Background Information
 |
| Busy New York City http://www.autostraddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/stock-footage-new-york-city-july-busy-traffic-and-crowds-of-people-in-times-square-manhattan-on-july.jpg |
 |
| Pollution of New York City http://cdn.nycitynewsservice.com/blogs.dir/9/files/2012/11/trash-image-485x250.jpg |
 |
| Crowded living with no privacy http://www.mockduck.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/the-pad3.jpg?w=300 |
 |
| Smog of the City http://www.metrolic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/0air.jpg |
 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Lake Ontario http://www.thegreatwaterway.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/baffinpaddler-paddling-lake-ontario.jpg.jpg
Living in the city can be a health risk. A study was conducted by a group of scientists to see how frowing up in the city affected a person's mind and the results were disturbing. The study concluded that people raised in the city were more ready to result to aggression in stressful situations than rural people. Also, the part of the brain (the paCC) that regulates the amygdalas (the section of brain that causes aggression) was not as active as rural people's. The noise and activity of the city poorly affects the brain. To make matters worse, the city is very unsanitary. The photos above show how filthy the city is and that can physically hurt its inhabitants' health. Instead of living in the city year round, people would have a healthier lifestyle if they went off to vacation in a place, such as Lake Ontario, in the warmer season in order to find peace and tranquility and breath in some clean, fresh air for once rather than the thick smog that covers New York City.
The climate of New York City is becomes more severe due to the large and densely packed buildings. New York has humid weather conditions with hot summers but no dry season. The air quality of New York is beginning to improve over the years but high amounts of car exhaust and second hand smoke makes the air less healthy for the inhabitants. The air quality of the Great Lakes cannot be beat! The clean, fresh air of the countryside can do wonders for the body and mind. The temperatures of Lake Ontario and the other Great Lakes are cooler than New York City.
New York City is a fast paced place. Times Square is a great example to show how hectic and busy the whole city is at all times. Those who work in NYC usually have office jobs which can become very stressful due to working in a boring work area for hours on end with projects piling up. Finding time to be alone is close to impossible since most living areas are apartments which allow neighbors to listen to each other. Broadway is one thing that NYC is very famous for, however, that is just more technology and fast paced actions. The only area to get in touch with nature is Central Park, but even there one can here the constant horn beeping and loud noises coming from the city surrounding.
Fishing with friends at a lake is a great past time
http://www.aroundosceola.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/LakeTohoFeature_102613.jpg
The lake is the perfect area to be alone and feel at ease
http://www.fow-ebook.us/images/Smallmouth_bass_Figure%209_KeyesL_final_2010.jpg
Friends can have fun in the afternoon swimming off the back of the boat
http://www.explorekawarthalakes.com/en/stay/resources/HappyDaysONE.4.jpg
Lazy days can be spent lying on lounge chairs in front of the water
http://www.beaverlakefrontcabins.com/images/chaise-lounges.jpg
The wildlife of the lakes is beautiful
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/image/vbig/90.jpg
The peace and tranquility of a lake is comparative to nothing else. The goal of the houseboat is to give the perfect lake experience to the occupants. The occupants can either lounge on the deck of the houseboat and watch nature while soaking in sun rays or be a bit more active with their day. Also, the houseboat would be perfect for people to swim or fish off the back. The main objective of the houseboat is to allow people to relax and have fun to escape the stress of their normal lives.
The ballroom has an elegant design and layout such as what the houseboat shall have
http://www.flagler.edu/sebin/l/e/Ponce-de-Leon-Ballroom-Side-Large.jpg
The barn has a natural design that I hope to recreate for the houseboat
http://www.barntoolbox.com/images/30x24HorseStable-800.jpg
The houseboat is meant to be comforting and relaxing similar to this beach scene
http://www.rockswallpaperhd.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Girls-Holidays-at-Beach-Relaxing-time-with-friends-Hd-Wallpaper.jpg
The dark hard wood gives a natural vibe in which I hope to replicate
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSoITnbfygL3sdY4af9pjHm3bJy1bxWTS1t4sSLTqBFAFb-Sf2-Hg
This nature scene is what the houseboat will copy
http://www.godfuel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/george-h-morrison.jpg
The houseboat design will be modern and energy efficient while incorporating a nature theme. The design will have an elegant layout, such as the ballroom, while having a more natural feel, such as the dark hard wood. The barn appears as a part of nature with its dark shade of hard wood which is what I am attempting to create in my houseboat design. The design will be comforting and relaxing for the user. Overall, the houseboat will have a sophisticated layout and design while remaining as a nature themed home.
