Art and Healing: ATSICHS Logan Health Hub

Situated in the Woodridge/Logan area, 'Art and Healing: ATSICHS Logan Health Hub' proposes a health clinic where nature and art coincide. This comes as a result of on-site research where native flora was abundant and where the Karawatha Forest was nearby. Through research, the main Indigenous group associated with the Logan area are the Yugambeh people. It was found that for the Yugambeh people, connection to the land held a deep cultural and spiritual significance. As such, the project strived to integrate the land into its design to create a space of familiarity, security and groundedness. The clinic orientates itself towards the Karawatha Forest, 'bringing it in' into a central courtyard space, almost acting as an extension of the forest. Pockets of green space can be seen as users circulate throughout the building. In addition to integrating land into the design, on-site research also displayed a creative side of the Logan community. Murals were painted in alleyways and on the ground - these were often places where the community gravitated towards. It was evident that art and creativity was something which the community thrived off of. Observing this in conjunction with the fact that through creating and observing art, art therapy can assist in patient healing, the integration of artwork became one of the primary focuses of this project. The clinic features a 'gallery spine' which acts as a circulation space as well as a gallery. ATSICHS clinics are closed on Sundays, meaning that the project was able to propose a secondary function for the clinic on this day. Throughout the week, the health hub is to operate as normal and provide care to patients, however on Sundays, the clinic is to shut down with only the 'gallery spine' left open for the public to engage with. Here, patients have the opportunity to share their stories in the form of artwork and choose to display their own art. This creates a space for the community to gather, share stories and help one another on their own path of healing.