Seacliff A (re)development

The deinstitutionalisation of mental healthcare has left New Zealand with more voluntary community health services and an outdated and inadequate architecture for mental health. Yet mental heal this the leading cause of disability worldwide and in New Zealand alone, 1 in 6 people will suffer from some form of mental illness within their lifetime.

Mental illness is a disease that does not discriminate and yet society continues to discriminate against those who suffer from it.

This research portfolio aims to investigate the potential of architectural design in a psychiatric environment. Confronting the traumatic origins of NZ healthcare architecture it takes the site of the former Seacliff Lunatic Asylum in Dunedin, New Zealand, as the focus of its investigation. The site is revisited with a proposition for a new model for the treatment of acute mental health, addressing the shift in context and current issues in mental healthcare recovery.