A person can relax with friends on the deck with friends
http://www.beaverlakefrontcabins.com/images/chaise-lounges.jpg
A person can fish off the stern with friends or family
http://www.reelretreat.com/images/fishing%20on%20boat.jpg
Game night with friends
http://money-online-slots.net/image-poker-table-accessories_3879091.jpg
Laying under the stars at night
http://www.shreeshbokadephotography.com/img/s2/v71/p926885315-5.jpg
Beautiful lake view from every window
http://wheresrooster.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Window-view-cool.jpg
The houseboat is meant to be a fun and relaxing place for people to escape their stressful lives on vacation. The users can relax on lounge chairs to soak in sun on the deck on lazy days. Also, they could utilize the deck space by fishing off the stern of the ship or swimming around the houseboat. Also, when friends are brought upon deck, the people aboard the ship can go into the game room to enjoy a nice game of poker or other games. At night, the occupants can relax on the top deck and star gaze on the lake and can even use the telescope to get a better view of the stars. In addition, each room in the house will have access to a beautiful view of the lake because of the bountiful amount of windows in the house.
Yacht
http://www.coastal-yacht-charters.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Yacht.jpg
A yacht is similar to a houseboat because they both house people overnight while having the ability to host fun games or a relaxing setting. However, unlike a houseboat, a yacht is more for cruising around the open ocean and hosting day trips or short overnight trips. On the other hand, a houseboat is built more so for a closed body of water and to house a person for a long period of time. Both vessels are built to entertain and are designed around their living area.
Small lakeside home
http://cdn.desktopwallpapers4.me/wallpapers/world/1920x1080/2/11190-house-on-the-lakeside-1920x1080-world-wallpaper.jpg
The small lakeside house is similar to a houseboat because of the fact that they both have to compress an entire house into a small area. Also, they both have to design their structures in order to utilize the lake that they are situated next to. Both structures must incorporate all of the essential components of a household into a small area.
Deluxe pontoon boat
http://www.travelizmo.com/archives/sanpan-2200-dc-pontoon-boat-2009.jpg
A deluxe pontoon boat has the fun features of a houseboat without the living space. The occupants and friends can lounge on the pontoon boat or fish and go swimming off the boat in the lake. The houseboat has the same features available but also permits overnight stays.New York City is a place of high stress. Loud noises coming from people and vehicles are constant stress inducers for the residents of this highly populated city. Stress and noise can harmfully affect a person's mental and physical health. In this case, NYC is the area of discussion. In addition to the constant sound pollution, many jobs available in the city are office jobs which are known to cause a high rate of stress and depression due to the boredom of a desk job. After a while, a caustic mental state of mind can cause physical health problems. For example, being over stressed can cause heart problems or create a tendency toward alcoholism which can cause liver problems. The best way to avoid these medical issues is by relaxing and having an escape from one's everyday lifestyle. Noise pollution and work related stress was the topic of a study conducted to see how a person's mind that was raised in the city differed from that of one from a rural setting. A group of scientists from the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim led by Dr. Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg focused the experiment on two parts of the brain: the amygdalas and the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC). The amygdalas is involved in accessing threats and generating fear, while the pACC in turn helps to regulate the amygdalas. In the experiment, the scientists gathered people from city, suburb, and countryside settings. The scientists concluded that people who were raised in the city had their amygdalas appear more active on the scanner compared to those who were raised in small towns. Those raised in the countryside had the least active amygdalas. In addition, the pACC was acting in a particular way for each subject. The pACC was least active in subjects from cities while the rural-raised subjects had more activity. The connection between the pACC and amygdalas was discovered not to be as smooth in city subjects as it was in rural subjects. The poor connection between the two parts of the brain was also seen in those with schizophrenia, and schizophrenic people were much more likely to live in cities. This study did not prove that city dwelling led to mental illness, but it did suggest it. In addition, living in a city increased the risk for people to develop anxiety and mood disorders. These mental issues can take a physical toll on one's body. The city causes one's body to deteriorate mentally and physically. People living in a city must find time to escape their regular surroundings for the benefit of their health. They need to take time off in a place that is calm, peaceful, and not crowded. Occasional vacations lasting a few days at a time would be the best remedy to help a city person remain relatively sane while living in the city. A period of unwinding in a lounge chair by a quiet, peaceful lake can soothe even the most anxious of people. A retreat on a lake from stressful city living would be the best cure for any city dwellers suffering from anxiety. After living through weeks or even months of noisy streets and a busy work schedule, a resident of NYC would find it quite beneficial to her health to escape to a lake for a few days or more. The lake is most similar to a countryside experience due to its isolation from main stream civilization. So, as per the experiment studying the impact of stress to the brain, it was found that rural areas decreased anxiety exponentially. With that in mind, visiting rural areas, such as a lake, periodically would positively benefit one's mental and physical health. Given the lake experience, excursions on a boat would allow a person to have an even more relaxing detox from work. A boat allows friends and family to conjugate and bond in a peaceful environment. Water therapy has been used for thousands of years; relaxing in the cool lake water can clear the mind of all worries and just allow a person to focus on oneself. A lake incorporates all features necessary for a stressed and anxious city resident to escape one’s regular domain and unwind on a well-deserved vacation for the sake of one’s mental and physical health. Hopefully, with periodic trips to a lake, the unbalanced connection between the amygdalas and pACC that occurs in city people may not happen due to this vacation home. |
No comments:
Post a Comment