New builds at CAMH bring an integrated approach to care, education and research
President and CEO: ‘The new buildings act as a visual metaphor that says CAMH is now a part of the community’
In the bright, open lobby of the Bell Gateway Building on the campus of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the receptionist greets one of the centre’s clients by his first name. “Victor, how are you today?” she asks.
While that simple greeting may be a normal part of anyone’s day, it wasn’t always evident in the place that has housed and treated Toronto’s mentally ill since 1850. Then it was known as the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, and in the 1970s as 999 Queen St. W., surrounded by a tall, forbidding brick wall.
Today, CAMH is striving for — and achieving — a new normal. Spacious, light-infused buildings have shot up where dark, hulking structures of concrete once stood.
“The new buildings act as a visual metaphor that says CAMH is now a part of the community,” says Dr. Catherine Zahn, CAMH’s president and CEO.
The Bell Gateway Building, the Intergenerational Wellness Centre, the Doctors Association Building, and a row of residential housing are recent additions to the CAMH 27-acre, nine-block campus bordered by Queen St. W., Dovercourt Rd., Shaw and Adelaide Sts. To encourage more inclusiveness from the community, Ossington Avenue was extended south of Queen St. W. into the campus.
Starting in 2016, the next phase of construction will see a Rehabilitation and Recovery building grace the property, which will include in-patient programs, services and research offices.
“The goal of CAMH’s redevelopment,” says Zahn, “is to provide appropriate, 21stcentury care and bring justice and humanity to those with mental illness.”
That spirit is evident in the new designs. Alice Liang, principal at Montgomery Sisam Architects, and her team have been working in collaboration with three other architectural firms on CAMH’s redevelop- ment since 2002.
“Right from the get-go, we consulted with the clients and their families — and still do — to find out what their needs are,” says Liang. “The common denominator has been that they all want a more home-like atmosphere with a sense of familiarity.”
The key feedback from clients, she says, was the importance of having options built into the physical setting, while receiving treatment.
To that end, the architectural firms created designs that allow for an infusion of natural light from large windows, views to the outdoors and a generous sense of spaciousness. Because lighting is critical to people’s well-being, the architects provided a range of lighting throughout the complexes, from natural to glowing incandescence. The architects also aimed for a calming atmosphere with warm tones interspersed with dashes of brighter hues to add energy. Care was also put into the furnishings: light wood, cosy chairs and colourful art on the wall.
For the next phase of construction in 2016, the architectural firms of KPMB and Montgomery Sisam, in a joint venture, will be working on those same principles and broadening their scope by creating research spaces, a library and an auditorium.
Outdoor gardens on several levels of the Rehabilitation and Recovery building will allow clients to take a break from their programs and enjoy a breath of fresh air.
Already, the three green spaces on the property have become oases of healing for clients. Meanwhile, the surrounding neighbourhood has warmed to the new look and feel. Stephen Bulger, a community resident for 20 years who owns a photography gallery on the north side of Queen St. W., has witnessed the change.
“In those early days, no one used to walk along the wall on the south side of Queen where patients used to hang out and smoke cigarettes,” Bulger says.
“Now, you’ll see mothers pushing strollers along the south side where there’s a bank, restaurants and shops.”
The increased comfort level of residents in the neighbourhood is due in large part to the efforts of CAMH’s president and CEO. Zahn makes a point to regularly greet dog walkers in Shaw Park on the east side of the campus.
“I like to make them feel welcome and thank them for using the park,” she says.
CAMH will also be establishing a “therapeutic neighbourhood” of its own in the new Rehabilitation and Recovery building, says April Collins, executive director of complex mental illness at CAMH.
Clients will map out their own courses, such as taking yoga three times a week and attending cognitive behavioural therapy sessions, to help them manage mood, anxiety and other difficulties. They’ll also be encouraged to set such goals as learning how to budget, using an ATM machine and preparing meals.
“In the1980s, we used to believe that once patients were diagnosed with severe schizophrenia and other debilitating mental illnesses, that they were on a deteriorating course with no hope, no possibility of schooling or work,” says Collins. “Now we know that recovery is possible. I’ve seen people do remarkably well — even thrive — when they are given the right tools and medical support at the same time.”
CAMH will build on providing clients with a more humane way of life, as it continues to integrate itself into the neighbourhood during the next phases of construction, set for completion in the early 2020s. In the final build-out, says Liang, Adelaide and Stokes Sts. will be extended into the campus so that the community will flow effortlessly through the grounds of CAMH.
Just as the forbidding brick wall that surrounded the property has been toppled,