Kirkbride Plan

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The Kirkbride Plan was a system of mental asylum design advocated by American psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride (1809–1883) in the mid-19th century. The asylums built in the Kirkbride design, often referred to as Kirkbride Buildings (or simply Kirkbrides), were constructed during the mid- to late 19th century in the United States. The structural features of the hospitals as designated by Kirkbride were contingent on his theories regarding the healing of the mentally ill, in which environment and exposure to natural light and air circulation were crucial. The hospitals built according to the Kirkbride Plan would adopt various architectural styles, but had in common the "bat wing"-style floor plan, housing numerous wings that sprawl outward from the center. The first hospital designed under the Kirkbride Plan was the Trenton State Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey, by John Notman, constructed in 1848. Throughout the remainder of the 19th century, numerous psychiatric hospitals were designed...

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