FIRST LOOK: VA Tampa Mental Health Clinic and Inpatient Rehab Facility
Leo A Daly
The design engages directly with nature, with outdoor gardens and walking paths for veterans to enjoy. Indirect access to nature is provided through ample windows and clerestories, which provide daylight and views.
Leo A Daly
A welcoming reception area and easy wayfinding help create a sense of calm, familiarity, and empowerment. Cool colors have a calming effect and lighter colors are perceived to be more open.
Leo A Daly
Visual simplicity helps ease stress and anxiety. Natural lighting gives the perception of less crowding. Views and daylight help create a more therapeutic environment.
Leo A Daly
Varied seating choices for individuals and families help reintroduce choice as part of therapy. Clear sight lines and fewer barriers increase a sense of safety and “spatial availability.”
Leo A Daly
This project provides integrated mental health care for veterans under one roof. The location was picked due to high visibility and ease of access.
The VA’s new integrated mental health clinic in Tampa, Fla., collocates every behavioral health service the agency provides into one warm, private, and peaceful clinic. The two-story, 144,000-square-foot facility includes a substance abuse rehab and recovery center, a 60-bed inpatient mental health rehabilitation center, and a residential treatment program for veterans who are homeless.
Rooted in trauma-informed care, that includes reducing and removing known adverse stimuli and environmental stresses, actively engaging individuals in a dynamic, multisensory environment, supporting self-reliance, providing and promoting connection to the natural world, Leo A Daly’s (Atlanta) design focuses on providing veterans with a sense of dignity, personal choice, and safety throughout their recovery journey.
The clinic is organized around integrating cross-disciplinary services, with key adjacencies easing the transition between inpatient and outpatient programs. The noninstitutional environment is enhanced by placing security at the building’s center, instead of at entrances, with visibility to major clinical areas.
The building organizes two first-floor inpatient wings around a central support core. The transitional housing program occupies the west wing, where a private entrance maintains the veterans’ dignity and confidentiality.
Psychosocial rehab and recovery are located on the east side to provide access to exterior spaces. Care for veterans with substance use disorders is in the center, where dual-diagnosis patients have access to services in the wings, in addition to computer education, multipurpose, and other teaching rooms.
The second floor co-locates outpatient mental health, PTSD, suicide prevention and psychology functions, with interdisciplinary teams providing whole-person care.
Interior finishes that reflect nature such as wood or biophilic patterns, abundant daylight, and programmatic connections to the exterior provide calming interactions with nature. Communal spaces emphasize the regrowth of social skills.
Project details:
Facility name: VA Tampa Mental Health Clinic and Inpatient Rehab Facility
Location: Tampa, Fla.
Expected completion date: Fall 2023
Owner: Cullinan Properties Ltd
Lease: GSA|VA
Total building area: 144,000 sq. ft.
Total construction cost: $60 million
Cost/sq. ft.: N/A
Architecture firm: Leo A Daly
Interior design: Leo A Daly
General contractor: Hoar Construction
Engineering: Leo A Daly, Prosser Inc. (civil)
Builder: Hoar Construction
