The animals were cared for, but not alive in spirit.
Before the Healing Glass House, our school animals lived in an empty classroom under artificial light. They were fed and protected, but the turtles barely moved, the rabbits seemed withdrawn, and the room felt more like storage than shelter.
When I began designing a campus healing space, I realized that students were not the only ones who needed a better environment. So I moved the animals into a glass house with sunlight, plants, and space for students to visit. The room became less like a therapy room and more like a place people naturally wanted to enter.
This project taught me that care does not always need to announce itself. Sometimes, it works best when it feels like life.