DISSERTATION 2019-2020

HEALING ARCHITECTURAL SPACES IN HEALTH CARE

Submitted by:
PRAVEENA M HARI

Semester vii,2019
Holy crescent College of Architecture
“ We shape our buildings , later they shape us “
ABSTRACT

This dissertation is to explore how architecture can heal or provide spaces and events where healing can takes
place. In today’s health care architecture there is a striving to make better use of evidence to achieve
environments that can contribute to patients healing, recovery , and well being . This study will be helpfull to
strengthen the environment of the healthcare centers in India as it explores the influence of physical environment
,planning and design aspects of the healtcare centers.

The main aim of this study is to create a healing environment in the health care centers which will reduce the
stress on the patients, their relatives and staff, enhance the ability to cope and maximize the effectiveness of the
medical treatment on the patient’s body.Inorder to take advantage of the body healing pharmacies , environments
must prevent the body from weakening due to stress. Stress is the body’s biggest obstacle in healing, and many
hospitals inflict so much stress on patients that it actually slows down healing ,counteracting the medications
and treatments that patient’s recieve.

The research reviews , focuses on the patient’s in cancer treatment, investigating their specific challenges and
focus on how architecture can have a positive impact on patients receiving chemotherapy. In order to
realistically move towards fully realized wellness, hospitals need to take a holistic approach to treat a patient’s
physical illnesses, psychological health, emotional hardships, and physiological response that need to be
revitalized as it is an integral part of healing.

This dissertation explores the relationship between environments and the body of the person that enable
healing.The study focuses on how planning and architecture can have a positive impact on the patients.
 BACKGROUND STUDY

CHAPTER .1
INTRODUCTION

How can the architecture of healing space become an integral part of healing itself?
How can architecture have an active role in the healing process?
Spaces are vital mediums for affecting emotions. In places where intense emotions run high, materials,
sounds, smells, light, and colour have an enormous influence on how people perceive themselves and cope
with their situations. In hospital healing spaces, the patient’s experience is often undervalued, overlooked by
the functions and operations of the medical treatments and busy schedules.
The human body has an incredible ability to “self-heal” when put into positive healing environments. This
healing is enabled by the ability of the body to ‘tap into our internal pharmacies’ by responding to the spaces
around them. One of the body’s most effective ways of healing is through means of releasing chemicals in
the brain such as endorphins (dopamine) which have the ability to reduce pain and swelling, lead to feelings
of euphoria, modulate appetite, and enhance the immune response. Certain elements in environments such
as colour, light, and natural landscapes can contribute to the body’s ability to self-heal.
This can increase one’s chances of healing faster. Many contemporary healing spaces have become so
function-oriented that they lack many of these aspects in their design. The built environment while in
treatment and how architecture can help augment their healing.
THE GOAL OF HEALING ARCHITECTURE

The goal is to engage patients in the process of healing and recovery. As a result, spaces should be designed to
reduce patient’s and their family stress. Healing through architecture aims to :

• Eliminate environmental stressess , such as noise , lack of privacy , poor air quality and glare.
• Connect patients to nature
• Enhance the patient’s comfort by offering options and choices .
eg : privacy versus socialization , type of music etc.
• Encourage opputunities for social support.
• Inspire feelings of peace, hope, reflection and spiritual connection.
OBJECTIVE
Amongst other things, this research shall seek to achieve the following;
• To promote the creation of a healing environment by research and design.
• To enhance the smooth and efficient running of healthcare facilities by the provision of recommendations on
creating a comfortable healthcare environment.
• To provide a source of reference on design efficiency of healthcare facilities in India.
• To make an assessment of the physical form of the healthcare building and asses its response to enhanced
patients’ expectations.
• To explore the different aspects of the built environment.
• To study the impact of these aspects on patient psychology.
• To determine the indicators of positive impact on patient psychology with respect to the design of the built
environment.
• To study the behaviour of cancer patients in hospitals.
• To investigate the architectural factors affecting behaviour of cancer patients in hospitals.
• To find and analyse the relationship between the architectural design of the hospitals and the psychology and
behaviour of the cancer patients.
METHODOLOGY

• To acheive the objectives of the study the following methodology is proposed :

• Detailed Literature and background study related to healing through architecture and healthcare center is
carried out.
• Analysis on the basis of requirement of doctor , staff , patients and their families is carried out(surveys).
• The need and the requirement of the physical aspects ( daylight , window , view ) and architectural features (
corridor , interactive spaces ) in health care centers is studied .
• Exploration of design considerations and interventions.
METHODOLOGY
SCOPE

