Anne DiNardo

Looking for a little inspiration to kick-start your new design year? Several color companies have announced their Colors of the Year, taking a marked departure from last year’s emerald, aloe, and yellow hues.

In this series, Healthcare Design asks leading healthcare design professionals, firms, and owners to tell us what’s got their attention and share some ideas on the subject.

Quentin Elliott is director of healthcare design at Moody Nolan (Columbus, Ohio). Here, he shares his thoughts on key elements for pediatric ambulatory care spaces, including designing positive distractions to improve the experience and using color and images to appeal to kids from newborn to their twenties.

In Healthcare Design’s December issue, I wrote an update on building materials and the desire for more transparency as the industry moves beyond a single attribute and looks for a broader understanding of what materials are made of.

In this series, Healthcare Design asks leading healthcare design professionals, firms, and owners to tell us what’s got their attention and share some ideas on the subject.

Robin Guenther is a principal with Perkins+Will at its New York office and co-author of Sustainable Healthcare, Architecture, Second Edition, with Gail Vittori. To kick off the new year, Guenther counts down her top five ideas that will influence healthcare in 2014, ranked in order of growing importance.

5. Resilience

In 2008, Cardiff University, a member of the Russell Group of Universities, embarked on the development of a masterplan, known as Maindy Road Campus.

In this series, Healthcare Design asks leading healthcare design professionals, firms, and owners to tell us what’s got their attention and share some ideas on the subject.

Healing gardens have been sprouting up at healthcare facilities as designers and owners garner a better understanding of the connection between access to nature and healing. These places are designed for respite and offer areas to sit as well as artwork and sculptures to inspire serenity.

When Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital had the chance to relocate in Boston and build a facility that’s custom tailored to its needs and patient population, it took full advantage of the opportunity, adding new programs such as aquatic therapy, bringing tons of natural light into patient rooms and public areas, and even opening up the windows in the gymnasium to give patients some fresh air while doing exercises.

The momentum for bringing more transparency to materials selection got a boost this fall when the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released its LEED v4 standard, which includes credits for building product reporting and disclosure.

In this series, Healthcare Design asks leading healthcare design professionals, firms, and owners to tell us what’s got their attention and share some ideas on the subject.

Ken Kramer is principal at Francis Cauffman (Philadelphia). Here, he shares his thoughts on project budgets and five steps to successfully managing budgetary discussions with clients and presenting creative solutions that maximize return on investment.

1. Find the real concern about spending

This year Healthcare Design introduced a new series called Take Five, inviting healthcare design professionals to tell us what was on their minds and why.

“Most studies indicate that employees spend 75-95 percent of their time doing things that increase costs and create no value for the customer,” says Amanda Mewborn, senior healthcare operational planner, Perkins+Will.