AERIE Project | The HOOD
A personal Space for Mental Restoration
The Hood structure as a working prototype of The Aerie is an enclosed space, like a pod or a cocoon, where users can immerse themselves in a customisable environment by interacting with a multisensorial experience; light levels, smell, colours and sound. The Aerie aims to enhance mental restoration's immediate and prolonged effects through immersive multi-sensory experiences and personal cognition. These experiences are facilitated through the use of interactive.
The Aerie is designed to be used in various locations such as commercial buildings, community centres or public spaces (libraries etc.). To provide emotional recovery, improve psychological resilience in open-plan offices and public environments.
Researchers:
Dr Mirko Guaralda | Architecture
Dr Leo Rezayan | Interactive and Visual Design
Dr Richard Medland | Computer-Human
Assoc. Prof Marianella Chamorro-Koc | Industrial Design
Assoc. Prof Veronica Garcia-Hansen | Architecture
Assoc. Prof Glenda Caldwell | Architecture
Working and living in crowded environments or spaces that do not allow privacy can create stress and have negative consequences for users. Every year Australian businesses lose approximately 6.5 Billion Dollars due to workers’ mental health issues. Environmental distress can be contagious; studies show that there is a “crossover” with personal mental wellbeing. This means that stressful environments create second-hand stress, one that has been proven to be a chronic psychological health condition, and that leads to unsocial behaviour. Under these heightened emotional states, taking a “timeout” is a classic behavioural therapy, which can be applied to negative emotions (e.g. frustration, worry, anger, anxious, stress). Research shows that taking a timeout and engaging in relaxation environments can provide individuals with an inner shock absorber that helps them to maintain a sense of calm and focus. The desire for sanctuary and timeout to make sense of life’s challenges has been found to be prevalent not only for young adolescents but as well as working adults. The ideal sanctuary is described with less preference for noisy and crowded urban spaces (e.g. shopping districts) and more in relation to places which are quiet, secure and relaxing.
Based on this research we developed the Hood structure (Right) as a working prototype of the Aerie project which is a research tool to explore the design and technology elements that would contribute to empower and engage users in a personal space for mental restoration in the workplace. The Aerie is a personal and portable space that enhances immediate and long-term effects of mental restoration through multi-sensory experiences (i.e. visual, aural, tactile) as well as personal cognition (i.e. proactive relaxation and self-development). The Hood structure is designed with technology that facilitates individuals to make this personal sanctuary their own. The Aerie is a personal space that is designed to be accessible within a public space, to be adaptable to various office contexts, and that combines interactive media to facilitate the experience of emotional recovery.