National Forensic Mental Health Service Hospital: Three Year POE

Synopsis

Designed by Scott Tallon Walker Architects in association with Medical Architecture and opened in 2022, The National Forensic Mental Health Hospital in County Dublin, represented a once-in-a-generation step-change in the design of facilities for mental health services in Ireland.

Located on a 10-hectare woodland site, the 25,000m² campus replaced the existing Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum, and accommodates 170 high, medium, and low secure mental health beds. The accommodation is laid out as a series of single storey pavilion buildings around a pedestrianised ‘village green’ which contains peaceful gardens for patient amenity and therapeutic activities. Intuitive wayfinding is achieved through a site-wide narrative of colour, art, and landscaping.

The project brief and subsequent design were heavily focused around providing a safe, secure and healing environment that contributes to a patient’s recovery. This included:

• Strategic masterplanning and arrangement of accommodation to optimise the existing topology, mature woodland setting and long coastal views.
• Adopting a set of very clear planning principles to manage safety and security, while providing freedom of movement for patients
• Addressing the competing requirements of observation with the quality of space, daylight and views
• Creating high quality internal environments that will endure
• High quality landscaping and space for activity to create community, and a meaningful day for patients
• Accommodating differing services and future adaptability through standardisation of design.

In 2023, the building won International New Build Project of the Year and the Outside Space of the Year, at the DIMH Awards. The facility was hailed for setting a new standard in mental health facility design in Ireland. The presentation will look at evidence gathered during the building’s first three years of operation, and lessons that can be learnt to inform future developments of its kind.