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Seasonal Affective Disorder Rehabilitation Centre. Reykjavik, Iceland.

Part 1 Project 2007
Andrew David Green
 University of Lincoln Lincoln | UK
The project developed as an examination of how light is captured through the use of lens based media. This continued into a rigorous, experimental and analytical investigation exploring the complexities and mechanics of motion and light.
I developed a building brief based on light therapy and its use to treat high levels of depression and suicide within arctic communities as a product of Seasonal Affective Disorder.

The building aims to become an antidote to the problem. The building is a refuge/sanctuary which provides diagnosis, therapy and treatments for sufferers of the disorder, as well as facilitating research into new treatments.


The project evolved through the use of still photography and lens-based imaging to reveal residual light 'traces' left by pedestrians and vehicles in a street. This analysis of motion, light, materials and
their associated effects took place in both site-specific and non-site environments, and led to the production of computer-based experiments
and physical light installations. These investigations informed the development of Andrew's project brief, architectural language and ultimately, his project's signature.

The building is a Study Centre for the investigation of light related human disorders. Situated in Iceland, it exhibits a clear resonance with both the physical context and its underpinning ideas.
2007
The design studio project was inaugurated from an interest in the phenomena of how light is captured within lens based media, which developed into a rigorous experimental & analytical investigation exploring the complexities, parameters & motion of light.
Initial imagery was predominantly manifested within synthetic environments which lead to the creation of devices. Exploration & analysis of the accidental and entropic nature of the phenomena, began to extract hidden elements, tendencies & algorithm.
Exhibit: The images were placed within the exhibition context. The evolving understanding of the phenomena lead to the design of a building which, whether in terms of form, context, language or program is unavoidably inspired and informed by light.
The phenomena became the unorthodox precedent which informed subsequent design activity. A series of bespoke paintings explored the physical qualities of the images which began to imply notions of topography and abstract architectonic form.
Installation. A disused garage on the outskirts of suburban Lincoln was adapted as a laboratory to begin manufacture of the phenomena. The individual light sources directly generate each of the images.
Reykjavik, Iceland. Latitude-64'8'N Longitude-21'56'W. A densely populated arctic community within the northern hemisphere deprived of natural sunlight, where daylight hours are reduce to around two-four hours a day.
As a response to the photographic generator, the building form will inevitably become a physical & tangible manifestation of the phenomena, which subsequently developed into ‘an architecture of components’, an architecture devoid of preconceived forms.
The intuitive Curvilinear forms manifested within the images were adapted as an unconventional methodological process & generator to develop architectural form, language and program. The fluid form adapts & moulds to the irregularities of the terrain.
Geldinganes Peninsula. The coastal location creates a diverse & hostile climate, the unpredictable & dynamic external conditions offer a truly unique site condition. The geological situation on site allowed for the specification of sustainable strategies.
Ground Level.
Mezzanine level.
Section i-ii/ix-x. The barren landscape provides a highly topographical, rural environment, where the building can spread out, unheld by a precise urban boundary. The building form takes on the landscape, Interacting with formations and elements on site.
...
Conceptual visualisations.
Internal illustrations.
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