This presentation explores the various factors which have an impact on the psychological growth of children (orphans in this case) and how design can play a role to help bring bring a positive mental growth.

1. Design interventions for orphan
children to accommodate their
psychological needs
Devvrat Chowdhary
2010BARC009
SEMINAR - III

2. AIM
• To assess the psychological issues
prevalent in orphan children and
propose design interventions
accordingly.

3. Objectives
• To assess the psychological impact on the children
who have lost their parents or those who are
growing without biological parents.
• List the various psychological issues.
• To understand the relationship between the spatial
character and psychology of children with special
reference to those who have gone through trauma of
separation from biological parents.
• To make and attempt to mitigate the negative
impacts of orphan hood in children through design.

4. Scope and Limitations
• The age group of 0-12 years is considered for the
purpose of this dissertation.
• The study will aim to arrive with schemes to
guide the design of children’s homes but will not
provide rigid details of design interventions.
• Only literature case studies will be referred for
the scope of this dissertation.

5. Background Study
• Definitions
• Facts
Literature Review
• Psychological Issues
• Methods to Counteract
psychological problems
Case Studies
• SOS Village, Jordan
• Amsterdam Orphanage
RESULT
Methodology

6. Background study
• Definition of an orphan:
▫ A child who is below 18 years of age and who
has lost one or both parents may be defined
as an orphan (George, 2011).
• Orphans in India:
▫ The number of orphans in India stands at
approximately 55 million children of age 0 to
12 years, which is about 47% of the overall
population of 150 million orphans in the
world (GCM India; UNICEF, 2005).
1 billion +
people
400 million
children
50 million
orphans
18 million
homeless
(Shrivastava, 2007)

7. Literature Review
• An orphanage for young women in Srinagar was
surveyed by psychiatrists using DSM-IV guidelines
to evaluate children for psychopathology.
Children were in the age group of 5 to 12 years.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV)
40.62%
PTSD
25%
Major
depressive
disorder
(MDD)
12.5%
Conversion
Disorder
(Chan et al. 2006)
Psychological problems

8. • According to ”A study of psycho social problems
in orphans in Kerala” a Ph.D. thesis by Benson. N
the major psycho-social problems a homeless
child faces are:
Literature Review
Psychological problems
•Self-esteem
•Recognition and approval
•Love and Affection
•Security
•Independence
•Creative expression
•New Experience
•dealing with others
•Achievement
•Isolation
•Financial problems
•Dealing with the opposite sex
•Dealing with Authorities
•Relation with Anxiety
•Relation with Emotional Maturity

9. • Colour therapy
Literature Review
Methods to counteract psychological issues
RED
•Strength
•Loosen
restraints
•Energy
•Remove
lethargy and
depression
ORANGE
•Energising
•Warming
•Lift spirits of
depressed
and lonely
YELLOW
•Stimulate
intellect
•Cheering
effect
•Facilitate
digestion
•Not ideal for
stress
GREEN
•Harmony,
Balance
•Hope
•Calming
effect
•Optimism
•Excess may
result in
Complacency

10. • Colour therapy
Literature Review
Methods to counteract psychological issues
BLUE
• Truth,
Nobility and
Serenity.
• Help for
frightened
or flustered
• Sedative
INDIGO
• Intellect
• Courage,
authority
• Inner
Calmness
Violet
• Stimulate
intellect
• Cheering
effect
• Facilitate
digestion
• Not ideal for
stress

11. • Healing Gardens
▫ Child friendly entry
▫ Comfortable space for staff and parents
▫ Many options as possible for children to
interact with nature through their senses and
or hands-on activities
▫ Plant a garden and harvest
▫ Universal Accessibility
▫ Multi-purpose setting for activities, social
gatherings
▫ Shade
▫ Provide plants and trees that drop leaves and
twigs -
▫ Seeds and stones
▫ Add a hill
▫ Storage, potting shed
▫ Fun signage
Literature Review
Methods to counteract psychological issues
(Source-Basham & Lucas Design Group)

12. • Architectural Intervention
▫ Attachment to a certain architectural space,
identification with it, and possibility of
regulating privacy and recovering of
environment results in appearance of
favourite place phenomenon.
Literature Review
Methods to counteract psychological issues
(Danica. 2008)
Vertical realms

