Vulnerable people with a psychiatric disorder are no longer staying in institutions outside of society, from now on the will live in the neighbourhood, in the so called ‘inclusive society’. In reality, some challenges need to be overcome such as loneliness and social isolation while living independent, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of people with psychiatric disorders, absence of the necessary safety nets of outpatient care, a lack of suitable low-cost rental housing and a society that is not entirely inclusive. This is to be seen as ‘the illusion of inclusion’. In my research I aimed to develop architectural principles to enable psychiatric patients to live independently within the neighbourhood. These architectural principles were developed by means of a literature review, best practices and interviews. The architectural principles serve as a method of testing the design. Even though the design itself is positioned on a specific location, these principles are a general guideline for designing for independent living with a psychiatric illness.