Date of Award

5-2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Legacy Department

Architecture

Committee Chair/Advisor

Battisto, Ph.D., Dina G.

Committee Member

Mobley, Ph.D. , F. Catherine

Committee Member

Houayek, Ph.D. , Henrique

Abstract

The AIDS epidemic in the United States has killed upwards of 500,000 since 1981. New therapies introduced in the 1990's, HAART (highly actively anti-retroviral treatment), have largely converted what was once a death sentence into a long-term chronic illness. Initial approaches to treating the virus included palliative care and treatment for secondary infections. With advances in therapies and disease management, supportive services have shifted from a primarily medical approach to one that encompasses programs that address long-term quality of life concern, including but not limited to counseling services for mental health, chemical dependency, self-sufficiency; housing services; and occupational training and therapies. Recent research has associated stable housing with lower rates of HIV transmission, the virus that causes AIDS (National AIDS Housing Coalition, 2007; National AIDS Housing Coalition, June 2009).
The goal of this study is twofold: a) to understand the special support and design of social spaces of Clare Apartments, an affordable high-rise apartment building in Minneapolis, MINNEAPOLIS, and b) to provide design recommendations based upon research findings from focus group and survey feedback, as well as investigator observations. Specifically, this case-study analysis will explore the ways in which supportive housing design can promote the personal control and competence of a special-needs target population. A site visit, survey and focus groups were conducted to qualify the perceived benefits from living in a building designed specifically to address the unique physiological and social needs of its residents.

Included in

Architecture Commons

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