Architecture, Design, and Children’s Mental Health

When a child or parent steps into St. David’s Center’s Minnetonka site, they are met immediately with a flood of natural light and a green vista, visible through the wall of glass that overlooks our Big Playground, Certified School Forest, and restored wetland. This open, nature-focused design is no accident. It’s the result of an intentional and multi-phase design collaboration between Pope Design Group, and our dedicated staff of caregivers and leaders. The light-filled entrance isn’t common among mental health care facilities, but involving nature in our healing processes is a core part of our DNA, which is why we create opportunities to have it take center stage whenever possible.

A Little History on Architecture and Mental Health  

The history of architecture and design in mental health care settings is complex, and often difficult. In the 1860s, after hundreds of years of highly institutionalized, disciplinary, and even inhumane, spaces for those experiencing mental illness, physician Thomas Kirkbride set out to transform the model for mental healthcare facilities. The “Kirkbride Plan” advocated for “moral care” of those experiencing mental illness, and emphasized exposure to natural light, fresh air, and “fertile,” verdant, and large grounds and gardens. These architecturally masterful designs were built in various places in the United States, including Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

The mid-twentieth century, however, saw a dark period in the history of American psychiatry, and many Kirkbride facilities fell into disrepair over long periods of overcrowding and understaffing. There have been many important reforms and developments in the mental health field and in the architecture and design of treatment spaces since then, especially since the 1970s. However, organizations like St. David’s Center can still contribute to the expansion of truly healing spaces around the United States, especially for children.

Some Foundational Principles

We are all impacted by our surroundings, whether we have a mental-health diagnosis or not. In recent years, researchers have begun to study the deeper nuances of how the use of space impacts children and adults experiencing developmental or mental health challenges and crises. As some researchers point out, during such crises, “mental health service environments may have more impact for these individuals who often arrive in a distressed state.” So how can a space, and not only the people inside it, support a child’s mental and emotional healing and wellbeing?

Bring natural light: Across the literature on architecture and design for mental health care facilities, researchers and clinicians emphasize that the presence of natural light has a positive impact on the outcomes and wellbeing of those experiencing mental health challenges. In fact, that’s why our Minnetonka entryway was designed the way it was!

Use color theory and research: The use of color can also have a profound impact on the way a space helps or strains those with behavioral and mental health needs. In various studies, for example, results show that blue and green space can reduce emotional, behavioral, and social problems in children with nontypical development or disabilities.

Reduce stigma through design: In an extensive study of one British mental-health care facility for youth, the reduction of highly institutional interior design features helped decrease stigmatization, increase a sense of community, and support positive outcomes for youth. This included details like the use of an open table for administrative staff, rather than a more formal, closed, high-top secretarial desk.

Increase opportunities for social connection: Social connection and interaction have consistently been shown to improve mental health and wellness among children and adults. In mental health care facilities — those like St. David’s Center that support early intervention — this is especially true. That’s why we have open waiting rooms and outdoor play spaces where children can learn from, and support, one another.

Integrate visual art: In recent years, organizations like Hospital Rooms in the UK have begun to introduce the thoughtful and prominent use of visual art into psychiatric and mental health care facilities. Often, visual art can also be a way to involve patients, with artists and those receiving care working together to create lasting expressions of struggle, hope, resilience, and rebirth in treatment spaces.

As St. David’s Center opens our new space at 1130 Nicollet, where we will support even more children and families, we are always reminded of this complex history of mental healthcare architecture, as we keep these research-based principles of healing at the heart of our next phase of supporting our community. That is especially true of our collaboration with Pope Design Group. As we did in Minnetonka, together we will envision a downtown Minneapolis center that: reduces stigmatization, welcomes and uplifts community, and supports children’s and families’ healing on every level. We are excited for this upcoming period of construction, when wellness-enhancing principles, and a deep attention to detail, will inform all our collective decisions. For children and families who need extra support, space matters.

We understand.

That’s why we’re committed to meeting the moment and shaping the future.

References

Aghabozorgi, K., van der Jagt, A., Bell, S., & Brown, C. (n.d.). Assessing the impact of blue and green spaces on mental health of disabled children: A scoping review. *School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Heriot Watt University*. Estonian University of Life Sciences.

d’Hoop, A. (2023). The slightest attachment: When psychiatric spaces enact affinities. transcript Verlag. https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839465561

JLG Architects. (n.d.). “Design guidelines for behavioral & mental health”. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from https://jlgarchitects.com/design-guidelines-for-behavioral-mental-health/

Liddicoat, S. (2019). Mental health facility codesign: A new research method for integrating the service user voice in design processes using virtual reality. General Psychiatry, 32, e100061. https://doi.org/10.1136/gpsych-2019-100061

Putra, I. G. N. E., Astell-Burt, T., Cliff, D. P., Vella, S. A., & Feng, X. (2021). Do physical activity, social interaction, and mental health mediate the association between green space quality and child prosocial behaviour? Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 64, 127264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127264

Whitaker, R. (2002). Mad in America: Bad science, bad medicine, and the enduring mistreatment of the mentally ill. Basic Books.

Winsor & Newton. (n.d.). Winsor & Newton x Hospital Rooms: Fostering creativity and connection through art. Retrieved July 16, 2024,