Award of Merit Health Care: National Forensic Mental Health Service (Portrane)
Camouflaging the ever-present security features was a constant at the 16-hectare mental health campus, built on time and below budget primarily to treat an incarcerated population but also to serve the community.
A safe, secure and healing environment—nestled into a coastal forest—was paramount in the design of the 170-bed facility, which offers a gentle approach to mental health care. Some 2,000 local plant species are surrounded by a secure perimeter fence or equivalent building or boundary structure.