World Mental Health Day

We’re taking a moment to recognize a very significant health awareness observance on October 10: World Mental Health Day.

Since our first day, back in 1991, A|r has been working alongside healthcare providers to create safe and effective treatment environments for individuals recovering from mental illness as well as their caregivers. This commitment is more than just for design projects. It starts with understanding the perception of behavioral health challenges within our communities, the evolving needs of persons with disabilities or struggling with mental health, the dedicated staff who provide care, and the environments that make care possible.

Over the years, we have worked to make treatment facilities safer, more engaging, less institutional and more conducive to positive therapeutic outcomes. We have authored facility program standards, guideline specifications, safe workplace studies, risk assessments, environmental design standards and patient safety references.

The goal of the architect is to support patients and staff equally with an uplifting and effective treatment environment to allow them to return to their community, to their home and to their support system. A safe facility – one that exudes modern wellness design imperatives – is a critical tool for retaining and recruiting the very best mental healthcare staff.

Mental Illness has been an important topic in 2020, and our healthcare and mental healthcare providers are working harder than ever to provide truly essential services. We dedicate this month to you!

Spring Renewal

With our roots in Buffalo NY, it has always been imperative for our team at A|r to be four-season thinkers and designers. The elements have a profound and ever-changing effect on any built space, and the best designs use them to their advantage.

Universal Design for Public Comfort Stations

We strive to design for all at every level of the built environment. We are looking beyond Gender Neutral design to Universally designed bathrooms, or comfort stations – conceived to be accessible to all people, regardless of gender expression, age, ability, belief, and social structure.

Library Design in a Changing World

With the ever-evolving nature of teaching and learning, the academic library has already undergone a great transformation by adapting to new paradigms present in higher education. The proliferation of digital resources and scholarship has meant that access to information is everywhere and even more critical in the current circumstances.