A dormitory could be more joyful : student housing

Abstract

With the globalization of the education industry, more students go abroad to expand their horizons and obtain higher level of education. Increasing numbers of international students bring intense pressure on existing accommodation on educational campuses.

Meanwhile, the requirement for proper living conditions for students is also increasing with the improving quality of life. Hence, the problem of student housing on campus is gradually being re-evaluated by both students and school authorities. Student housing is not only apartment living, but also embraces cross-cultural communication, human interaction and self-growth.

Scientists and psychologists say that our physical surroundings influence our thoughts and feeling. Certain colours, shapes, and textures bring us joy. Light, sound and temperature also influence our emotions. Architecture is all around us, as regards both practical functions and experiences. A good physical environment cannot of itself make us happy. But one thing is certain: architecture can affect us and our efforts to achieve a good life and feel joyful. Surrounding have a huge role to play in altering our mood, likewise, architecture can affect how we feel. A joyful architecture can bring more than just accommodation space.

Driven by the great demand for high quality student housing, re-designing the student dormitory on campus is the objective of this project. The project creates a joyful, liveable student dormitory to provide students with a better living condition. Compared with the current condition of student housing, this project aims to achieve a place to live, to communicate, to laugh, to experience a happy joyful atmosphere.

Joyful “It follows that the balance we approve of in architecture, and which we anoint with the word ‘beautiful,’ alludes to a state that, on a psychological level, we can describe as mental health or happiness.” -Alain de Botton, The architecture of happiness (page no. 10-11)