• The scope and the intention behind the design concept –healing architecture is , as described ,not a new way
of thinking ,but is rather a continuation of earlier assumptions that the surrounding environment
,daylight,nature views and access , etc , had a healing effect on patients.
• The research focus on recovery of the patient which reduces the rehabilitation time which in turn reduces the
stay time in hospitals.The research intend to change the mind of the designer and improve the designing
techniques used by the architect in designing a hospital.
• The main objective conducting the study is to investigate the aspects which helps in creating healing
environment. The study will be helpfull in reducing the stress on the patients, their families and staffs in the
health care centers. The aim is to enhance the process of healing.
PROBLEM DEFINITION
The purpose of the present work is to study the physical aspects and the factors that lay positive impact on the
human health. For this purpose , healthcare centers are considered. The need of the healing environment in
healthcare centers to reduce stress and fatigue of its occupants, improve the quality of service and patient safety.
Various physical aspects and their physical and psycological impact are studied and the knowledge from the case
studies , literature review , survey and analysis are noted to increase the health outcomes in the healthcare center.

LIMITATION

• Research is restricted to healing through architectural spaces and environment , there is no provision of
healing through medication.
• Research only deals with healing and positive impacts of factors on human psycology and hence it is quite
limited.
• Research is only dealing with healing architecture in health care.
• Research is restricted to study of healing architectural spaces in health care in India.
• Research doesn’t deal with indepth details of healing architecture in human psycology.
• Research is restricted in acquiring the technical details in Literature casestudy .
• Research study doesn’t deals with 100% healing.
 CHAPTER . 2
BACKGROUND STUDY

HEAL VS. CURE

There is a distinction between the terms “heal” and “cure” although the two terms are often used
interchangeably. Healing refers to alleviating a person’s distress or anguish. Curing is the relief of the symptoms
of a disease or condition. Healing encompasses alleviating emotional stress, improving the ability to cope and
establishing a positive state of mind. One can heal without being cured, which is to say one can move through a
healing process while still being affected by a disease. Healing may include acceptance by coming to terms with
a life you may soon be leaving. “Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of
everything that isn’t you – all of the expectations, all of the beliefs – and becoming who you are. Not a better
you, but a realer you.” In terms of the healing of patients affected by cancer, architecture is an element with great
potential to augment healing through the built environment.

ENVIRONMENTS OF HEALING
The placebo effect is known as a “fake treatment” that does not hold any active substances itself. It helps the
body heal simply by the mind’s expectation that it will heal, and the brain then releases endorphins. Placebos
can ultimately reduce swelling and pain, minimizing stress, which makes the body better able to receive medical
treatments.
Charles Jencks, designer of the Maggie’s Centres believes in the architectural placebo effect, and through his
work shows the importance of environments of healing. Architecture has the power to indirectly boost the
immune system. He used this philosophy to guide his design of the Maggie’s Centres, a series of retreat centres
for people dealing with cancer. There, people receive practical and social support for dealing with cancer in an
environment that supports their emotional needs.
William James, an American philosopher and psychologist, believed “the greatest revolution in our generation
is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects
of their lives.”

POWER OF NATURAL LANDSCAPES

Despite a long history in healthcare, the effects of natural environments upon health have only been recently
systematically studied. Since the mid1980s, an integrated approach to medicine has helped reawaken the belief
that gardens can play a significant role in the healing process.
More recently, there has been a growing interest in the healing effects of nature.
The Kaplans and Roger Ulrich have provided much of the literature on how a landscape can be restorative.
Providing a sense of fascination as well as a greater extent, separating users from distraction (Kaplans, 1998),
reducing negative emotions, holding a person’s attention, and blocking stressful thoughts (Ulrich, 1981) have all
been shown to occur in natural landscapes.
 Ulrich has also shown that patients with views of nature have signifi cantly less post-operative stay times,
fewer negative comments from caregivers, less medication use and experienced fewer minor post-operative
complications than patients with views of a wall (1984). Researchers have also found that nursing home
residents with physical or visual access to nature have signifi cantly greater caloric intake and exercise than
those without (Cohen and Weisman, 1991). Based on research by the Kaplans and Ulrich, it could be argued
that any garden is healing. However, to be defi ned as such, a healing garden should give a sense of
restoration from stress and have other positive infl uences on patients, visitors and staff/caregivers. These
healing landscapes can be located in or outdoors, but to qualify as healing “gardens” they should have real
nature such as plants and/or water features (Cooper-Marcus and Barnes, 1999).
 Natural landscapes play an enormous role in the design of the Maggie’s Centres. Plants and natural
landscapes have shown to have a powerful impact on people who are ill by creating soothing healing
environments. A study performed by Roger Ulrich found that a view of a park outside a patient’s window
helped patients recover faster, requiring less pain medication compared to patients who viewed a brick wall.
Plants and elements of nature represent healing, growth, and hope. They offer an attitude of the mind. A
plant can be a representation of how we can feel and how we can change how we see ourselves.
ABOUT CANCER

