core Collective and Christopher Clinton Architects respectively). The houses, and their colour and material palettes are designed according to Trauma Informed Design principles.
Trauma Informed Design shares characteristics with Biophilic Design and as I learn more about both, it’s increasingly clear to me (and backed up by a growing body of scientific studies) that colour plays a central role in design for health and well-being. Human beings have evolved in close and complex relationship with the natural world, and quite simply, our brains function better when stimulated and soothed by interaction with complex natural systems.
The idea goes further than the simply aesthetic. Connection to the world outside is important for health, connection engenders care, care engenders more connection.
Colour creates connection.
Colour and material selection are key to creating rich sensory environments which bring people into an awareness of place, and of their bodies in space. Every part of these homes is calming, beautiful and secure. Every person visiting the homes (to celebrate their completion) felt and commented on the connection between the landscape and the interiors, and on how lovely and relaxing this made the spaces.
This is why I always begin with site analysis when designing a colour palette. Even for interior projects. After all, virtually every interior for human habitation has a connection with an exterior. By making this explicit we are developing our capacity for ‘connection to country’, and learning to see and to care.
PROJECT CREDITS
Design Team: Core Collective Architects, Chris Clinton Architects, Lymesmith, SBLA Landscape Architecture and Urban Design
Builder: St Joseph’s Affordable Homes
Photography: Adam Gibson
Client: Hobart Women’s Shelter
