Service-user input key to St Bernard’s arts scheme

Thames Lodge, designed by David Morley Architects, and built by Kier as part of the redevelopment of St Bernard’s Hospital, has recently opened. When the original St Bernard’s Hospital was established in the 1830s – at the time as Middlesex County Asylum – it was reportedly the first purpose-built asylum in England and Wales, and was constructed in a neoclassical style with panoptican towers. The new Thames Lodge unit sits alongside the existing regional secure unit (RSU) and adolescent medium secure unit, the Wells Unit, on the site, surrounded by a secure perimeter, with one single entrance to create the Three Bridges Medium Secure Campus.

When planning a new building for the Medium Secure Unit, the team at St Bernard’s Hospital, which is operated by West London Mental Health NHS Trust, knew that they wanted to incorporate art, and that the project would require a high level of engagement to help service-users feel at home in the new facility. “The art and interior design were the only things we could really talk to the serviceusers about,” said redevelopment programme manager, St Bernard’s Hospital Medium Secure Unit, Barbara Wood. “We couldn’t ask their opinion on anti-ligature devices, or aspects of the design which affect security, but we could engage them in decision-making around the art, interiors, colours, and furniture.”

David Morley Architects had already identified areas of the building where art could be integrated into the fabric. The Trust then appointed us at Willis Newson to work with the practice to develop a coherent approach to art and interiors, including colour schemes, signage, and wayfinding, for the new West London unit. The brief was: