London studio Projects Office has used seaside-inspired colours and imagery to create a comfortable but practical interior for a mental health unit at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh.
The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) facility is designed to feel non-institutional, so as to make patients feel at ease, but to also look distinctly different than a domestic environment.
The CAMHS facility is designed to make patients feel at ease
The Projects Office team ? led by architects Bethan Kay, James Christian and Megan Charnley ? collaborated with art consultancy Ginkgo Projects on the interior, envisioning it as "a third space which is neither hospital nor home", but instead has its own identity. They developed this approach following a series of workshops and interviews with young patients, their parents and staff members.
These sessions, carried out with help from artist James Leadbitter, helped the architects understand many of the subtle details that can make a big difference to how patients feel in a space.
The inpatient communal lounge includes a lighthouse-inspired den
For instance, the bedrooms are designed so that occupants can easily personalise then, giving them a feeling of ownership. But they can easily reverted after patients are discharged, giving a clean slate to the next resident.
"At a time of stretched NHS funding and increased demand for mental health services, we believe that good design is a ...