Client: Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust

Consider your journey as a patient to a ward that takes you to a space with the view of a brick wall. How could we elevate that journey to provide a more aesthetically healing end? That’s the challenge we set ourselves when we were asked to transform the courtyards at Airedale Centre for Mental Health.

When ligature, security and vandalism are real design considerations, creative thinking is essential! We worked closely with a supplier to find a medium that was suitable for not only the external physical conditions, but also acceptable to the fire officer, maintenance manager, clinical team and patients and to suit the small budget.

The outcome: spaces that inject bright sense of calm and tranquillity for service users and staff even during those rainy Yorkshire days, created almost instantly, on budget and with minimum disruption to the live wards.

The scheme was awarded the Low Cost – High Impact award at the Design in Mental Health Awards 2021.