Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre

Location:   Ottawa, Ontario

Client:        The Healthcare Infrastructure Company of Canada

Size:            400,000 sq.ft./37,000sqm

The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre project posed a unique challenge – creating a humane, caring and inviting healing facility paired with a state-of-the-art research and education centre. Through careful and meticulous analysis of the complex functional requirements, a concept emerged that would foster formal and informal interaction throughout the entire complex. Whether it was between patients and their families, educators, practitioners, therapists, researchers or staff members, the intent was to sculpt a comfortable environment to not only heal, but to thrive.

Architecturally, this developed into a design framed around the idea of the centre being one large landscaped park. The functional requirements intertwined throughout a series of courtyards and gardens – both internal and external. Teaching, educational and research spaces would become featured parts of this public realm approach, while more delicately sculped sanctuary spaces created quieter, contemplative spaces for informal interactions. The research facilities, while more pragmatically organised, were still inherently rooted in the open landscape created by the facility. The result is a truly collaborative facility which endeavors to heal and advance the world of mental health.