Respite Pavilion

Access to outdoor environments, and the encouragement of an active lifestyle, plays an important role in relation to mental illness and well-being. Commissioned as part of the Arts Strategy for the new Acute Mental Health and North Ayrshire Community Hospital campus, our Respite Pavilion provides an important place of outdoor relaxation; encouraging patients, staff and relatives to escape the wards and waiting rooms of the hospital for the open landscape of the wider campus.

Three rectangular planes, each with a circular aperture, intersect to form a pavilion arranged around a stand of birch trees. The pavilion frames views and creates a more hospitable outdoor micro-climate. Seating is loosely dispersed, happily accommodating occupation by groups and individuals.

The construction explores how the earth and geology of an area can help create a meaningful sense of place, rooting it in a wider landscape context. A ground plane defines the extent of the intervention and is formed from red-toned self-binding sands and gravels. Upon this, the structure is formed from board-marked concrete, with iron-oxide pigmentation to create an earthly affinity with the geology of the wider Ayrshire region.