Biophilic art ‘brings outside in’ at Silverwood

The synergetic relationship between art and architecture has long been utilised by designers to evoke emotion within a space. There is, of course, Michelangelo's masterpiece on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel within the Vatican in Rome, an epic work of art that enhances the religious experience offered within the building. More recently, Santiago Calatrava's The Oculus at New York City's Ground Zero honours and beautifies a site of tragedy by architecturally resembling a 'phoenix rising from the ashes'. Incorporating art in any form into a building can impact the user experience, whether that art aids the building's purpose, or offers comfort in emotionally challenging environments. When Arcadis was engaged by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to design a new mental health inpatient facility in Chertsey in Surrey, we aimed to do just that: engage the relationship between art and architecture to bring both therapeutic comfort and biophilic beauty into a rehabilitative environment.

The new facility would replace the Abraham Cowley Unit (ACU) in Chertsey, an outdated inpatient hospital described on the Trust's website as 'not suitable to deliver high-quality care in respectful, safe, and therapeutic environments'.1 In its place, we designed the now operating Silverwood — a two-storey mental health inpatient service, built by contractor Galliford Try, which provides 64 en suite bedrooms for working-age adults. With referrals for mental health services increasing exponentially in England, with a record five million referrals in 2023 (up 33% from 2019), new and effective mental health units are imperative.2 Our team understood the importance of this opportunity to create a mental health resource for the surrounding community, and to employ all available design strategies to aid in the therapeutic process — namely, the incorporation of art into design.

Research has documented that art is successful in promoting emotional wellbeing in mental healthcare facilities for both service-users and staff. An article titled 'The Impact of Art, Design, and Environment in Mental Healthcare: A Systematic Review of the Literature', by Daykin et al, describes how exposure to artwork can improve clinical outcomes by reducing measurable symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress in hospital settings, as well as enhancing people's perceptions of those settings.3 Harnessing this therapeutic connection between art and mental health, our design team developed the concept for biophilic-inspired artwork with the goal of incorporating nature into a typically sterile environment — to 'bring the outside in'. As I, as lead Interior designer, described it, 'our innate relationship and connection with nature can provide supportive and uplifting environments for service-users, staff, and visitors... A biophilic methodology underpins the narrative of connecting with the local landscape'. With this concept decided upon, the artist procurement process could be set in motion with the art strategy steering group. A selection of artists and styles were presented to the steering group, ultimately leading to the selection of experienced biophilic artist, Kate Bond.