Recognizing an opportunity to create a respite space where patients and their families can spend quality time together, Birmingham Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, England, converted an underutilized staff lecture hall into a multipurpose cinema.
The project was designed and built by MediCinema, a London-based nonprofit that also operates the 84-seat cinema, in partnership with The Walt Disney Company EMEA (London). The movie theater is part of the hospital’s Education Centre and features a ticket-booth-style entrance, brightly colored theater-style seating arranged like bands of a rainbow, sky blue acoustic wall panels with decor depicting balloons and the sun, and LED lights to mimic stars.
The dual-purpose space will host staff education and trainings during the day and show movies in the evenings. “As a hospital, it’s our mission to make the experience for our patients and families the best it can be, and introducing a cinema brings that little bit of magic, which allows our children to forget about where they are, even for just a short amount of time,” says Daljit Athwal, chief nurse at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.
Robert McCune is senior editor of Healthcare Design and can be reached at [email protected].
