London, UK - Healthcare
A new mental health outpatient facility for Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust. The facility provides clinical and administration accommodation over four floors, collaboration spaces, as well as a café on the ground floor for the local community to use.
A leading aim for the design was to address the stigma that often exists around mental illness, which can cause feelings of exclusion from society, through the building’s urban context. Our approach creates a facility which is accessible to all and helps blur the boundaries between the service and the community to engender feelings of belonging. The facility is part of the St Pancras Transformation Programme that aims to improve the Trust’s facilities across both Boroughs.
The layout respects the various users across the building. Clinical spaces including counselling, treatment and group activity rooms are allocated on the upper floors, whilst more collaborative spaces, multifunctional rooms and open plan offices for staff, are located on the ground floor.
Wellbeing is prioritised throughout the building, including two terraces with breakout spaces for staff, and clear colour coded signage dedicated to each floor to ensure all service users can confidently navigate the building.
The design sits balanced and respectfully within the neighbouring buildings, with elegant architecture, quality materials, and a landscaped pocket park forming a welcoming approach for service users, staff and visitors alike.
Balancing site constraints with the requirement for a large amount of accommodation posed a challenge for the team. We collaborated with the client, residents, the local authority planners and daylight/sunlight consultants to ensure the architectural solution delivered met each parties’ requirements.
