INPATIENT CAMHS DESIGN In conclusion
The effects of COVID have exacerbated the challenges already facing children and young people. According to a recent NHS survey (by the Lifestyles team at NHS Digital), rates of probable mental disorders among young people have increased since 2017. In 2020, one in six (16.0%) children aged 5 to 16 years was identified as having a probable mental disorder, increasing from one in nine (10.8%) in 2017. The increase was evident in both boys and girls. Spaces which protect and promote the mental health of young people are therefore more important now than ever. Projects Office believes that those spaces should challenge conventions, and respond directly to the concerns and needs of young people.
Our CAMHS project in Edinburgh was designed through conversations with young service-users, NHS staff, parents, and carers. The design priorities, thematic approach, layout, and detailing, all responded to the real needs and concerns of those who would live and work in the environment they had helped to define. This project demonstrates that listening to end-users, and keeping the conversation live throughout the design process, results in vibrant and surprising spaces that can make a real difference to peoples’ health and wellbeing.
Too often healthcare environments – even those designed for children – are
James Christian
James Christian is an architect and Director of Projects Office. 2014 Designer in Residence at London’s Design Museum; his work ‘combines robust thinking and logical solutions with elegance and colour’. He leads the studio’s architectural and interiors projects in the public and commercial sectors, and his experience includes healthcare projects, workplace design, public realm installations, and hospitality projects both in the UK and internationally. He graduated with an MA in Architecture from the Royal College of Art in 2011, and has taught at several UK universities.
Megan Charnley
Megan Charnley is a creative strategist and director of Projects Office. She leads the studio’s community consultations and research projects, developing bespoke engagement strategies for each project. She has an MA in Architecture from the Royal College of Art, and has worked in architectural and inclusive design practices in London and Barcelona, as well as executive editorial roles in several start-ups. Alongside community engagement and user-led design projects, she advises public and commercial clients on brand identity and communications.
impersonal and lack any sense of identity. It’s easy to assume that delivering designs that deviate from the norm is difficult and expensive; that fulfilling the stringent safety requirements of NHS environments precludes any innovative architectural thinking. This project defies that assumption, showing that – even within a very tight budget – it is possible for architects to deliver beautiful, comfortable, considered, and unconventional healing
spaces which comply fully with safety standards; spaces which, rather than being the background to therapy and medication, are themselves part of the toolkit which helps young people get better.
References 1 Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2020: Wave 1 follow up to the 2017 survey. NHS Digital, 22 October 2020. [
https://tinyurl.com/29th52em].
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