In Defence of Theodore Gray: Architecture as a Vehicle for Re-evaluating a Doctor's Commitment to Patient Care

Abstract:Theodore Gray was director-general of New Zealand's mental hospitals from 1927–47. During this time the psychopathic hospital, electroconvulsive therapy, and effective psychopharmaceuticals all became available for the treatment of mental illness, yet Gray continued to believe that a suitably designed hospital environment was the best means of treating mental illness. Contemporary historians have criticised Gray's leadership as institutionalised and conservative; limited by his faith in the villa hospital. This paper argues that Gray was an innovator who understood the drawbacks of asylum care and whose architectural developments, specifically at the Kingseat and Lake Alice hospitals, confirmed both a remarkable commitment to open-door hospital practices and a sincere desire to improve the delivery of patient care. These architectural responses could have improved mental hospital design internationally.