The latest trends in healthcare design aim to construct environments that are fit for healing and consider the patients’ experience. Hospitals seem to be undergoing the same transition as offices did a while back; they are becoming more open, using more glass and light surfaces, and making the most of natural daylight and splashes of bright colors. Obviously, this affects the acoustics of the space; hard surfaces run the risk of impacting speech clarity negatively and in large open spaces noise can propagate and create high sound levels.
Download ECO mag healthcare edition for plenty of interviews and articles from hospitals and researchers who all have encountered these acoustic challenges.
Here are a few examples of these new design trends (click to enlarge).
Queen Silvia’s Childrens’ Hospital – Gothenburg, SE
The kids love this. We often see tired, unhappy children perk up when they enter one of these rooms, says Tomas Gedda of Queen Silvia’s Children’s Hospital.
Verpleeghuis Willibrord – Middleburg, NL
Elderly care center in the Netherlands using Ecophon Focus Ds for nice apperance in joint areas. Good acoustics and stylish design!
Helix Forensic Psychiatric Clinic – Stockholm, SE
Much effort has gone in to creating safe and beautiful design with out lowering on security.
We know that architecture, space, sound, colours and light can have a positive effect on the human psyche, says Magnus Kristiansson of Stockholm Forensic Psychiatric Care Service.
Meander Medisch Centrum – Amersfoort, NL
Architect Dorte Kristensen represented Atelier Pro, the firm that designed the Meander Medical Centre. It was a real challenge to build a hospital on healing environment principles.
