The brookline center for community mental health.
brookline, ma

The Brookline Center for Community Mental Health (BCCMH) provides affordable mental health care and community-based social services to individuals and families. Located in a historic brownstone that was only partially accessible, BCCMH hired studioMLA Architects to conduct a feasibility study and then a renovation to improve functionality and user experience on a limited budget with relatively limited strategic interventions.

Through building analyses and a series of focus groups with multiple user groups, including clinicians, administrators, staff, and Board members, our team identified the building’s challenges and areas for improvement, internally and externally. The BCCMH staff did not have enough clinical space for the current number of patients. There was no consistency from one clinical room to the next, and the staff lacked their own quality space. Several themes emerged, including accessibility, order, and predictability, and maximizing the usability of spaces.

With the challenges identified, studioMLA created three simultaneous design options with varying degrees of intervention, from cosmetic upgrades to a full building addition, and presented the options to the Board. The Board selected the option that focused on high-priority upgrades with incremental improvements to lighting, acoustics, circulation, storage, and accessibility. Our firm completed interior renovations, exterior ramp, and phase 1 of the landscape design in January 2021.

In July 2024, Phase 2 of the landscape design was completed. Ashley McGraw Architects designed a serene, restorative garden for outdoor therapy sessions—transforming a challenging site with a 7-foot elevation change, an unstable brick wall, and privacy concerns into a fully accessible green oasis. The space now features semi-private therapy nooks, a children’s play area, a multipurpose court, and a tranquil retreat where staff can unwind. Every element of the design was guided by a single goal: to support healing and well-being through thoughtful, compassionate design. The Brookline Center for Community Mental Health is also the first local community mental health center in Massachusetts to build a designated outdoor space for mental health services, setting a new standard for innovative, nature-based mental health services in the community.

*Phase 1 of the project completed as studioMLA Architects prior to acquisition by Ashley McGraw Architects