VITOS Outpatient psychiatric clinic for traumatized refugees

VITOS Outpatient psychiatric clinic for traumatized refugees In 2015, more that one million refugees came from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan to Germany. Originally, one of our clients asked us to design a conventional parking garage. However, due to the refugee crisis, he decided to build two extra floors for an outpatient psychiatric clinic, which was desperately needed at that time. Today, VITOS offers therapy as an ambulant treatment by psychologists and psychotherapists. Especially children and teenager get help to overcome their wartime experiences and to integrate themselves into the new environment. In the beginning of the design process, the long and narrow formed site between a street and railway tracks was considered as impossible to build on. Therefore, the form is based on cantilevers on all sides of the building. Only by doing this, enough space for the clinic could have been generated. The project picks up the heights of the surroundings and creates a new addition to the urban fabric. The use of the building brings life into the neighborhood and supports the long-term integration of refugees into the local community.