‘Healing architecture' and the spatial organisation of the psychiatric clinic

In this chapter I consider the architectural visions and spatial organisation of a new psychiatric hospital in Denmark. By exploring the architectural plans and documents and by drawing on interviews with the lead architect and key stakeholders involved in the process of design, I show how a novel synthesis of ideas is developed in the process of coming to terms with what healing architecture is and how it is imagined to work. While I primarily focus on the conditions of production of the hospital building in this chapter, the implications of the conditions of possibility that follow are equally important to investigate. Indeed, coming to terms with how ‘healing architecture' makes a difference in practice is key to better understanding how the spatial organisation of the psychiatric clinic of today shapes the complex and contingent interactions between staff and patients, as well as processes of recovery and wellbeing. I come to these questions in conclusion as I discuss how to study so-called ‘healing architecture' in practice.