Healthcare Design - June/July 2016 - 56

Natural light and plenty of
spaces inside and out to
accommodate individuals
or small groups are two
important elements in the
design of Merrifield Center.

is a common practice in behavioral healthcare for
a number of reasons: safety and privacy concerns,
differing treatment approaches, and a concerted
effort to avoid institutional-feeling, big-box environments among them. Yet almost a decade ago,
Fairfax County, Va., decided to bring its far-flung
behavioral services under one roof. Cost-saving
demands-as they do with everything relating to
facility planning and growth these days-played a
big role in this decision. But it was more than that.
Much more, in fact.
Completed in late 2014 and occupied in March
2015, Merrifield Center in Fairfax, Va., serves more
than 1.1 million residents in a 407-square-mile radius.
The design of the new-build, 200,000-square-foot
project relied on an unusually tight collaboration
among the county and local design firms Noritake
Associates (architecture), Huelat Davis Healing Design (interiors), and Rhodeside & Harwell (landscape
architecture), all based in Alexandria, Va.
Among its notable features, Merrifield includes
an emergency and crisis service center that not
only provides emergency care for individuals with
severe behavioral issues, but also incorporates a law
enforcement outpost of sorts, where specially trained
officers can divert individuals for psychiatric evaluation-rather than send them straight to jail-when
warranted.
On the floors above the crisis center, the Merrifield
facility houses an alternative school for kids with behavioral issues, a community health clinic and dental
clinic, and myriad programs for adults and children
across the spectrum of low- to high-risk needs. At
the outset of the project, the design team set out to
explore how other facilities around the country dealt
with this kind of broad colocation of outpatient services in a nurturing, safe, and respectful way.
But they didn't get very far. They couldn't find any.
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HCDmagazine.com 07.16

The lay of the land
The product of a land swap deal with nearby Inova
Hospital, Merrifield Center developed into its current
iteration after years of healthcare industry evolution
and the ticking clock of expiring leases for many of
Fairfax County's behavioral healthcare offices. "We
wanted to get out of seven or so leases at locations
across the county and to consolidate as many of
our services as we could into one facility," says Will
Williams, director of alcohol and drug services for
Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board
(CSB) and the county's main representative on this
eight-year project. "It wasn't only to save money,
but also so these services were more accessible for
residents."
The existing clinics were in rough shape. "A lot
of them were really third-class facilities," says Rae
Noritake, principal of Noritake Associates. "They

Check-in areas and waiting
spaces are located near the
elevators at the center of each
floor of the four-story building.
Each floor is divided into east
and west wings that branch
off from this central space
and allow for more privacy
between patient populations.

ERIC TAYLOR (EXTERIOR); ANNE GUMMERSON PHOTOGRAPHY (INTERIOR)

separating service lines and population types

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Healthcare Design - June/July 2016

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