Mar 31, 2026 _ news

GBBN WINS HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENT AWARD

At the new Cincinnati Children’s William K. Schubert M.D. Mental Health Center, a 97% reduction in restraint and seclusion hours isn’t just a statistic—it’s proof that when design supports an innovative care plan, it positively impacts lives. GBBN is honored that the Center for Health Design recognized this project with a 2026 Healthcare Environment Award.

The growing pediatric mental health care crisis in America increases the need for spaces that destigmatize and demystify treatment. The William K. Schubert M.D. Mental Health Center fills a critical gap by expanding access to care through a building that sends a potent message: Help, hope, and health are within reach. The largest pediatric inpatient behavioral hospital in the U.S., this facility used salutogenic and evidence-based strategies to develop an advanced care model embodied in the landscape, architecture and interior design.

We collaborated with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to re-think the collection of therapeutic settings known as milieu. These are the spaces where patients spend most of their time, participating in group therapy, guided activities, free choice time, and other therapies. The building’s design was influenced by the location and variety of milieu spaces on the units within the building and their role as shared resources and destinations.

Also integral to the design was the childhood act of building a blanket fort—an intuitive gesture of creating shelter, imagination and control. Gentle curves, layered transparency and organic shapes give the building a sense of security and softness. Natural wood, textured surfaces and color-shifting dichroic glass fins evoke playfulness and discovery, making the building feel both new and familiar.

That softness extends inside. A light-filled lobby with an oculus conveys hope; cozy nooks built into the walls offer prospect and refuge; interior columns invite touch; clear sightlines to the Family Resource Center and café help visitors orient quickly, bringing a sense of calm. At night, the building glows from within—lantern-like, a beacon in the landscape, like light peeking through a blanket fort.

We partnered with researchers at Clemson University for the Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) of this new facility. The POE was the inaugural project helping to structure Cincinnati Children’s behavioral health toolkit. “This project includes many features that are groundbreaking in behavioral health environments,” explains Angela Mazzi, who was part of GBBN’s project design team. “These innovations include private rooms, no nurse stations, and an unprecedented amount and variety of milieu space. The project also features greenspace for both play therapy and horticultural therapy.”

Jurors praised the project’s clear design vision, innovative care model, and thoughtful organization of therapeutic spaces, noting strong research that continued through post-occupancy—and the warm, welcoming, child-friendly environment that gives patients flexibility in their care.

Read more about this project at The Center for Health Design.

See more of our work with Cincinnati Children’s here, here and here.

See more of our healthcare projects here.