It was one of those “Ah-hah!” moments. A moment typically reserved for an early morning shower after you've been up all night pondering an issue you can't resolve. A group of people was standing in the bathroom inside a full-scale, plywood mock-up of a patient room...
How often do we lay the blame for greenhouse gas emissions squarely at the door of cars, trucks, and SUVs? While 28% of U.S. greenhouse gases do come from transportation, the majority of that being our vehicles, it's our buildings—our homes and workplaces—that are...
It has long been theorized throughout the healthcare design field that images of nature have a restorative effect on occupants. London-based Artscape Gallery is now pushing the boundaries of the healing-imagery concept by installing “video paintings” and putting nature back into motion at healthcare facilities.
It all started with the University of Kentucky, which wanted to construct a healthcare facility that would be a local icon and address the region's healthcare needs for 100 years—or at least longer than the 30 to 50 years most facilities hope to achieve. Identifying...
It's interesting: Healthcare designers can talk ad infinitum about a world of issues—evidence-based design, patient- /staff-centric concepts, patient room attributes and appurtenances, wayfinding, technology planning, MEP, art, etc., etc. And then someone comes up...
An important part of the evidence-based design process includes creating a baseline of knowledge about an institution that should include the wishes and desires of their consumer base. The easiest way to do so is to arrange for visioning sessions with various...
Studio Lilica What art offers is space—a certain breathing room for the spirit. —John Updike Imagine a state-of-the-art healthcare facility guided by principles of design that promote wellness, comfort, and healing. That's exactly what Kaiser Permanente did when they...
The focus on patient safety and the magnitude of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) demand that design professionals become well versed in knowing where risks occur, how they occur, and what they can do to reduce or minimize them. For many years, the primary goal...
How would you describe architects/contractors’ working relationship? “As with CAD a generation ago, it will take time before the industry as a whole is up to speed. Until then, there will be both benefits and significant costs for “pioneers.” It will take more than a...
Are you seeing a slowdown in healthcare building activity due to the economy? Comments: -Health care services is like catering services related to people’s daily life and I think it will be among the last to be affected -I still see projects going ahead at full speed...
How many of your healthcare projects are using Building Information Modeling: Comments: -It is moving in too many directions...articulated by people with zero or less experience.
Unfortunately, according to Timothy J. Ward, at the time of writing a partner based in Tefen USA’s Washington, D.C., office, “Because day-to-day operations for emergency departments (ED) are so overwhelming, I’m sad to say that we don’t have enough focus on disaster...
