May 6, 2008, Jaques Black Presents Workshop on the Design of Psychiatric Facilities

As an expert on the design of healing environments for the mentally ill, daSILVA principal, Jaques Black, was a featured speaker at the 2008 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in Washington DC. Along with Drs. Virginia Susman and Philip Wilner, of Weill Cornell Medical College, he presented a workshop entitled The Design and Renovation of Therapeutic Space in an Over-Regulated and Under-Funded World.

Mr. Black is currently working with NewYork-Presbyterian’s Westchester Division on a plan for the redevelopment of the psychiatric facilities at its historic Westchester campus. He is also developing a master plan for St. Vincent’s Hospital Psychiatric Division in Harrison, NY. daSILVA Architects will be serving as healthcare specialists on the design team for a new state-of-the-art (150-bed) adult psychiatric hospital on the New York State Bronx Psychiatric Center.

A firm proponent of humane care for the mentally ill, Mr. Black recently accompanied a group of distinguished Psychiatrists and Psychiatric Administrators on a study tour of the York Retreat in England. The Retreat is the oldest (founded 1796) continuously operating residential institution providing “moral treatment” for mental health patients.<See an Abstract of this presentation>