Barbara Miszkiel, a principal in the Toronto office of Stantec Architecture, in charge of Behavioural Health, Long-Term Care, and other Specialty Healthcare projects, describes how the involvement of key stakeholders including staff, young service-users, their families, the local community, consultants, and contractors, in a clear ‘visioning’ process, proved key to achieving a successful transformation and ‘rejuvenation’ of the facilities at the Lutherwood Children’s Mental Health Centre in Ontario, Canada.
Lutherwood Children’s Mental Health Centre in Waterloo, Ontario, is a nationally respected residential mental health treatment facility serving children aged from 12 to 17. Its services includes court-directed 24/7 care, long-term placement, and five day/week placement in a school setting. Lutherwood experienced sporadic development over five decades along the city’s edge. The existing buildings on the 9.75 acre (3.95 hectare) site, which serve as school, treatment centre, residence, research centre, and offices, were illsuited for modern treatment approaches.
Mental healthcare today is about resilience of the human spirit. Changes in the approach to design for mental health are intensifying. These changes include a focus on a recovery model of care, on mitigating stress factors that affect recovery, on normalising the environment, and on breaking down barriers about mental health within the community.
The staff at Lutherwood were there for the children, but their facility was out of date, and promoted the very barriers staff were working to break down. The original buildings were characterised by dark corridors, a lack of natural light and views, confusing orientation, and lack of spaces for informal interaction – all hampering the noble ideals and exemplary care that Lutherwood provided.
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