Work is progressing for Irvine will house a groundbreaking national facility for young people from across Scotland.

Foxgrove will provide the first medium secure adolescent inpatient service for young people in Scotland and is a key strand of the Scottish Government’s mental health strategy 2017-2027. 

The purpose-built facility, which is currently under construction within the grounds of Ayrshire Central Hospital in Irvine, will ensure that children can be cared for closer to home and will receive appropriate care, treatment, therapies, security and on-going education.

 The latest Foxgrove art and therapeutic design newsletter has now been published, containing information on the inspiration behind the feature wall design at the heart of the building. 

The Delta Feature Wall is right in the centre of Foxgrove, separating the main living and activity space from the dining room. This is somewhere the young people and staff will inhabit and walk past every day and it is more than just a wall.

One staff member said when the wall was being planned: “This is a space which should lift up the building. It should stand for all our ambitions of excellence.

“Every time we walk past it, we should feel proud of what we achieve at Foxgrove.”

 Articulate Cultural Trust, who were awarded the commission, have been an established charity for five  years and focus on work with care-experienced young people, or those facing similar barriers to arts participation.

Ruth Switalski, art psychotherapist, and printmaker and educator Christine Novosel have been leading the design work, in collaboration with INCH Architecture.