Shaping the Typology of Modern Finnish Psychiatric Hospitals: Analyzing Design Briefs of Two Case Studies

The article aims to study the concepts, themes, and ideas behind the new typology of modern Finnish psychiatric hospitals by analyzing two recently built cases. Several new psychiatric hospitals were built in different regions of Finland in the last decade. They are built on the campuses of somatic central hospitals, they combine outpatient, inpatient, and day wards for many different age groups. They have public functions that serve the whole campus or the surrounding area. The vast gardens of previous facilities were replaced by balconies, enclosed yards, and roof terraces. In the absence of national guidelines on design, the new typology was formed, shaped by cooperation between the hospital administration, hospital staff, and the architects. The article analyzes the design briefs of two similar through inductive content analysis to derive the main themes mentioned in these documents. Then, it is analyzed how the themes were reflected in the final design of the buildings, highlighting the commonalities and differences of the two projects. Some of the most common themes were safety, functionality, centralization, cooperation, proximity, flexibility, renewing psychiatric care, isolation, changing patient demographics, family, privacy, stigma, therapeutic spaces, outdoor spaces, and working environment. They are reflected in the building design being more concerned with security, in more dense and compact floorplans, and in design solutions that make it possible to quickly adapt in crisis situations. The Case B, designed just few years later than Case A, is noticeably more focused on the security aspect. The article also provides an insight into how the typology of hospitals was influenced by societal and legislative changes as well as changes in psychiatric care.