Buildings That Can Heal in the Wake of Trauma

"Practitioners of the emerging architectural movement called trauma-informed design see buildings as “the first line of therapy.”

Trauma-informed Design was featured by Bloomberg CityLab in this article, by Zach Mortice, that highlights the work going on across the sector by Rev. Laura AG Rossbert, Erin K. Peavey, Alina Osnaga, as well as our own at the Trauma-informed Design Society and Trauma-informed Design Consultants.

"It’s most often seen in housing projects, education and health care. But 'any setting, any place, any population will benefit from trauma-informed design,' says J. Davis Harte, director of the Design for Human Health master’s program at the Boston Architectural College and a co-founder of the Trauma-Informed Design Society, or TIDS."

But many still resist calling their experiences traumatic and embracing the supports that trauma-informed design can provide.  "Because of the stigma that comes with admitting to trauma, clients can be reluctant to pursue TID, says Erin Peavey, who leads design for health and well-being at the architecture firm HKS. The response is often: “Oh, are you saying that my kid is traumatized? Or are you saying that I’m traumatized?” she says.

"The answer is an emphatic yes. ACEs are extremely common...."

People respond to traumatic experiences in myriad ways.  So, how can designers create spaces that work for the general public?

"Bridging the gap between individual trauma responses and creating a cohesive architecture plan that works for everyone is something 'I think we get asked once a day,' says Janet Roche, a co-founder of TIDS.

"The key here is designing 'as much choice as possible' into spaces, says Christine Cowart, the third TIDS co-founder. This means ensuring that as different people with different trauma responses move through a space, or as people’s desires change from hour to hour or day to day, there’s always a place for them to be. It can be a careful balance. A grand atrium can be an exciting place for large social events, but it can also be overwhelming, says Cowart, if 'you don’t feel like you have a place of shelter.'"

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