Adult Mental Health & Addictions Facility

Client

Government of Newfoundland & Labrador

Location

St. John’s, NL

Date Completed

Ongoing

Project Team

Avalon Healthcare Partnership

Project Summary

There are many proven benefits of exposure to landscape and nature in a mental health care setting including reduced feelings of pain, stress, depression, and anxiety and increased feelings of serenity, satisfaction, morale, and well-being. The landscape design for this unique P3 project aims to celebrate and embrace these significant benefits through a carefully planned integration of building and landscape. Through design, our team strived to incorporate the outdoors as a central planning tool for the facility; the landscape does not simply play a supporting role, but becomes a pillar of the design, complementing the architecture in several ways:

1. strong, seamless adjacency between indoor and outdoor programs and spaces;

2. intuitive and ample access to the outdoors and daylight;

3. generous views of surrounding natural areas and proposed green spaces;

4. stepped terraces create a green hillside and warm, nature-based impression of the facility;

5. complementary design aesthetic between building and landscape;

6. building orientation that maximizes views and microclimate opportunities;

7. high-quality landscape design rooted in established principles (CPTED, Elder-Friendly design, universal accessibility, therapeutic gardening).

This integrated approach will ensure the design of the entire facility – including the building, building systems, site, and landscape – is holistic, human-scaled, nature-based, and contributes to serving the community, reducing stigma associated with mental health, and fostering a respectful and dignified healing environment.