Toward rethinking the architecture of addiction centers in Algeria: the evaluation of lighting quality and its impact on patient well-being

Abstract

The thesis aims to study the relationship between the architectural elements of reception structures for people suffering from drug dependence and well-being through their behavior in these establishments. The methodology consists of considering the patient as an element contributing to the architectural quality decision in the establishment through an analysis of the spatial aspects of Algerian addiction structures and their influence on the patients' behavior. Based on a spatial quality/behavior correlation, it was noted that the architecture of drug addiction centers in Algeria follows norms and standards that favor factors other than the factor of well-being and visual comfort. This is due to the fact that detoxification establishments are included with the regulations of mental health establishments, and it lacks a protocol or manual concerning the interior architectural design of addiction centers in particular. The spatial analysis steps of the research led to a gap in the quality of natural light, which indicates a remarkable impact on the behavior and the preference of specific spaces by the patients. As well as the artificial light marked a unified strategy which makes him indifferent to filling the gaps of natural light in these existing establishments. After an analytical and evaluative process at drug addiction establishments' functional and spatial levels, the thesis proposes a triangular method. It derives a database on the principles of light design from previous research and relates it with the thesis's present functional and spatial findings, plus considering general security norms to have a specified protocol for addiction centers. Besides this, it views the patients' psychology as part of the conception process.