To Life Through the Intricacy: A Journey into Healing Architecture

In the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland, a remarkable architectural proposal reimagines the intersection between spatial experience and mental wellness. Titled To Live Laugh Love Through the Intricacy, the project by Irina Ozheredova is a shortlisted entry in the Live Laugh Love 2020 competition. Positioned within the growing field of healing architecture, this psychotherapy center is designed to guide visitors through the psychological maze of self-discovery and healing.

The proposal draws deeply from the metaphor of the labyrinth. As Ozheredova suggests, a person with a mental health disorder resembles someone lost in a labyrinth—uncertain of the path, disoriented, yet driven by the need to find a way out. Historically, labyrinths were not just physical structures but symbolic paths to self-awareness and meditation. This idea is central to the project’s circular layout, emphasizing the cyclical nature of human life and emotional recovery.

Concept and Site Strategy

The project is sited in Edinburgh with a height limit of 9 meters and a ground coverage of 25%. The building plan is a pure circle, embedding a sense of wholeness, continuity, and return. This geometry is echoed both in the layout of the interior and the broader landscape design, which features a walking labyrinth as a literal and symbolic tool of therapy.

Passive and active zones are arranged along the cardinal sun path, ensuring appropriate light exposure and spatial energy distribution. Passive activities like meditation or reading are placed in calmer zones, while areas for physical movement or group therapy are activated by solar warmth and dynamic openness.

Program and Spatial Organization

The center spans two floors. On the ground level, functions include:

• A room for scream therapy
• A library and sewing area
• A kitchen
• Therapy rooms
• Active exercises and communal areas

The upper level features:

• Individual therapy rooms
• Massage spaces
• Study rooms
• Living lounges and quiet halls

At the core of the building is a double-height atrium featuring a central tree, symbolizing growth, rootedness, and connection. Surrounding this, wooden brise-soleils create shaded transitional areas, blending privacy with openness and allowing filtered natural light to penetrate interior spaces.

Landscape and Emotional Mapping

The landscape plan reinforces the symbolic labyrinthine journey. Different zones labeled "Place of Solitude," "Sport," "Sand," and "The Shortest Way to/from Center" create an emotional terrain for users to navigate. The cyclical pathways and layered plantings act as therapeutic elements, designed to ground individuals through movement, reflection, and connection with nature.

Jury Comments

The project resonated with the jurors for its poetic symbolism and clear spatial narrative:

"A simple building with renderings that show the potentials of the proposal - but would've liked to see how the concept of labyrinth described in the concept can be developed further." — Eleena Jamil, Principal, Eleena Jamil Architect

"The geometry is very blunt. The use of wooden brisoleils and the landscaped patio is very successful..." — Juanjo Otero, Architect, MOL Arquitectura, Spain

Ozheredova's project is a compelling interpretation of healing architecture, wherein design becomes both metaphor and method for emotional and psychological care. The integration of natural forms, symbolic geometry, and therapeutic spatial programming transforms the psychotherapy center into more than just a facility—it becomes a place of quiet transformation, where architecture itself becomes part of the healing process.