Diana Panagakis

How can we provide an opportunity for regional Victorian women and their children who live with PTSD associated with abusive events of family violence a safe place for transitional stay whilst recovering from trauma and rediscovering personal dignity?

A house with A name.

A place of safety, recovery and hope for regional Victorian women and their children living with trauma associated with family violence.

People who experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) live with overwhelmed horror and helplessness as a result of a previously unbearable and/or dangerous event. Memories and flashbacks of the situation has ongoing effects on a person’s mind, body and daily life. Psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk in the book The Body Keeps the Score describes the physical, psychological and biological traces on a person as a result of trauma.

This Design Thesis Research Project explores the daily experiences and triggers associated with chronic trauma and the subsequent mental health conditions present in women and their children who live PTSD from domestic and family violence. Secondary research has uncovered the potential for trauma recovery and community reintegration for women and their children once living securely in transitional or temporary accommodation and this will inform the architectural design interventions.

Key themes that are present within women and children who have experienced family violence inform the design strategies and decisions made in this research project. These include levels of privacy and safety; lack of self-esteem, identity and belonging; control and power; absence of autonomy and independence; feelings of isolation and detachment; mental health & social support networks.