The transformative journey for The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, began over 170 years ago when an asylum was built in the middle of a farmer’s field outside of the city of Toronto. It was surrounded by a stone wall built by patients that served to keep visitors out and patients in—a metaphor for the public attitude toward mental illness of the day. Fast forward to now, and CAMH has completed the third of its four-phased master plan, Phase 1C at its downtown Toronto campus.
Stantec provided architecture, interior design, landscape design, civil and structural engineering, and operational readiness for this phase of work. The design co-locates education and clinical programs to two new buildings, creating opportunities for knowledge exchange and discovery. The McCain Complex Care & Recovery Building serves as the new urban gateway to the campus. In addition to inpatient and outpatient programs, the McCain building includes public spaces such as an auditorium and resource center (with an adjacent garden) to promote public engagement. The Crisis & Critical Care Building includes inpatient units, a psychiatric emergency department, outpatient areas, and exterior therapeutic spaces.
Housed on a vibrant streetscape with commercial and retail space as well as an open park, CAMH encourages community integration. The design incorporates input from CAMH patients, families, and care teams to create welcoming, uplifting, and non-institutional spaces. The openness and positive connection these designs evoke are about coming out from behind the wall—facilitating a healing and a safe transition back into the community—something everyone struggling with mental health or addictions deserves.
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