A Beacon for Recovery

The facility is the hub for an extensive network of community-based mental health services and will serve pediatric patients from young children through teens offering a full range of services including an emergency department, inpatient care, partial hospitalization, intensive and conventional outpatient services, bridging services, and integrated research.

The Behavioral Health Pavilion is a 9 story building located on Nationwide’s existing urban health care campus. The services are organized to accommodate the most urgent needs closest to building access points with inpatient units on upper floors to take advantage of neighborhood views. A penthouse play yard serves the units and creates a beacon for recovery within the city.

Nationwide is doing something unique and unparalleled. No psychiatric hospital in America provides on-site this continuum of services. A unique challenge of this project was the newness of the service. The concept, staff, and service were virtually non-extant nine months before architecture+ was engaged. We provided a listening-leadership based upon our broad national experience that helped guide this new initiative to a successful completion.

The project accommodates a complex program within a very constrained urban site and architecture+ managed to develop a cluster-based inpatient units using the idea of a mid-story courtyard as a means of accommodating the amount of perimeter, window, and daylight needed in an effective modern psychiatric hospital.

The Pavilion’s interior design is consistent with the Nationwide brand and presents a cheerful yet soothing environment that this health care provider is known for. A rich offering of family amenities and supports are found on the 1st and 5th floor co-located with generous rooftop courtyards. The implementation of built-in wood casework, vibrant colors, and playful nature-themed graphics are thoughtfully placed throughout the hospital and are intricately woven into the fabric of the larger campus’ character to enhance the patient experience, promote branding, and improve wayfinding. The inpatient units provide safe and calming living space appropriate for children with acute mental health and severe behavioral conditions.

Subconsultant to NBBJ responsible for programming, planning, floor plans, interior design, and FF&E for all clinical spaces.