BUILDING DESIGN
Street entrance and pavement. Right: Pool, therapeutic and recreational garden, and walking tracks.
on the ground floor and has an illuminated glass front, which opens on to the garden. It includes a large multipurpose room that can be subdivided using sliding walls into three areas for occupational and memory therapy workshops, physical therapy and a living/dining room. Outdoors, there is a therapeutic and recreational garden with two running tracks, one of which includes obstacles for psychomotor exercise and a swimming pool for hydrotherapy rehabilitation.
Hospitalisation units located on the upper floors are arranged in a horseshoe shape due to a subtraction made in the rear façade, which allows space for the area occupied on the ground floor. The hospital rooms surround a central space that is used as a multipurpose room (living/dining room, workshops), which is separated by a low furniture corridor that enables patients to orientate themselves quickly and also works as an ambulatory area.
Architecture as a therapeutic agent Assuming that architecture and spatial arrangements may affect human behaviour, design should enhance the activities to be carried out there. Therefore, the aim was: l to create a domestic scale building with ‘non-institutionalised’ spaces
l to propose reminiscent and safe environments, differentiating sleeping areas from those where daily life takes place
l to stimulate patients l to design adaptable outdoor spaces.
One of the main features of the building is that all the spaces were designed to provide freedom of movement for people with reduced mobility, making them feel safe and thereby encouraging them to be as independent as possible. The hospitalisation floors are organised
around a central space so that patients can immediately see where they want to go to help with orientation. The
IFHE DIGEST 2018 Multipurpose space at day centre. 45
organisation of space must be simple because people with Alzheimer’s disease usually lose their sense of time and space. A central space is surrounded by a corridor that has been created using low furniture so that the patient’s visual field is not blocked. This is very important for people with Alzheimer’s disease who often walk compulsively all day. This activity can therefore be undertaken in a controlled space that is easily identified by them.
Each hospitalisation floor works as an independent unit, which can be controlled from a central nurses station with access to the floor using an automated control system so that patients cannot leave without authorisation. Warm and friendly materials are used in the centre to make it feel homely.
Technology as a therapeutic agent In addition to the functional organisation of the building, new technology can also help with the patient’s treatment. For example, by using phototherapy, which involves simple changes to the
interior lighting, the use of some medication may be avoided. Lamps that provide light temperature variation may induce different behaviour in patients. For example, cold light is used when the patient is required to become active in the morning and warm light is used when the patient is required to become relaxed in time for a rest. It is also used for the regulation of circadian rhythms, helping to differentiate night from day. Another element that complements the use of lighting is the centralised control of darkening components, such as roller blinds, which help encourage relaxation at night. Lighting is also used to orientate the patient if he or she does not remember where they are. Signage can help to remind people what and where things are and music therapy helps to differentiate night from day and encourage activity or relaxation. These elements are operated in an automated and centralised way to prepare staff for patient activity, reducing their engagement in building operational issues as much as possible.
IFHE
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