passing terminal life

Many people find themselves situated in a terminal cycle at one point in their life.

It might be as simple as a stay at a hotel...

Or it may be an hugely impacting ocurrence that will change you forever.

It might be voluntarily...

Or it may be forced upon you as a consequence or reach you entirely by coincidence.

A research study by

Michael Brath, Stud.no. 3814, Dept. 7 Student at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine ArtsSchools of Architecture, Design and ConservationThe School of Architecture

With an interest in the lives that unfolds in terminal sequences, I will conduct a research, which will seek to reveal a humanistic & emotional understanding of how it is to live in a “timed” space.

What does it mean for a person, to know that your current way of living is going to conclude?

In this research, the “terminal life” will be focused on situations, where you get severed from the ordinary way of living. The decision might come of free will or it may be forced upon you, but the situations are able to be related with each other, nonetheless.

I will seek to establish relations to a nun, a prisoner and a hospice pa-tient (or a cancer patient) as they all represent cases of a terminal life. Though the situations are very different, they are also the same. They are all put outside the everyday life, but one has chosen it, another has been placed in it and the third has randomly been caught in it.

Another aspect of it concerns the period of time; in the sense of the du-ration of the stay but also in sense of where you are in your life (age).

What can be concluded is that the reason does not alter the state of af-fairs.

It could also be interesting to conduct the experiment with two soldiers, where one has been selected due to conscription (military service) and another has volunteered to join.

Institutionalization

Acceptance

Recognition

Struggle

Emotional condition

Physical condition

Prisoner

Nun

Hospice patient

HYPOTHESIS: This diagram speculates about the emotional and physical conditions, which the three people will go through. Furthermore it treats topics such as, where in the process, these persons will accept and recog-nize their situation and the struggle that may arise during their stay in the institution.

Another aspect of this research is to look into the importance of our material belongings.

What does it mean to leave behind one’s ordinary life, in the sense of the material context, which is embedded with memories, and which represents our homes?

In the hospice, you are allowed to bring with you a few pieces of furni-ture (f.x. a chair and a few pictures/paintings)... Does it help you to get a sense of familiarity or is it actually leading you towards succumbing to depression as it constantly reminds you of what you are losing?

The nun is in a completely different situation. She renounces her life and everything connected with it, so she can begin from scratch, once more. But does that mean, that you are also rejecting your past?

Are our material possessions a hindrance of fully understanding (ac-cepting) the terminal course, which we are to begin? And if it is... Is it okay, that we do not accept it due to the circumstances?

Property as a set of values / Putting your life in perspectiveRegrets _ changing your life / Decoding trivial values

Bringing material possessions

Hospice patient

Nun

Prisoner

Leaving things behind

Refused to bring items along

The new and the wellknown

The new and simple

The new context

Being placed outside everyday society does not necessarily indicate, that you are to live on same turns, in the material context. Each place has different rules, but they also have different requirements. Does these requirements dictate the atmosphere in the different institutions?

The locations of the three scenarios, in this analysis, is based on vari-ous factors. In relation to the prison, the brother of my brother in law is working there as a prison officer and the prison is operated as an open institution. The hospice is situated in Frederikshavn as this is the city, where I plan to do the site of the final thesis. I will try to establish relations with another hospice as well, as it would be convenient to have the scenario closer to my working zone.

Finally the convent is situated relatively close to Copenhagen.

Hospice VendsysselFrederikshavn

Kragskovhede state prison (open prison)Jerup

Closer contactsCopenhagen

Arresødal HospiceVestre Fængsel

Contact: Prison officer (Michael Petersen, 35) Prison governor (Lene Theilgaard)Prisoner (?)

The private room (prison cell)Occupation (assembly workshop)Occupation (agroforestry)Leisure (library & gymnasium)Common room (tv & shared kitchen)Supermarket Visiting room

Contact: Head manager (Birgitte Nielsen)Nurse (?)Patient (?)

The private room (ward)Common areas (music) Guest roomCorridorsGarden

The private room Occupation (kitchen)

(agriculture & gardening)LibraryCommon room (painting & writing)Prayer room

Contact: Nun (?)

Vor Frue ConventBirkerød

Mailing contact onlyPatients overstimulated DR Documentary

ce

The context of the hospice in Frederikshavn is very interesting, as the existing is located in the city, on the 2nd floor and the new site, where they are planning to build the new hospice, is located on the outskirts of the city. Finally the x site is located outside the city (but still in the vicinity) to discuss the importance of the landscape as a potential context.

It could be interesting to look into the qualities of the different loca-tions and for example see which qualities the scenic (rural) location has and if it could be incorporated into city context. And the other way around too.

Existing hospiceNew site for hospice

X site for hospice

2nd floor of nursing homeInner city and courtyardOutskirts of the city

City meets nature

In the landscapeField, sea & forest

FREDERIKSHAVN SYD

With an idea of working with an institution, as for example a hospice, for my final thesis, I would like to set of with a research regarding people related to this topic.

This semester will begin with a broader analysis, where I try to reg-ister the scenario of people in defined time courses. This analysis will bring up topics, such as the emotional state of mind of being in such a course, the importance (or lack of) of personal belongings and the sur-roundings we interact with.

Based upon the relations that will be created during this research, the collarboration might lead to new angles in the analysis and I think it is very important to make room for such possibilities. This may also lead to redefining the project of the final thesis.