In February 2017 a new psychiatric hospital opened in the Danish city of Vejle. Since the opening, the hospital has registered a 50 percent decrease in physical restraint and it is widely acknowledged for its healing architecture. This was underlined in mid-June when the hospital won the Mental Health Design category at the European Healthcare Design Awards 2018 in competition with mental health buildings from all over the world.
Photography: Niels Nygaard
Vejle Psychiatric Hospital is designed by Arkitema Architects as part of a Public-Private Partnership, where the PPP team designs, build and run the building. The idea of the hospital was to create a visionary mental health hospital with 91 beds, children?s ambulatory, psychiatric ER and ECT. The background for the project is a regional focus on outpatient treatment. Thus, the new hospital supports the treatment of patients with intensive and complex behavioral conditions which require hospitalization. Photography: Niels Nygaard
A primary design focus has been on a visionary healthcare design which encourages physical activity and minimalizes forceful intervention. During the design process, the focus was to create the best possible surroundings for patients as well as employees. This is done by ensuring ample light throughout the building, easy access to nature and outdoor spaces, transparent wards with easy overviews, and a well thought layout.

In the layout extroverted functions such as ER reception and children?s ps...