Abstract
The following research and analysis will investigate the intersection of architecture and treatment in asylums with a specific interest on the time period of the late 19th century to mid-20th century in the United States. Not only were specific environmental demands key to some treatment methodologies, such as rural environments to moral therapy, but the architecture of mental hospitals were integral parts of patient’s experiences. Here three specific hospital designs will be analyzed: the Kirkbride Plan, the Cottage Plan, and Kiyoshi Izumi’s Socio-Petal. The following analysis will be built on a series of blueprints, building notes, secondary histories, and articles of specific examples of these building plans. In particular, the hospitals discussed exemplify the use architectural design to enhance or follow popular treatment methodology. Overall, the investigation of treatment plans, implementation, and asylum experience through the lens of architecture allows for a more dynamic understanding of patient experience and treatment.
Recommended Citation
Sass, Kris D.. "Asylum Architecture: The Brick-by-Brick Development of Patient Treatment." The Purdue Historian 11, 1 (2023). https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/puhistorian/vol11/iss1/2
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Interior Architecture Commons, Landscape Architecture Commons, Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons, Theory and Philosophy Commons