Archinect - News

Demand for mental health facilities on the rise

2021-01-07T11:32:00-05:00

For decades, psychiatric hospitals were grim settings where patients were crowded into common rooms by day and dorms at night. But new research into the health effects of our surroundings is spurring the development of facilities that feel more residential, with welcoming entrances, smaller living units within larger buildings and a variety of gathering spaces.

Architecture and interior design firms have reported an increase in demand for mental health facilities, writes Jane Margolies for The New York Times. "At the design firm Architecture+ in Troy, N.Y., one or two major mental health facilities are typically in the pipeline, with total construction costs for those projects at about $250 million a year, said Francis Murdock Pitts, a principal and founding partner. Last year, the firm was working on 16 large mental health projects totaling about $1.9 billion," she explains.

Moreover, Margolies goes on to outline a case for an "evidence-based" design approach intended to "lessen patient and employee stress and aggression" in hopes of facilitating a more fruitful treatment process.

How patients would redesign the psychiatric ward

2016-07-25T21:04:00-04:00

[James] Leadbitter called it “a playful and exciting space for redesigning madness, a utopian attempt at what a mental health hospital could be like.” Each structure...is an abstract interpretation of the feedback from the workshops, designed to offer varying levels “of privacy and intimacy ranging from total isolation to complete togetherness.” “This is only a small glimpse of a project that has huge potential to influence the way we think about the design of mental health care environments,”

More than 300 patients, architects, and psychiatrists pitched their ideas on how they would redesign the psychiatric ward for “Madlove: A Designer Asylum”, a collaborative project conceived by artist and activist James Leadbitter, who has suffered from mental illness and has stayed at several psychiatric wards himself. Leadbitter wanted to address the direct negative effects that terribly designed wards have on patients.

Richardson-Olmsted Complex Reuse to Include Boutique Hotel

2013-01-28T15:29:00-05:00

The redevelopment of the Richardson Olmsted Complex will...transform the former Buffalo State Hospital from a place of healing to one of hospitality. The design builds upon Olmsted's original intent while conserving existing resources, preserving the fabric of the space, and creating connections and purpose.