Grange University Hospital, Specialist Inpatient Service Unit for Mental Health – Arcadis

Nominee Information

Arcadis was commissioned as architects, landscape architects and interior

designers to design its new 73-bed inpatient unit, taking the form of an integrated, low secure healthcare setting that is carefully planned to offer the best support for adults and older adults with mental health illness and for people with learning disabilities.

The unit’s design places great emphasis on service user wellbeing and reintroduction into community. This was achieved early in the planning process by establishing an innovative building arrangement, centred around ‘rings of recovery’ informed by the ‘recovery model’ of care. The proposal combines several complementary services that work together to surround service users with adequate support to have a more normalised pathway to recovery and rehabilitation within a community setting. This project looks beyond pure function for today’s needs and instead towards a more sustainable and forward-thinking wellbeing model, very much in line with the aims behind the Welsh Well-being of Future Generations Act. This calls for more holistic thinking about how any intervention may impact society in the future, not only by reimagining what a mental health unit looks and feels like but also by delivering environmental benefits.

This is reinforced by developing wards that cater to the specific recovery needs of admitted service users. Each unit will have access to a therapeutic outdoor space, such as courtyards or recreational green spaces, and natural daylight. The strategic positioning of the site next to a mature lining of trees also supports the calming nature of the facility.

At the heart of the new unit at the Grange is a community hub, including a mental health drop-in centre, with access to therapeutic garden spaces and views of the surrounding trees and agricultural land. A café close to the entrance will be run by the service users and accessible to the public. This removes the ‘barriers and stigma associations of mental health by creating welcoming, warm places that encourage people in.

The therapy spaces are referred to as a ‘therapy village’ that is accessible by the community and wards. This sharing of therapy spaces on a bookable basis means that the space is truly flexible and can be fully utilised and accessible to all. The configuration and character of this ‘shared’ area was informed by a broad and creative stakeholder engagement process bringing all parties from community representation to inpatient service users together to re-imagine the therapy environment.

Collaboration between staff members is encouraged via shared offices facilities and break-out spaces encouraging more open communication. Evidenced based design will support more efficient and effective multi-disciplinary working practices. Moreover, improved inter-relationships between services will enable knowledge sharing and lead to a better quality of patient care.

The 9,941sqm new facility will be designed to meet the requirements of the ‘NHS Wales Decarbonisation Strategic Delivery Plan 2021- 2030’, targeting Net Zero Carbon. The building targets >600 kg/m3 embodied carbon through innovative use of sips and mass timber construction and working with a low Carbon Brick manufacturer to establish production in South Wales.