INPATIENT CAMHS DESIGN
Inpatient communal space with coastal-inspired interior design, including lighthouse retreat space and maritime signal pennant feature lighting. There are several activity zones with ‘seating nooks’ that offer the opportunity to retreat from the action.
and an Intensive Treatment Service, these facilities were housed in a comparatively modern building with plenty of natural light. The second unit, providing a day programme for children up to 12 years’ old, was accommodated in a pair of large Victorian houses set within ample gardens on an otherwise residential street. Although both the existing buildings were tired, the staff and service-users were greatly attached to their existing sites, with many voicing concern about the implications of the proposed relocation. The complexity of the new hospital project had necessitated a considerable amount of consultation over the years, and many staff were also beginning to suffer from the inevitable ‘engagement fatigue’ which results from a lot of discussion but little action.
A bespoke, in-depth engagement process
Acutely aware of this fatigue, and keen to avoid intensifying it, we devised a programme of workshops to reignite enthusiasm for the relocation, as well as to facilitate meaningful dialogue between all stakeholders as the driving force behind the new designs. A key part of this approach was the continuation of our collaboration with artist, James Leadbitter, better known as the vacuum cleaner, a London-based artist and mental health service-user. His hugely impactful Madlove project runs workshops with mental health service-users, professionals, families, and carers, to reimagine mental health support, inviting participants to imagine what James Leadbitter describes as ‘a safe space to go mad’.
Crowd-sourcing of ideas Projects Office had already worked with this artist on a number of commissions of iterations of Madlove, for institutions including the Wellcome Collection and FACT, Liverpool. The Madlove workshops typically comprise different exercises, moving from a sensorial exploration of good mental health – asking questions such as ‘What does good mental health look, sound, smell, and taste like?’ – through
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to explorations of more pragmatic notions of comfort, care, and wellbeing. As architects, we ‘spatialised’ the crowd- sourced ideas from the workshop to create installations, models, and architectural propositions. Our designs took the workshops’ highly conceptual ideas to create objects and spaces which could be inhabited and activated, bringing the narratives emerging through the many conversations to life.
To initiate the CAMHS Edinburgh commission, we worked with James Leadbitter to run a programme of workshops over a three-day period. These sessions augmented the established Madlove structures with additional exercises specific to the CAMHS project context. The ‘suitcase’ exercise, for example, tasked participants to think about aspects of the existing CAMHS units that they would like to take with them to the
new hospital, and what they’d like to leave behind.
‘Tailored’ workshops
It was critical that the workshops were tailored to the specific needs of the varied participants, and that everyone involved felt comfortable taking part. Our team ran a workshop for the children in the under- 12s day programme, while their parents and carers took part in a simultaneous workshop in another part of the building. For the 12-to-18-year-olds we ran a poster campaign to encourage participation, and scheduled a workshop for their parents and carers at a convenient time just after evening visiting hours. CAMHS staff were on hand to provide support where needed, and we made sure that it was possible for participants to take time out subtly, as needed. The staff workshop brought together a broad cross-section of teams from both existing sites, and participants ranged from clinical staff and occupational therapists, to receptionists and cleaners. The workshops were fascinating and informative sessions, which underlined the emotional and practical importance of well-designed spaces for mental health. As well as transcribing the wide range of responses and discussions, we commissioned local illustrator, Rosemary Cunningham, to document discussions through ‘live drawing’ in each workshop. These drawings not only provided an essential visual record of the conversations, but also provided useful distraction for anyone who felt at all uncomfortable, and offered a non-verbal way to communicate.
The interior of the lighthouse is designed to be a cosy space for reading or quiet conversation, while maintaining necessary sightlines for staff observation.
Exhibition and de-brief session To conclude the three days of workshops, we presented an exhibition of the drawings, and held a debrief session with staff members to discuss the emerging ideas and get feedback on the process. This was the start of an ongoing process of conversations and design iterations, which involved a cross-section of staff from the outset, and invited them on the design journey. By keeping this dialogue going throughout the design stages, and by ensuring clear communications about
JANUARY 2022 | THE NETWORK
©French + Tye
©French + Tye
©French + Tye
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