During the second week of November, the architecture firm NBBJ launched a podcast series called Uplift, that focuses on the transformative power of design. Its first 30-minute episode homed in on designing for behavioral health facilities, a hot topic given the increasing number of new construction and renovation projects in this subsector.
The podcast featured Dr. Susan Swick, Executive Director of Montage Health’s Ohana Center for Health in Monterey, Calif., which NBBJ designed and is scheduled to open later this year; Ed Cheshire, Architectural Project Manager for Nationwide Children’s Hospital Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio, which opened on March 1, 2020 and was codesigned by NBBJ and Architecture Plus; and Daphne Corona, Project Manager and Senior Associate with NBBJ in Los Angeles. Dr. Heena Sandry, an acute care surgeon who consults with NBBJ’s teams, hosted the panel.
Clients want facility design that destigmatizes mental health treatment, said Corona. “They want inspirational properties that are accessible and nonthreatening. The days of institutional lockdown are past.” Corona added the latest mental health facilities are being designed as “all-in-one” centers that combine acute inpatient and outpatient services, and are available to all populations.
The Ohana and Nationwide projects, though very different, illustrate how facilities design can support treatment. Swick noted that the 55,600-sf Ohana Center’s low-rise buildings form a serpentine shape that curves around a coastal site whose terrain provides a natural barrier for safety and security. Occupants have access to interconnecting courtyards, green spaces, and walking paths.
The center will include an outpatient treatment wing, 16 inpatient beds, rooms for one-on-one and family counseling, indoor and outdoor recreational and quiet spaces, a kitchen and dining area, a family resource center, space for community activities, classrooms for inpatient youth, and space for training and workshops.
Corona elaborated that Ohana Center’s physical design and landscaping are based on neuroscience principles that boost occupants’ executive function and personal agency, increase immune system health, and combat fatigue among caregivers. It is also one of the largest healthcare buildings to use mass timber, whose modular components contribute to its low-carbon impact.
Cheshire, who has been with Nationwide Children’s Hospital for 16 years, said that the design of the 386,000-sf Behavioral Health Pavilion also used natural wood to convey a “warm and welcoming” space.
This is an urban building, and it was important to design it to allow as much natural light as possible to stream into the inpatient units. The design emphasizes “neighborhoods” within each of the pavilion’s nine floors that encourage occupant and staff interaction. The pavilion also offers education and instruction about nutrition and physical activities.
Swick and Cheshire agreed that health systems don’t make money from behavioral healthcare, and that insurance reimbursement for services rendered can be like pulling teeth. The good news is that each of these projects is an example of philanthropic largesse: The Ohana Center is the beneficiary of a $106 million gift from Roberta Bialek Elliott, a longtime local resident who happens to be the sister of billionaire investor Warren Buffett; and the $159 million Nationwide Pavilion defrayed its cost with a $50 million pledge from Columbus-based retailer Big Lots Stores, which in turn brought in other donors.
Chesmire said he has been buoyed by the “community conversation” about Columbus’ mental health crisis, in search for solutions. He singled out “frontline pediatricians” who are active in prevention. Swick said she’s convinced that the number of young Americans struggling with mental health disorders can be reduced substantially through human investment and care. “I think about hope all the time, and hope is deep and real.”
Listen to NBBJ's podcast episode, "How to Design Now for the Behavioral Health Crisis."
Related Stories
| Oct 13, 2010
Maryland replacement hospital expands care, changes name
The new $120 million Meritus Regional Medical Center in Hagerstown, Md., has 267 beds, 17 operating rooms with high-resolution video screens, a special care level II nursery, and an emergency room with 53 treatment rooms, two trauma rooms, and two cardiac rooms.
| Oct 13, 2010
Cancer hospital plans fifth treatment center
Construction is set to start in December on the new Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s $55 million hospital in Newnan, Ga. The 225,000-sf facility will have 25 universal inpatient beds, two linear accelerator vaults, an HDR/Brachy therapy vault, and a radiology and imaging unit.
| Oct 13, 2010
New health center to focus on education and awareness
Construction is getting pumped up at the new Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado, Denver. The four-story, 94,000-sf building will focus on healthy lifestyles and disease prevention.
| Oct 13, 2010
Community center under way in NYC seeks LEED Platinum
A curving, 550-foot-long glass arcade dubbed the “Wall of Light” is the standout architectural and sustainable feature of the Battery Park City Community Center, a 60,000-sf complex located in a two-tower residential Lower Manhattan complex. Hanrahan Meyers Architects designed the glass arcade to act as a passive energy system, bringing natural light into all interior spaces.
| Oct 12, 2010
Holton Career and Resource Center, Durham, N.C.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Special Recognition. Early in the current decade, violence within the community of Northeast Central Durham, N.C., escalated to the point where school safety officers at Holton Junior High School feared for their own safety. The school eventually closed and the property sat vacant for five years.
| Sep 13, 2010
Palos Community Hospital plans upgrades, expansion
A laboratory, pharmacy, critical care unit, perioperative services, and 192 new patient beds are part of Palos (Ill.) Community Hospital's 617,500-sf expansion and renovation.
| Sep 13, 2010
China's largest single-phase hospital planned for Shanghai
RTKL's Los Angles office is designing the Shanghai Changzheng New Pudong Hospital, which will be the largest new hospital built in China in a single phase.
| Sep 13, 2010
'A Model for the Entire Industry'
How a university and its Building Team forged a relationship with 'the toughest building authority in the country' to bring a replacement hospital in early and under budget.
| Sep 13, 2010
Data Centers Keeping Energy, Security in Check
Power consumption for data centers doubled from 2000 and 2006, and it is anticipated to double again by 2011, making these mission-critical facilities the nation's largest commercial user of electric power. With major technology companies investing heavily in new data centers, it's no wonder Building Teams see these mission-critical facilities as a golden opportunity, and why they are working hard to keep energy costs at data centers in check.
| Aug 11, 2010
Green Guide for Health Care launches pilot program, looks for participants
In first quarter 2010, the Green Guide for Health Care, in collaboration with Practice Greenhealth, is launching a one-year Green Guide for Health Care Operations Pilot Program for healthcare organizations engaged in any or all aspects of green operations initiatives, based on Green Guide v2.2 Operations section.
