'Green gives a sense of security'

The new High Intensive Care Center in Heiloo was designed as a "healing environment": building and greenery together form an environment that contributes to the recovery of the clients. "Building and landscape say: you are welcome here, in this beautiful and peaceful place."

Landgoed Willibrordus in Heiloo, a site with several psychiatric clinics, is being redeveloped and opened up further. An essential part of this is the construction of a new High Intensive Care Centre (HIC) of GGZ Noord-Holland-Noord, a clinic for the temporary admission of people with serious mental problems. The design includes a large role for greenery. For this Mecanoo, Studio BLAD and Boekel Tuin en Landschap worked together.

The starting point for the design was the vision of Redesigning Psychiatry, a research group with designers, psychologists and philosophers. Emma van der Staay, architect at Mecanoo, says, "Their core idea is that mental symptoms are a disruption of the relationships with yourself and your environment, and that treatment is about restoring those relationships. Our design process therefore started from the question: how can we provide a healing environment, an environment that contributes to recovery? With this in mind, we chose natural materials such as wood so that the design provides sensory comfort. The central street is a meeting place that provides clear orientation and thus self-reliance for the clients. In addition, we ensured that there is a strong connection to the surrounding landscape."

Between the different wings of the building, the estate is incorporated into the building, so to speak, in the form of enclosed interior gardens, so that clients have a view of the greenery everywhere and can go outside in many places. There are soft transitions between the indoor and outdoor spaces, Van der Staay explains: "For example, the canopy around the entire building makes it look like a porch. Soft transitions have also been created inside between one space and another. The garden is naturally bounded by steel cables that can grow under the continuous canopy, so no fencing is needed. As a result, inside you don't feel like there is a fence around you; from the outside the building looks transparent." Frank van Zuilekom, landscape architect and co-owner of Studio BLAD, adds: "Soft transitions were also provided within the garden. You can use greenery to create distance so that something looks natural and yet there is a barrier."

Van der Staay: "In the organization of the estate, we have introduced an axis, like a backbone along which all the buildings with care-related functions are positioned. This brings clarity to the estate." Van Zuilekom: "The buildings on the estate differ greatly in architectural features. With the greenery, we make it into one whole, a landscape in which all the pavilions will stand as a matter of course. Historically, the land here has a field pattern. South of the axis we let that pattern return. North of the axis we form a different type of landscape: close to Heiloo it becomes more like a park, with large rhododendron groups, further from Heiloo it becomes a polder landscape with ornamental grasses. That way the estate fits completely into its context." 

 "With the design of building and greenery we tell the clients: you are welcome here, you are safe here, in this beautiful and quiet place," says Pieter Hoen, director of urbanism and public space at Mecanoo. Van der Staay: "The building is designed so that you can move between the different low-stimulation and high-stimulation zones - your room, your cluster, the central street in the building - so that you can go one step further each time you are ready for it." "What is true for inside, is also true for outside," says Van Zuilekom: "You can go outside on different levels, always one step further: you can go a little bit into the garden or beyond the garden into the whole landscape, and finally beyond the landscape back into the world."

Boekel Tuin en Landschap signed for the planting plan. Owner Arjan Boekel explains, "HIC clients come from a crisis situation and need a low-stimulation environment. That's why we chose small to medium-sized trees. These filter the buildings, creating a secure atmosphere and a small-scale design with a human scale. The relatively shady inner gardens also benefit from the filtering effect of the tree crowns, because they soften the hard division between sun and shade. Furthermore, the planting is mainly green, with subtle blooms. No exuberant and colorful planting, but rather a subdued pallet of greens, leaf shapes and leaf textures. There is relatively much evergreen planting in the garden, so the garden is a real viewing garden year round from the client rooms and central corridors." Van der Staay adds: "In the architecture, the variety of spaces creates a secure atmosphere for clients, while also providing a pleasant and safe (work) environment for staff and visitors."

How do the costs and benefits compare on this project? "What the benefits of green are is always difficult to quantify," Hoen replied. "But that doesn't mean there are no benefits. Homes in the immediate vicinity of a park become more valuable, for example, and people who have a place to exercise stay healthier. So greenery may indirectly pay for itself three times over. As for the HIC, it has now been shown that in care settings, greenery contributes to faster recovery and better mental health." Van Zuilekom: "Don't forget the flora and fauna. It's hard to put a price tag on the ecosystem, but it's essential for everyone that it does well." Hoen: "At the HIC, we show clients that care and attention has been given to the environment. That gives a certain worldview, a sense of caring, a feeling that things are right here. You can't put a price tag on that."