DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE


the mental health benefits of the open air and luscious green space. The experience that IBI Group and design partner, Growth Industry, have in biophilic design was perfectly suited to the Centre’s need for accessible spaces of this kind, which have been shown to improve outcomes for CAMHS (including in HBN 03-02, Facilities for child and adolescent mental health services, to which IBI’s Mental Health lead contributed). The building’s landscaped terraces


will accommodate a wide range of service-users and staff – ranging from the clinically vulnerable, to mental health professionals and researchers. The upper- floor roof gardens also include discrete spaces for learning, therapy, recreation, and relaxation, greatly diversifying the therapeutic activities available to patients within a safe and controlled environment.


Interior design Carefully modulated accents of colour inspired by the natural landscape – from floral mauves to a deep sky blue – will appear on walls, upholstery, and signage throughout the building, both to reinforce the wayfinding ‘zoning’ of the building, and create visual breaks along the corridors and larger spaces. Meanwhile, softer, therapeutic colours are used in service-user areas such as the bedrooms, consultation and examination rooms, and treatment areas. A variety of finishes, and furniture,


fixtures, and equipment, are used throughout the interior to prevent repetition and monotony. Each building level, department zone, corridor, and room, is unique. The school on level 7 in particular has its own distinct identity. Here, service-users will feel they are stepping away from the ward area, and into a haven of calm and learning.


Biophilic design Biophilic design plays a key role in the Centre’s interiors. The canopy of a tree – a constant motif – is strongly associated with shelter, protection, and sustenance, and links the Centre’s interior to its outdoor terraces and roof gardens. Acoustic ceiling rafts cut into leaf shapes are suspended from many of the ceilings,


About David Bradley


David Bradley joined the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust as CEO in July 2019. He has extensive NHS operational experience in mental health, acute, and community services. He began his career in the NHS in 1980, and has over 20 years’ experience at board level across different NHS Trusts in London, Oxford, and Surrey – including nine years as a CEO. He is a Board member of King’s Health Partners, a Trustee of the Maudsley Charity (the UK’s largest mental health charity), and is on the advisory board of Mindful Healthcare.


He is Chair of the Cavendish Square Group, which provides a collective voice for the providers of NHS mental health services in London, and for the broader mental health community, including clinicians and patients.


Before joining the Trust, he was Chief Executive at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust. Through several award-winning change programmes, he transformed the organisation, improving the quality of services and care provided to patients. He led one of London’s most significant successful mental health development schemes with a new £180 m hospital, and an overall £1 bn redevelopment of the existing site.


THE NETWORK | NOVEMBER 2022 19


All of the young people surveyed… showed a strong preference for natural and – where artificial – dimmable light, informal design in their educational and communal spaces, subtle but bright and comfortable colours throughout, and spaces catering to the needs and interests of different age groups


including several in the school. The leaf motif also appears on signs in the form of radius corners, and a curving, colour- coded strip down one side. Natural wood doors, wood-effect flooring, and natural wood hanging panels, add to the natural feel of the building. Seat pods built into the walls along


circulation routes offer staff and service- users the opportunity for moments of rest, quiet, and privacy. Bookshelves will be integrated into these pods, as will cabinets displaying works of art made by artists in collaboration with service-users. As per the suggestions of our service- users, most artificial lighting throughout the building is dimmable, ensuring that rooms never feel like harsh, clinical environments, and are adaptable to different activities and needs.


Sustainability An in-depth energy and sustainability strategy underpins the Centre’s development. This strategy is informed by Building Regulations Part L2A – which set out energy efficiency requirements for non-residential buildings, Southwark Council’s sustainability plan ‘Be Lean, Be Clean, Be Green’, and our aim of achieving a BREEAM 2018 rating of ‘Excellent’. The Pears Maudsley Centre aims to


employ co-generation or combined heat and power (CHP), alongside passive design measures and energy-efficient technologies including ventilation system heat recovery, low velocity ductwork, low loss pipework, automated energy control systems, and natural ventilation. Upon completion the Centre aims for a positive London Plan Urban Greening Factor. The building’s extensive roof terraces support biodiversity through flower-rich perennial planting, and further support specific initiatives within the Trust’s strategic ‘green


spine’ masterplan. Social and community resilience is also addressed by the ‘green spine’ and estate development plan. With a ‘Healthy Streets’ assessment


conducted as part of the Centre’s planning process, the future Trust campus aims to provide high-quality, safe, and attractive green infrastructure to the local Camberwell and Southwark communities, as well as mental and physical health benefits for service-users, their families, and Trust employees.


Conclusion Despite not being scheduled to open its doors until the autumn of 2023, the Pears Maudsley Centre’s design is already being recognised. It was Highly Commended in both the ‘Outside Spaces’ category at the 2022 Design in Mental Awards, and the ‘Future Healthcare Design’ category at the 2021 European Healthcare Design Awards. When it does open, we are confident


that service-users and clinical and research staff will benefit from a facility designed and built with their lived experience and wellbeing in mind. The Pears Maudsley Centre will be a space of calm that facilitates dialogue, and inspires those who pass through it. It will open out onto the world, and the inherently therapeutic properties of nature, while offering a sanctuary from the pressures and noise of the everyday. It will also create an environment with the perfect conditions for a new understanding of how we can address, treat, and speak more openly about, children and young people’s mental health.


Finally, for the Trust, for people who use our services, and for our partners, it will also be a home, and one perfectly suited to meeting the clinical needs of our service-users, our research aims, and our vision for the future.


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