Frame - 17 February 2018

(Joyce) #1

EVERY SPACE has its KPIs. Shops have to sell


merchandise, while being an active part of a


community, offering experiences, dovetailing


with a dot-com and satisfying other current


requirements. Hospitality venues need to be fully


booked and to do pretty much the same things


that shops do. Offices must provide staff with


a congenial work environment that also allows


for focused tasks – and that makes a lasting


impression on visitors. Each location operates


according to its own programme of demands.


It’s an entirely different story, though, in


the field of healthcare, where the impact we


expect from correlated institutions is to make


sick people better. A crucial goal, yet little money


and attention are given to the interior design of


hospitals and clinics. As a result, we enter what


are too often surroundings so shabby that if we


weren’t already sick, a day or two in this dismal


atmosphere would do the job. Hard light, bare


corridors, no personal or interesting features, and


a lack of imagination in terms of form, materials


and colour. I’m exaggerating, of course, but only


a few years ago my description of the average


healthcare centre would have fit the bill.


Fortunately, we’re seeing a gradual change,


especially now that so many of us have developed


a fetish for health and wellbeing. We can probably


thank insurers and other stakeholders, too, who


have discovered that the quality of hospital


interiors bears a direct relation to the speed of


the healing process.


Hospitable


Hospitals


In healthcare design, the crux of the matter is
fairly simple. Make sure that both patients and
hospital staff feel comfortable. Create rooms that
give patients a certain amount of control, even
if it’s only the colour and intensity of the light.
Another key point is the presence of adequate
distraction in the form of experiential art, play
facilities for children and the like. Abundant
daylight is essential, as are easily accessible
pathways that allow staff to work as efficiently
as possible.
In brief, interior designers involved in
healthcare should take a human-centric approach
to their work. Put patients and their families
first. Make spaces that let staff do their work
unhindered. Then build a room that meets all
other objectives.
This way of working is the exact opposite of
what architects (and many interior designers) are
doing at the moment: they begin with the shell,
insert the programme, materialize it with form
and colour, and finally stop to consider the user.
Recently, the desire to give people a major
role has been taking an increasingly stronger
hold in the design of retail, hospitality and
office environments – prompting me to predict,
without hesitation, that within five years more
and more architects will visit hospitals. Not
because of stress or illness. Purely for inspiration.

ROBERT THIEMANN
Editor in chief

10 EDITORIAL

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