Artwork, Interiors, and Design


involved activity – fishing, boating, swimming, canoeing,” explained Sue Mayfield, “and when I commented on this, one service-user said that ‘not many of us get to go fishing, because we can’t go outside’. The realities of living for many years within an institutionalised environment were apparent in choices focussed more on the soothing aspects of water, than on its potential for leisure and adventure.” Safety, containment, and mutual support,


‘River’-themed vinyl wall panels by Alison Milner in the ward dining room. The theme ‘rivers’ was selected to link the new unit both to the local landscape, and to the history of the hospital site.


emotions through poetry. Emily Malins, senior project


manager from Willis Newson, ran the workshops, with artist, Ali Brown, and writer, Sue Mayfield, both selected for their creative engagement skills and ability to work with this user group. At Willis Newson we often use creative engagement in healthcare projects, finding it particularly appropriate where service-users have a strong stake in the design, as at Three Bridges, where the people we were engaging with were moving into the new building, and could see their choices and words being used.


Workshop 1 – Visual The theme ‘rivers’ was selected to link the new unit both to the local landscape, and to the history of the hospital site (it is located on the Grand Union Canal), where many existing buildings are named after rivers. This is also a term which has particular resonance in this context, as it is often used in discussions with service-users when talking about recovery. Ali Brown led the first workshop, using the


theme and the technique of map-making to explore the vision for Thames Lodge, and the look and feel service-users wanted. “We explored how you flow through the landscape of the hospital, like a river flows through landscape,” she explained. “We were thinking about the day and the week in the unit, mapping them, and exploring how service- users feel in different parts of the unit at different times of the day or week. We mapped the landscape of the day – uphill, downhill, and at flat times.” The maps and responses of service-users were fed back to writer, Sue Mayfield, via phone calls and discussions with Willis Newson project manager, Emily Malins, to inform the second service-user workshop.


Workshop 2 – Language “I was very well prepared,” Sue Mayfield explained. “I even walked at the source of the Thames to get a feel for the origins of a major river. I was very tuned into the theme of rivers by the time I ran the workshop.” Sue Mayfield ran three activities which explored the ‘rivers’ theme through language. She laid out pictures of rivers and water so these were the first thing people saw as they came in, and then invited participants to choose an image and comment


also emerged as themes, and there was a noticeable sense of the hospital, the staff, and the group, providing a calm and ‘holding’ environment. People seemed to feel a sense of identification with the river – a feeling that it somehow heard and understood them, and that, like it, their lives were in flux, but also bounded by banks.


upon it. “Most participants were drawn to calming images of water,” she explained. “As people spoke, we wrote down their comments and reflections – words and phrases – and used these in the second activity, which involved creating two ‘group poems’, focusing on a calm image of water – appropriate to a calm space in the new development, and a more high-energy image – suitable for the gym or a social area.”


ARTICULATE COMMENTS All participants made clear and decisive choices about a particular picture, and spoke about their image in powerful and articulate ways, using rich vocabulary. There was a sense of words pouring out of people in a torrent, and we were hard-pressed to capture all the words. The quality and depth of the engagement


was immediately apparent – a result of thoughtful management and delivery of the project by Emily Malins, the artists, and, in particular, the Trust personnel, who worked hard to encourage and promote attendance at events, and to set the tone for a supportive, open, collaborative feel for service-users.


SUCCESS OF ‘RIVERS’ THEME The ‘rivers’ theme worked extremely well. There was a strong sense of connection to the pictures of water, and in particular to images of quietness and calm. Most people chose images without human detail – aerial shots of river courses and peaceful pictures with gentle colours. “There was less interest in pictures that


‘We wanted to deliver an environment that felt warm, homely, and welcoming, turning a clinical building into something that feels more like a home’


PARTICIPANTS’ OWN JOURNEYS In the second part of the workshop, participants thought about their own journeys – geographical, personal, and emotional – and devised ‘stream poems’, writing these along pre-printed river outlines created at the visual workshop with Ali Brown. This worked brilliantly, and added a playful dimension to the task, as well as a satisfying sense of continuity from Workshop 1 to Workshop 2. The ‘stream poems’ gave quieter members of the group more opportunity to write reflectively and personally, and for everyone’s voice to be heard. Members of staff helped those who were less confident and, in a couple of cases, wrote down the service-users’ spoken words on their behalf. The workshop concluded with the


performance and sharing of these poems, and a discussion about consent – whether or not the Trust could retain service-users’ words and use them within the development design brief. As with the talking exercise at the beginning, the concluding time of speaking aloud/sharing the poems was powerful and moving. Service-users seemed genuinely keen to read their poems, and touched when people responded warmly and applauded. There was a feeling of pride and achievement in the room, and a genuine feeling that service-users’ voices were being heard and valued. Sue Mayfield commented: “I was blown away by the level of engagement. The theme really caught people’s imagination. There was genuine interest among those participating in their words being used within the new unit. Everyone gave consent, and it was really wholehearted.” The words and ideas from Sue Mayfield’s


writing workshop were fed back to designer, Alison Milner, who used many of these poems as they were written, transcribed onto the walls of the new unit.


Workshop 3 – Closing the circle The third workshop, led by both Ali Brown and Alison Milner, continued the work with words and pictures, and also presented the designs being developed by the latter to service-users for their consideration and input. The pair worked with service-users making 3D collages using Alison Milner’s proposed colour palette and imagery, as well as the poems from Workshop 2, and she also showed service- users and staff 3D models she had made to show the scale and position of the dining room


THE NE TWORK J u l y 2016 25


Photos courtesy of John Sturrock.


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