Client: West Hampshire NHS Trust
Location: Hampshire, UK
Size: 1.25 hectares
Skills: Architecture
Broadway Malyan's design for the Woodhaven Mental Health Unit was developed out of close collaboration with the West Hampshire NHS Trust and mental health carers with the aim of creating a more conducive and humane therapeutic environment for patients, as well as an outstanding working environment for staff. The resulting facility is aesthetically pleasing, modern and non-institutional. The scheme is centered around a striking light-filled central foyer which houses the reception area and beyond this, the communal dining and activity area. Rooflights are used throughout the building, creating a sense of space and freedom despite the need for careful security. Quiet spaces and bedrooms offer views over landscaped vistas and courtyards - an integral part of the design ethos.
The scheme comprises accommodation for 36 people, including a six-bed intensive care unit and a six-bed perinatal unit. Accommodation by gender has been included in an innovative and flexible arrangement. Acute accommodation has been designed to promote social interaction whilst providing a sense of control for the patient. Careful attention to the planning of the layout has ensured a gradual link from personal space to small group interaction and larger communal activities. The design incorporated initiatives developed CHAD - the NHS Estates Centre for Healthcare Architecture and Design.
Winner of Best Designed Mental Health Project at the NHS Building Better Healthcare Awards 2004.