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. — The New York Times
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.
8 Comments
That's a funny design for a place dedicated to brain health. Makes you nostalgic for those old school functionalists.
"For decades, psychiatric hospitals were grim settings... But new research into the health effects of our surroundings is spurring the development of facilities that feel more residential, with welcoming entrances...."
I like Frank's work but I've always thought this building is hugely offensive.
I have no idea how the windows front and center don't collect water every time it rains. They look to be tilted so the bottom corner is MOSTLY flush with the siding, but you're STILL relying on a gasket or sealant. Seems like a questionable idea. Maybe it's a rainscreen?
^ "Seems to me that deck chair should be moved ever-so-slightly to the left," said the Titanic's first officer, now standing at a 30-degree angle.
Hahahahahahaha. Tou-fucking-che.
"I have no idea how the windows front and center don't collect water every time it rains." Oh I'm sure they do. Keeping out the rain has never been Gehry's forte, even on his "good" projects.
Could you imagine what a nightmare it would have been if he had tried to put windows into Seattle's EMP!?
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