Step Exhibitions
Prisma Behavioural Health Hospital – CannonDesign
Nominee Information
More than 2 million individuals in South Carolina live in an area without enough mental health professionals, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Prisma Health is aiming to close that gap through a new inpatient behavioural health hospital in Greenville, South Carolina. Designed to replace the aging Marshall Pickens Psychiatric Hospital, the new facility will dramatically expand capacity, offering 112 beds compared to the current 65. The 134,600-square-foot hospital will serve as a critical response to the increasing demand for mental healthcare, providing modern resources and infrastructure to better support adult, aging adults, and adolescent patients and their families.
The architectural approach centres on creating a healing environment that promotes recovery and wellness. The design prioritizes natural light and therapeutic spaces, fostering a sense of calm and dignity. Unit porches, outdoor courtyards and green spaces are integrated into the layout, offering patients access to nature.
The design patient experience was heavily influenced by the hospitality industry. Pushing to reduce any institutional feel and related stigma, spaces immediately welcome and put people at ease. Personalization is made possible by creating a variety of seating types in every patient-accessible space. In the dining rooms, there is an option to sit at a counter looking out the window or to sit more socially at a table. There is also a focus on wellness and connection to nature, both visually and physically throughout the facility. The project also focuses on staff well-being and respite. Staff break rooms, all with views of nature, and staff respite rooms populate the facility, while staff walking paths through the woods are provided along the north side of the building.
The hospital will emphasize operational efficiency for healthcare providers as well. With strategically-planned workflows and innovative layouts, the facility will empower staff to deliver high-quality care in a supportive environment. The design incorporates evidence-based strategies to ensure safety, privacy, and flexibility, reflecting Prisma Health’s commitment to providing cutting-edge mental health services.
Flexibility and adaptability were also key drivers to planning strategies of the hospital. The hospital will serve three unique patient populations: adults, older adults, and adolescents. It was important to find the right balance between a universal unit design approach to stay flexible for changing future census while adjusting the design for each patient population’s needs. Built-in unit flexibility allows Prisma to serve patient populations of today but adapt to meet the needs of the future. On a smaller scale, the inpatient units are organized with the bed wings adjacent to one another with the ability to swing beds from the adult units to the adolescent units (up to four at a time) as census changes.
By focusing on hospitality and ease of access to nature, this facility will help reduce stigma with the flexibility to adapt to future mental health needs. Aiming to redefine standards for behavioural health care, it will be a sanctuary for healing, recovery and hope. It is for these reasons that the project is worthy of recognition.
