Date of Award

Spring 4-2025

Degree Type

Capstone Project

First Advisor

Dustin Altschul

Second Advisor

Kimberly Buchholz

Abstract

Military personnel sacrifice their lives to safeguard the country yet often return to inadequate living conditions that fail to support their needs after facing the rigors of duty. Beyond Barracks explores the impact of military housing on the mental health and well-being of service members.Prevalent concerns such as insufficient privacy, limited space, and poor facility conditions can exacerbate the physical and emotional challenges already faced by those in service, diverting their energy from service duties to unnecessary complications.

This body of research and design examines the shortcomings and successes of current military housing to provide a comprehensive overview and identify more supportive solutions. By reimagining military housing, the goal is to create environments that build mental resilience and enhance occupant quality of life while maintaining military order and functionality.

Through interdisciplinary research, including collaboration with active-duty and retired military personnel, Beyond Barracks builds an understanding of the correlation between living environments and mental health. It employs qualitative methods, such as interviews and surveys, to gather firsthand accounts of living conditions and their effects on service members.Additionally, quantitative data is analyzed to identify correlations between housing conditions and mental health outcomes. The study focuses on various aspects of military housing, including space adequacy, privacy, maintenance, and access to essential amenities.

This capstone project proposes recommendations for remedying military housing by prioritizing the needs of service members within the design process and applying evidence-based research to ensure they live in healthy, functional, and dignified spaces.

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