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In the News: Helix Principal Doug Stockman and Workplace Market Leader Jessica Schuepbach Share Design Approach for Community Crisis Center
Sedgwick County is moving forward with the construction of the COMCARE Community Crisis Center located in downtown Wichita. The project will merge multiple behavioral health programs, including Substance Abuse Center of Kansas, COMCARE, Crisis Intervention Center, Stabilization, and 24/7 Emergency Call and Chat Crisis Support into one facility. Designed with both function and aesthetics in mind, the building will be renovated and expanded to thoughtfully serve patients and staff. Strategically located next to the Wichita Biomedical Campus, the center will foster collaboration while revitalizing the entire block.
In a recent interview with the Wichita Business Journal, Doug Stockman, Principal and Director of Architecture, emphasized, “They saw a tremendous value in us taking the rest of the balance of the block and continuing the efforts such that the design would have some continuity. From there, we really wanted to focus on creating a very welcoming and nurturing facility for both staff, visitors, and patients.”
Interior designer Jessica Schuepbach focused on designing a welcoming and neutral interior environment inspired by the surrounding prairie landscape. “That was our number one priority and the approach for the interiors,” she said. “You can feel the connection to the outdoors in the design we created.”
Designing for the user experience was also a top consideration, from patients and visitors to COMCARE staff. “We were very intentional in the way that we laid out the building down to all of the little details about, how can all of these programs fit together, be separate, but still feel connected,” Jessica noted.
“We quickly realized, in order for [staff] to be at their best they also need a space that benefits them,” Schuepbach said. “That was also a major goal for the project, which was to create staff spaces that supported their needs as well.”
