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14 May 2020 Comments (0) Architecture, Real Estate, Technology

A psychiatric hospital rocked by the waves

A therapeutic space that looks more like an artist’s workshop than a hospital? Enter the Centre de jour L’Adamant, a psychiatric treatment centre, designed by the Parisian agency Seine Design and Gérard Ronzatti, specialised in floating architecture.

At the foot of the Charles de Gaulle Bridge, on the right bank of the Seine, this day centre welcomes adult patients, for therapeutic follow-up consisting of workshops, psychosocial rehabilitation and interviews with caregivers.

L’Adamant benefited from close collaboration between the designers, the therapeutic team and the patients, who were involved at every stage of the construction of “their” hospital. From the beginning, the question was to make the hospital a place to work, to meet and to build cohesion between caregivers and patients. At various stages of the project, all parties involved exchanged with patients, resulting in added value thanks to their questions, suggestions and reflections. A way of inscribing this collective work in the memory of the building and in the imagination of the patients it welcomes. As its designer, Gérard Ronzatti, sums up: “We wanted it to show who worked here. It was a pilot from start to finish, as we wanted the design and realisation in themselves to be therapeutic.”

  • L’Adamant © Seine Design - Sergio Grazia
  • L’Adamant © Seine Design - Sergio Grazia
  • L’Adamant © Seine Design - Sergio Grazia
  • L’Adamant © Seine Design - Sergio Grazia
  • L’Adamant © Seine Design - Sergio Grazia

A reassuring landmark in a bustling city

The fact that L’Adamant floats on the Seine also makes it possible to integrate the weather, the movements of the water, the passing boats, the walkers on the shore, etc. into a programme of sensory and therapeutic experiences. The external wooden panels are removable and allow patients to be in connection with the water and the elements (wind, light, rain, sun, temperature, reflections on the water…). The finishes of the therapy and rest spaces are mainly made of wood, a soothing element that creates a particularly engaging and emotional atmosphere.

The institution tries to limit, as much as possible, the duration of hospitalisation of its patients who suffer from various pathologies. The programme of creative workshops, including pottery, music and drawing, has a clear objective: to encourage patients to visit and return to the day centre, thus facilitating their reintegration into life and the social sphere. Many partnerships are developed with social, cultural and health actors in the city. Thanks to its personalised treatment approach L’Adamant, the only “fluvial” day centre in Paris, is a reassuring landmark in a bustling city.

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