Blossom Court: Lessons Learnt From a Two-Storey Inpatient Unit

Synopsis

Completed in 2020, the Blossom Court inpatient building at St Ann’s Hospital in London represents a new approach to design for mental health within a constrained site. The unique two-storey arrangement sees four wards stacked around two terraced courtyards, creating a positive focal point for patients, and an abundance of natural light. A calming interior with views to nature enhances the therapeutic environment, promoting patient wellbeing and recovery, and improving the working lives of NHS staff.

The courtyard layout provides private and discretely secure space for patients without the need for fences or walls around the building’s perimeter. In doing so, demanding functional requirements are incorporated inconspicuously to create a normalised environment. With a simple palette of good quality brickwork, the building is designed to integrate with the surrounding community, to foster pride and de-stigmatise the mental health services being provided.

Initial feedback following completion was that seclusion and rapid tranquilisation of patients had significantly reduced, while physical restraint almost entirely stopped, allowing better focus on the recovery of patients compared to previous accommodation. This presentation will look at a more comprehensive body of evidence gathered during the building’s first five years of operation, from its general arrangement to details and selection of materials, and explore lessons that can be learnt to inform future developments of its kind.