Design Strategies for Optimal Well-Being in Health Care Environments
Design and Performance
In an ideal situation, the design of a health-care facility should be one that exudes a feeling of welcoming, comfort, and compassion. Anyone who has ever endured a hospital stay, gone for myriad tests, or waited for a loved one to be attended to knows that the experience is much more positive when the surroundings relieve stress, not multiply it. The environment should be soothing, not jarring. You should be able to easily navigate the halls and have a comfortable place to stay. The facility also has an influence on the staff service attitudes and behaviors. According to an article by Robert Carr for the Whole Building Design Guide, a program of the National Institute of Building Sciences, “finishes, signage, and artwork must be carefully selected, well-coordinated, and integrated. Security can be balanced with some features apparent to patients/visitors, while conveying a message of safety. Thoughtful design can help ensure the proper first impression is created and sustained.”7
Carr adds that in the past, “communicable diseases were the major health problem, and sanitation or cleanliness was the main characteristic of a healing or therapeutic environment.”7 He asserts that while cleanliness remains crucial, increasingly there is recognition of the value of a pleasant, easily understood, and nonthreatening environment for patient recovery. Good design in the health-care setting, he says, “starts by recognizing the basic functional needs, but does not end there—it must also meet the emotional needs of those who use such facilities at times of uncertainty, dependency, and stress.”7
Color is one of the most useful design elements used to create a specific feeling within any setting, and is of particular importance in a health-care environment.
The Role Color Can Play
Color is a very powerful tool. Many researchers have concluded that the human eye can see roughly 10 million colors, while marketing research has indicated that 80 percent of visual information is based on color. Those numbers are astounding.8
In the recent report titled, “The Application of Color in Healthcare Settings,” published by The Center for Health Design (CHD), health-care design experts acknowledge the influence of color in a variety of health-care facility environments. According to the CHD, color selection in many different spaces—whether it’s light-filled open-air lobbies or the more subdued, neutral tones used in operating rooms—can result in optimizing the comfort level and outcome for patients and create a more advantageous setting for facility personnel.9
COLOR AND DESIGN TRENDS IN HEALTH-CARE ENVIRONMENTS
Emergency Departments (EDs) across the United States are making changes to accommodate not only the needs of seniors and other patients, but for all visitors to their facilities. Many EDs are making an attempt to shorten wait times and are, therefore, staffing these areas with physicians and other staff that can assess and diagnose patients quickly and then move them along into the appropriate triage and exam rooms, helping to keep the flow of activity going at a more efficient rate.
Color and interior finishes are important in these areas, especially when you consider that patients and their families oftentimes will be anxious about test results and diagnoses. This is where design features may help alleviate anxiety and stress.
Residential design elements, such as residential-style furniture, decorative light fixtures, and fireplaces, all contribute to a feeling of hominess.
Other sources of color inspiration come from the local environment and the utilization of natural materials. Emily Kantz, interior designer for the Color Marketing and Design Department for Sherwin-Williams, says, “Evidence-based design has shown how important nature is in the healing process. For example, studies have shown that viewing nature reduces stress and pain through positive distraction. It’s a very direct influence because people easily understand and relate to nature—green grass, blue sky, red flowers, etc.”
Sources: “Connect” and “Full Spectrum: Color That’s Good for Health.” STIR. Sherwin-Williams. Web. 9 November 2016. www.sherwin-williams.com/architects-specifiers-designers/inspiration/stir.
Photo courtesy of The Sherwin-Williams Company
Color and interior finishes are important in creating a comfortable setting in health-care environments.
ADA COMPLIANCE
Manufacturers offer a range of hardware solutions that are commonly needed in health-care settings but are often challenging to incorporate into a sliding door: positive latching hardware, self-closing mechanisms, privacy locks, card reader access, and full automation capabilities. Some of today’s systems, however, are designed to be easily cleanable and to withstand the high traffic of the typical outpatient health-care environment, while also offering hardware that suits the needs of health-care projects.
In order to comply with accessibility standards, health-care facility doors must also meet ADA requirements for operating force, hardware operation, and handle clearances. For architects not familiar with the use of sliding doors in a more general sense, many health-care systems are moving toward the design of clinics with two doors to access an exam room (a.k.a. on-stage/off-stage or dual entry), where the patient enters from the public corridor side and the doctors access the exam room from the back-of-house side. The use of sliding doors is often essential to making this type of design work due to the considerable area a door swing takes up in small rooms. Sliding doors can be thought of as more expensive than swing doors, but the space saved is much more valuable than the cost difference of the doors. A top-hung sliding door assembly with no floor track and a concealed guide is optimal for use in most heath-care settings, as any product with exposed tracks of thresholds presents accessibility and cleaning concerns.
Photo: Aaron Leitz
Project: ZGF Architects
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