ARTWORKS
AUH Psychiatry
The AUH Psychiatry unit in Skejby, Aarhus, was built through public- private partnership, and has a total area of 51,000 m2
. It includes 260
single rooms divided between general units for adults, children, and adolescents, as well as forensic units, a psychiatric emergency ward, training facilities, and outpatient clinics for adults, children, and adolescents. The facilities also include areas for staff, operations, and administration. The hospital is physically connected to the acute hospital. The development of AUH Psychiatry followed the principles of healing architecture, with a focus on daylight, indoor climate, landscaping, art, and colours. The psychiatric facility opened in 2019.
Key facts
Outdoor spaces at AUH Psychiatry that encourage the imagination and support play. When playing the child can momentarily overcome fear and emotional distress.
ensured that the architecture and art were well integrated and well executed. This involved close collaboration, with regular meetings and tests along the way, including mock-ups, and the exchange of digital models for visualisation throughout the process. Well-integrated art can only be
successful when physical, mental, and social needs are met. Mental healthcare patients can be particularly sensitive to stimuli from all three parameters, and often spend longer periods in facilities compared with physically unwell patients, which imposes heightened requirements for art in psychiatric care. Building- integrated art is the culmination of several design solutions that together demonstrate consideration for users, especially in psychiatric facilities.
Conditions for working with art in hospitals When working with art in a hospital, it is important to remember that ‘not all buildings are as densely packed with human presence and substance as a hospital environment’, and that there is vulnerability present among both patients and relatives, making the impact of art on people’s mental states significant, and necessitating being taken seriously. This means that artistic statements can easily have unintended effects. This makes it extremely challenging to orient oneself artistically in a hospital environment. However, when one is aware of this, with careful planning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and skillful execution, the benefits of building-integrated art can be reaped. An important function of art in a hospital is its ability to provide distraction by giving those viewing and experiencing it a break from serious
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thoughts and concerns about their own or their loved ones’ lives and health. Art can initiate conversations between people, and thereby support social contact and community. Additionally, art can contribute to increasing users’ acceptance of, and identification with, the place and building. As Swedish-Danish visual artist,
Leonard Forslund, says: “The importance of art in a hospital environment can, at its best, create an anchor, a hope, and a deeper understanding of life.”
Element of contrast in an otherwise clinical world At the same time, art introduces an element of contrast into an otherwise clinical world, where texture and colour can soften an institutional expression. Similarly, architecture can create a balance between an institutional and homely expression through the choice of materials, surfaces, and colours, in consultation between clinical staff, the architect, and the users.
Healthcare personnel spend a significant amount of time in hospitals and other medical facilities, so the spaces need to function both as temporary homes for patients, and as working environments. This places high demands on the working environment and operations, and architectural design and integration of artwork can ensure that art does not compromise the work environment in terms of functional and operational requirements such as hygiene and maintenance. At the same time, art can contribute positively to an inspiring work environment, and the staff can use art as a diversion by drawing the patient’s attention to the art in an otherwise difficult situation.
l Client: Region Central Jutland. l PPP Investor: Nordstern. l Building operations: Wicotec Kirkebjerg.
l Architects and landscaping: Arkitema.
l Engineer: Sweco. l Art consultant: IN SITU. l Artists: TalR, Eva Koch, Randi & Katrine.
l Location: Skejby, Aarhus, Denmark. l Total area: 51,000 m2
: 41,000 m2
for adult and child psychiatry and a further 10,000 m2 psychiatry.
for forensic
Within the new AUH Skejby Psychiatric Department, a part of the artwork in the main foyer consists of large freestanding room-height wooden shelves, carefully organised like a three-dimensional collage to display former patients’ paintings. Besides being beautiful, they help tell a story, and create a sense of comfort and belonging, preserving the history and culture of former patients and the old hospital. These shelves also act as room dividers, creating smaller waiting areas within the large room. Another part of the artwork is sculptural furniture with woollen textiles, providing warmth and homeliness that helps create a calm and comfortable environment. A robust wool fabric was developed by the textile company, Kvadrat, which was acceptable to the hospital’s Infection Prevention & Control team for use in selected common areas. The variety of sculptural furniture provides a range of seating options, and ensures that there is a place for everyone, regardless of their preferences. The expressive colours in the arrival area, together with the use of wood
NOVEMBER 2023 | THE NETWORK
Photo used courtesy of Gert Skaerlund
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