13. • Architectural Intervention
Literature Review
Methods to counteract psychological issues
Source- Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital

14. • Architectural Intervention
Literature Review
Methods to counteract psychological issues
Source- The Little School in San Francisco, Mark Horton

15. • Psychological effect of shapes
Literature Review
Methods to counteract psychological issues
•Connection, community,
wholeness, endurance,
movement, safety, perfection
•Refers to the feminine: warmth,
comfort, sensuality, and love.
•Order, logic, containment, security.
•Rectangles provide a fourth point,
which is mathematically the
foundation for 3D objects, suggesting
mass, volume, and solids.
•Energy, power, balance, law, science,
religion.
•Refers to the Masculine: strength,
aggression, and dynamic movement.

16. • Children’s scale
• Linking paths and gardens
• Shaded courts
• Use of stone – irregular shapes,
fantasy
• Arched pathways
Case study
SOS Children’s Village – Jordan
SOS children’s village Jordan - PLAN (*Source – Aga Khan award for Architecture

17. Case study
SOS Children’s Village – Jordan
SOS children’s village Jordan- View (*Source – Aga Khan award for Architecture

18. • Children’s scale
• Small informal pockets create areas of
intrigue and discovery
• Reflective surfaces (material)
• Simple Geometry interaction to create
interactive spaces
Case study
Amsterdam Orphanage- Netherlands
Orthogonal grid with diagonal pathways creating equal spaces (Archdaily)

19. Case study
Amsterdam Orphanage- Netherlands
Amsterdam Orphanage- Netherlands(Archdaily)

20. ACTIVITY SPATIAL
CHARACTER
COLOUR PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUE
ADDRESSED
1 Eating Rectangle Yellow Independence, Dealing with
others
2 Study Rectangle, Triangle Blue, green Self esteem, New
experience, Independence,
Achievement
3 Creative Circle Red, Green, Violet Isolation, Creative
expression, Security,
Dealing with others, self
esteem
4 Resting Circle Orange, Blue Anxiety, Security, dealing
with others
Result
Relationship between shapes, colours
and the psychological issues addressed

21. • Articulated Classroom
Result
Spatial character suggestions

22. Result
Spatial character suggestions
• Space as a Home Base
▫ Generally the spaces in an children’s
home though for children are controlled
by the administrative people and the
children act as visitors
▫ There should be some permanent spaces
for the individuals something like a nest
from where you take off and keep
returning to meet up again.

23. • Threshold space between classroom and
corridor
▫ With corridors changing from circulation
area to work area comes an even greater
need for openness
▫ there needs to be a surveillance of those
working outside as well as inside of the
teacher and even though there is a
physical detachment the children should
feel connected.
Result
Spatial character suggestions

24. Conclusion

25. References
• Benson, N (2002). The study of Psycho-social
problems of orphans in Kerela
• Browne, K. (2009). The Risk of Harm to Young
Children in Institutional Care. United Kingdom:
Save the Children.
• Johnson, W. D. (2013). The Effects of Being
Orphan
• James Sengendo and Janet Nambi. (1997)The
psychological effect of orphanhood: a study of
orphans in Rakai district
• M. Mudasir Naqshbandi ,Rashmi Sehgal,Fahim
ul Hassan (2012) Orphans in orphanages of
Kashmir “and their Psychological problems”
• Shah Amir Ezham Ismail , . Zaiton Abdul Rahim,
Asiah Abdul Rahim (2013) Muslim orphanage's
village
• Unicef (2005). The state of the world's children
2006: excluded and invisible: United Nations
Pubns.
• Danica Stanković (2008). Space in the function of
psychological stability of a child
• Basham & Lucas Design Group (1998). Gardens
that heal: therapeutic landscape and site design
• Yuanquan Xu (2012). Play therapy room design
• Indiaparenting.com, Colour therapy for children
• California state university Stanislaus, online
archive
• Herman Hertzberger – Space and learning
• Shrivastava D (2007). Child trafficking–A human
right abuse. Indian Police J