Project Name: Tampere Psychiatric Clinic

Location: Tampere, Finland

Design Team: CF Møller

Building Area: 30,000 m²

Completion: 2023

Photography: Wellu Hamalainen

Feature：

Project - Danish architecture firm CF Møller has completed a 30,000-square-metre psychiatric clinic in Tampere, Finland, where therapeutic spaces are woven into a natural forest setting to create a healing environment that challenges traditional institutional healthcare design.

The Tampere Psychiatric Clinic, situated on the edge of the university hospital grounds, comprises three U-shaped ward buildings arranged in a semi-circular formation, accommodating 180 beds across various specialized psychiatric units. The complex's most distinctive feature is its harmonious integration with the surrounding pine forest, which serves as both a privacy buffer and a therapeutic element.

Breaking away from conventional psychiatric facility design, CF Møller has prioritized individual patient rooms with abundant natural light and forest views, while creating secure outdoor spaces that include private balconies and communal courtyards. This approach reflects growing evidence that connection to nature significantly impacts mental health recovery.

The architecture pays homage to Tampere's industrial heritage through its materiality, combining brick and wood to create a warm, contemporary atmosphere. The buildings maintain a deliberately modest height to preserve human scale, while their arrangement around a central administrative hub creates protected outdoor spaces for social interaction and rehabilitation activities.

Interior spaces are designed to minimize institutional feelings, incorporating furniture from the old hospital – a sustainable choice that also maintains cultural continuity. The modular planning concept allows operational flexibility, with shared cores between paired departments optimizing resource efficiency.

What sets this project apart is its successful integration of evidence-based design principles with local cultural elements. The result is a psychiatric facility that feels more like a retreat in nature than a clinical institution, demonstrating how thoughtful architecture can support mental health treatment while maintaining necessary security and functionality.

Design Team - C.F. Møller Architects, established in 1924 by Danish architect C.F. Møller in Copenhagen, has evolved into one of Scandinavia's most influential architectural practices, known for its pioneering contributions to Nordic modernism and sustainable design. With a legacy spanning nearly a century, the firm has consistently demonstrated excellence in integrating architecture, landscape, and urban planning through a holistic design methodology.

Under the current leadership of CEO Lone Bendorff and a distinguished partner group including architects Klaus Toustrup, Michael Kruse, and Julian Weyer, the practice continues to shape contemporary architecture through innovative, context-sensitive design solutions. The firm's portfolio encompasses landmark projects across healthcare, education, cultural, and civic sectors, including the acclaimed Maersk Tower in Copenhagen and the Tampere Psychiatric Clinic in Finland.

Operating from its headquarters in Aarhus, Denmark, with strategic offices in Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Malmö, and Berlin, C.F. Møller Architects employs approximately 300 professionals. The practice is distinguished by its integrated approach to sustainability, implementing advanced Building Information Modeling (BIM) methodologies and environmental strategies in all projects. This commitment to technical innovation, combined with a deep understanding of Nordic architectural traditions, has earned the firm numerous international accolades and positioned it at the forefront of contemporary architectural discourse.

Their design philosophy emphasizes the synthesis of functionality, aesthetics, and social responsibility, creating enduring architecture that responds thoughtfully to both human needs and environmental challenges.