When Life Hands You Lemons, Make Lemonade

Interviews with key players in the City of Sault Ste. Marie have revealed that one of the main hindrances to the rejuvenation of the downtown core is the opioid crisis. The negative stigma associated with drug addiction is having an extremely negative impact on the quality of life in the city. Plastic surgery will not heal the problem. The disease needs to be addressed head-on. This thesis proposes a network of rehabilitation spaces as a new, necessary and positive institution in the city. Combining rehabilitation clinics with additional programs that can help patients to establish drug free lifestyles is an opportunity to educate the public regarding addiction disease. The intention is not only to rehabilitate the individual, but indirectly the community and built environment as well. Drug rehabilitation strategies will be reinterpreted as design strategies for addressing the existing deteriorating fabric.