Construction of a psychiatric unit and medical management centre

This project involves the construction of a 20-bed admission unit for voluntary commitment and the medical management centre for the “Les Deux Vallées” psychiatric sector in Montpon-Ménestérol, planned by Arodie Damian Architectures. The Agency works in the fields of health, the service sector, housing, teaching and culture, paying particular attention to the environmental management of projects. For this project, Arodie Damian Architectures wanted to create a “relaxing” and entertaining architecture in order to play down the stress associated with admission. Residents enter this establishment voluntarily understanding their physically weakened state. Therefore, this building turns its back on austere architecture, which may, by its harshness, “overwhelm” the patient. Arodie Damian Architectures wanted to create a sort of “assembled structure”, the same as a toy which a child might build and, thus, have employed materials with different shapes: zinc for the “bubble”, wood for the accommodation, water green steel for the consultations. Each element in this “large toy-building” presents its own form/matter vocabulary. Located at the eastern end of this complex, the building resembles the stern of the ship. Its curved shape is designed to be a gentle transition forming a link with the straight lines of the existing buildings. The two wings are covered with weatherboarding, used here as a symbol of warmth to recreate an atmosphere of home. The splayed form of the two accommodation wings has helped to create a secure landscaped garden providing a visual continuation to those of the adjoining building.

The zinc shell built over a laminated and glued timber frame forms the building’s protective visual membrane which provides protection from the inside to the outside and from the outside to the inside.

Here, in addition to this symbol, Arodie Damian Architectures also wanted to create a visual sign from the visitors’ car park, showing a psychiatric unit which confirms its presence and presents itself as a place of quality.