How could I imagine the support of mental health in Traverse Academy again

At a time when children become not only academic pressure, but with growing crises of mental health, from fear and depression to the unimaginable trauma of school shootings and loss of suicide, architecture would rarely be the first thought in conversation. But in MOA architectureIt’s more than a structure. This is an intervention supported by a careful project.

The company from Denver, known for his thoughtful project, focused on man, has recently completed a pilot project in the Cherry Creek school district: Traverse AcademyThe day treatment facility is owned and served by the public school district. The project was not just another commission. For Moa it was a mission. And for the president and director for health care design Katie Vander Putten was deeply personal.

says. Vander Putten says.

Traverse Academy is a therapeutic school environment for students in grades 4-12 experiencing acute mental health challenges, from serious trauma to transition anxiety. It combines clinical treatment with education in a safe, supporting environment designed not only for learning, but for treatment.

Divide into three levels: heavy, moderate and transitional, the building has been designed at every step. The heavy wing supports students recently written from clinical facilities. The moderate level re -introduces academic routines along with therapy. Transitional spaces help students again integrate in their original school environments while obtaining continuous support.

What makes the academy so revolutionary is not only its purpose; This is the way it was designed.

Moa did not start with a traditional floor plan. Instead, they talked directly with students and for the first time they imagined walking around the door, perhaps after traumatic experience.

Vander Putten explains.

The design team deeply considered two types of injuries in children: internalyzers who can retreat and self -harm, and exteralizers who act physically. To accommodate both, the spaces cover everything, from calming corners with natural light to training bags, climbing walls and wings with colors that visually signal progress and achievements.

Each material, color and system have been examined using a lens developed by trauma. says Vander Putten, whose experience concerns the health and trauma environment.

One of the most powerful aspects of the project is the recovery of how these spaces should be. Vander Putten says.

The facility also allows students to smoothly move between different methods of learning and therapy. Some may be there for several weeks, others for several months.

Since the opening of the MOA Academy, in the country about the project: at educational conferences, AIA events and and architectural circles. But now the team wants to go further: they want to help other schools adapt these rules. Vander Putten says.

Despite the success of the project, financing models remain a barrier. Medicare and Medicaid restrictions complicate public-private partnerships, and many schools try to secure investments. Cherry Creek efforts required employment of their own clinicians, developing their own scope of abuse and action regardless of traditional hospital systems. Despite this, the success of Traverse Academy shows what is possible and urgently needed.

As Vander Putten sums up,