IN SHORT
■ Think about how your patients and visitors use your facilities and use the interior design accordingly
■ Use interior design as a support in wayfinding; visual cues with artwork or floor materials
■ Upholstery, flooring and furnishings will all be in use 24/7, 365 days of the year, so must be guaranteed for this use
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 3
users of a waiting room, where visitors can spend hours waiting for test results or surgical outcomes. Having the ability to select from several types of areas, indoors and sometimes outdoors, can help reduce stress. Some people like quiet, some like television, some like to be around others to commiserate with – and these needs may change from hour to hour. These options offer visitors a subtle way to be in control during a time in which they have very little control. A wonderful way to add warmth to waiting
areas is to create a space for a fireplace. It creates a beautiful setting where visitors can gather, relax, and enjoy a respite from what’s happening around them (figures 3 and 4). And what about your hospital’s food?
Wouldn’t it be great if the cafeteria food was so delicious that people in the area actually thought about going to the hospital for a good meal? It could happen – at least I hold out hope that it could happen! It would be so unexpected and wonderful to approach designing a café with the goal of having it be
a true restaurant, rather than just supporting hospital staff, patients, and visitors with mediocre food and ordinary ambience.
ConClusion I encourage you to dream big! I have touched on only a few interior design possibilities to make your hospital warm and inviting. Many more things can and should be done. Collaborate with other design professionals, engage hospital leadership, and seek input from the community to gain support and involvement. Through carefully planned interior design, your facility can go from one that’s ordinary to one that’s truly extraordinary... a place that more effectively serves everyone’s needs. HB
AUTHOR INFO: Mary Bamborough, IIDA, is director of interior design at GMB Architecture + Engineering in Holland, Michigan. She has 20 years of healthcare interior design experience. For more information, please visit
www.gmb.com.
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