MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University interior architecture seniors designed a space for students to relax and recharge on campus in repurposed space within the Health, Wellness and Recreation Center.

Located in Health Services, the Relaxation Station includes two massage chairs available to reserve, desks and chairs for studying, an activity table, positive message boards, a hot and cold water dispenser for students who’d like to make tea or coffee, and a selfie mirror.

Appointments are open to reserve 30-minute time slots for the massage chairs. Students can click here to reserve a spot by logging in with their MTSU credentials, clicking “Schedule an Appointment” and then selecting the “Relaxation Station at Health Services.”

Paula Harnack, interior architecture lecturer, led her senior students in designing a space that would allow students to take a break from classes to rest and relax.

An open house for the station was held Dec. 3 in the Rec Center atrium where students could tour the space, make a yogurt parfait and create their own meditation stone. Several students and faculty gave remarks.

‘We overlook the impact of just resting’

“One of our mottos that we try to instill in our student leaders is ‘how would the world be better because you woke up today?’” said Michai Mosby, Student Government Association president, to the interior architecture students. “This is one of those testaments to how our campus is better because you decided to be a part of this change.”

Mosby continued, “It’s not just for our current students. It’s for the future Blue Raiders to enjoy something that you all had a part in.” 

“Be proud of this moment. It’s one of those moments you’ll tell your children about that you created a living room space in the Campus Recreation Center and Health Services.”

Khalilah Doss, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, emphasized the importance of this addition in supporting students’ mental health.

“There are different pockets on our campus that you can go for specific things. I think, though, we overlook the impact of just resting, relaxing, taking a breath and taking a moment,” Doss said, noting later that “if you say you want students to reengage and reenergize and recharge, that is what we need to invest these resources in.”

Peter Grandjean, dean of the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, where the interior architecture program is housed, thanked the students for designing the space.

“It’s just making our world a lot better, so thank you,” he said.

Designing the space

Rick Chapman, director of the Student Health Center, led the charge to introduce a relaxation space. He was inspired by Counseling Services’ “Zen Den,” which has been highly popular and stays booked.

“We believe students need places to recreate, socialize, eat, study and relax,” Chapman said. “The space was designed for students to unplug from their busy schedules and relax.”

Chapman came to Harnack asking if her class would design a space that would be accommodating and relaxing for students. She divided her senior class into groups and designated different design elements of the space, such as lighting, flooring and furniture.

Her class then created a spreadsheet to determine where they’d source their items from, how much it would cost to purchase them as well as any installation and delivery costs, and the time it would take for everything to be delivered. They had to make reselections along the way to ensure the center would be completed before the semester’s end.

The class pitched the design ideas to Chapman and later the rest of his staff and then began the implementation process. 

“It’s been hard, but they learned a lot through it, and I think they’re all very proud of it,” Harnack said. “They learned about project management. They learned about what can go wrong, so I think it turned out to be a good project. It was perfect.”

Chapman added, “Paula and the students have done an outstanding job curating this project.”

‘Wanted it to feel very connected to nature’

Maris Fullerton, senior interior architecture major, gave remarks at the open house about her experience.

“Whenever we designed this space, we just really knew we wanted something memorable,” she said.

The 24-year-old from Lewisburg said they implemented biophilia concepts in the center, which is designing something to connect one with nature, to make the space more calming, so the students used a blue and green color palette for the center.

“We also wanted to make the space really accessible for everybody,” Fullerton said. “We have quite a large range of students here on campus, so we really wanted it to be a place everybody could use.”

Maddie Depp, senior interior architecture major from Spring Hill, echoed Fullerton’s point about focusing on biophilia design elements, saying, “We just wanted it to feel very connected to nature.”

She explained that the center’s main room has a mixture of blues and greens while the two rooms connected to it are themed separately — one being blue and the other green.

Depp, 21, noted that using warm-toned lighting was important to establish a “warm and cozy” feeling. The students put a pendant light in the main room along with sunset and wave lamps in the two connecting rooms with the massage chairs.

“It came together super nicely, and we’re really proud of how it turned out,” she said.

Hopes for the future

Doss mentioned the possibility of introducing similar spaces within other buildings on campus.

Josh Stone, interim co-director and associate director of programs of Campus Recreation, hopes to implement a similar space in the Campus Recreation Center in the future.

“They did such a good job creating a student-friendly, student-centered space, and that’s what we hope to do in Campus Recreation,” he said. “We revaluate all of our spaces, getting student-driven input into what we do and making a space a little bit more friendly for our students and one that actually shows school pride.

“Our community is based upon being a Blue Raider, and we want to make sure that’s reemphasized in how we make the Rec Center and how we design the Rec Center in future spaces.”

“It’s a great day to be a Blue Raider because we overlook mental health often, so this is giving our students space to relax, to recuperate and to rejuvenate, and I’m sure that our students will much appreciate this space and all the future spaces to come,” Mosby said.

— Maddy Williams (Maddy.Williams@mtsu.edu)