Sutter Health – Davies Behavioral Health Unit
20,000 sq ft renovation of the top two floors of the brutalist South Tower of the Davies Campus for Sutter Health. The project accommodates an 18-bed secure inpatient psychiatric unit with multiple social spaces, exterior courtyard, treatment rooms and support spaces. It also accommodates an outpatient psychiatric clinic, admin area and staff support spaces.
The balance between safety / security and the creation of a humane, warm and non-institutional environment was a core objective for this project. The South Tower’s shallow floor plan and generous window line offered the opportunity to flood the unit with natural light. The removal of non-structural pilasters from the exterior envelope, carving the exterior courtyard out of the existing building and the provision of skylights in the corridors aided this effort and also provided strong visual connectors to the surrounding city, landscape, sky and sun. The use of warm exuberant colors, textures and finishes aided this effort and the design goal to create a sensory-sensitive and supportive environment.