CANCER
Cancer is currently the leading cause of deaths in India with a projected estimate of 77,532 new cases of cancer
in India .As the number of cancer cases continues to rise, hospitals will need to prepare for the growing demand
for cancer care. The most common cancers are prostate cancer for men, and breast cancer for women.The
following page describes specific challenges that cancer patients face during treatment, including the effects of
chemotherapy.
Cancer Statistics in India
Estimated number of people living with the disease: around 2.25 million
Every year, new cancer patients registered: Over 11,57,294 lakh
Cancer-related deaths: 7,84,821
Risk of developing cancer before the age of 75 years
Male: 9.81%
Female: 9.42%
Total deaths due to cancer in 2018 [7]
Total: 7,84,821
Men: 4,13,519
Women: 3,71,302
Risk of dying from cancer before the age of 75 years is 7.34% in males and 6.28% in females.
Cancers of oral cavity and lungs account for over 25% of cancer deaths in males and cancer of breast
and oral cavity account for 25% cancers in females .
The top five cancers in men and women account for 47.2% of all cancers; these cancers can be prevented,
screened for and/or detected early and treated at an early stage . This could significantly reduce the death
rate from these cancers.
STRESS
Stress is often a large hurdle to handle when coping with a life threatening disease such as cancer. Stress is
defined as the wear and tear on the body as it tries to deal with environmental stressors. The initial phase of a
stress reaction is the alarm reaction. This is where the body begins to gather its defense mechanisms. The body
typically experiences a stress reaction, essentially shutting down any systems that are not essential in the “fight
or-flight” mode and debilitates the immune system by releasing stress hormones. Long-term exposure to stress
reduces the body’s ability to fight diseases, infections, and mental illnesses such as depression.

Hormones released during stress also directly take part in the development of degenerative diseases such as
brain hemorrhages, kidney failure, pepticulcers, and cancer, among others. Often people will experience a stress
reaction where their body is weakened due to their body operating in a fight-or-flight mode, but this can be
avoided by coping with stress in a positive way by having a stress response instead of a stress reaction. A stress
response is an adaptive, healthy set of coping strategies. This will help one steer away from automatic reactions
and maladaptive coping strategies. This is especially important for patients dealing with a disease like cancer
which requires long-term treatment and recovery. Many people go to hospitals with extreme emotions such as
fear, anxiety, and frustration. In many cases, one feeling threatened may actually have more to do with one’s
state of mind on the situation more than the triggering of the event itself.
 FOCUS PATIENT UNDERGOING CHEMOTHERAPY
 fig. 1
fig. 1
Typical cycle of patients receiving chemotherapy
After diagnosis, patients usually begin treatment immediately,
which can last anywhere from two months and beyond
depending on the severity of the disease, prognosis, and
progress as treatment takes place (see fig 1). The treatment plan
can change significantly as time progresses. Unfortunately,
many cancer patients recover only to find the cancer has spread.
At this time, they typically resume treatment, either similar or
different from before. Treatments widely vary by person and by
stage.
fig .2
Cancer fatigue
Cancer Fatigue is one of the most difficult
challenges cancer patients face and is not often
treated because it cannot be directly measured,
and patients often do not bring it to the attention
of their caregivers.2 Among other symptoms
such as nausea, dizziness, and hair loss (see fig
2), cancer fatigue, more severe than regular
fatigue, tends to get worse with more chemo and
radiation treatments.
There is an enormous prevalence of cancer in India, and the disease is currently the top cause of death. One of
the many challenges that cancer patients face is fatigue, yet many hospitals do not address this concern in their
design. Waiting rooms are uncomfortable, and patients spend long days at the hospital, adding to their
discomfort and fatigue.
The study has reviewed a variety of healing spaces, including many which showed positive health impacts.

EMPOWERING CANCER PATIENTS

Unlike many other diseases, cancer is often life-threatening , and the journey of a cancer
patient is often unknown and treatments often get worse before they get better. “A diagnosis of cancer hits you
like a punch in the stomach... Cancer does kill of course – but fear, compounded by ignorance and false
knowledge – is a paralysing attack in its own right.” Cancer is bound to deeply affect even the strongest people.
Many different emotions accompany patients, and few people truly understand the most painful struggles of
cancer patients. “It is a difficult journey to walk. Sometimes it is overwhelming; sometimes fi lled with gratitude,
sometimes filled with fear,” cancer patients often must come to terms with losing their grasp of control, facing
the realization that their future is very uncertain. Elements that restore one’s hope, one’s dignity, and one’s
strength could have an enormous impact that only those who are struggling can fully appreciate.
Use of natural light, high efficiency light sources, biogas technology and Aesthetics should also be incorporated
in the planning and designing of hospitals so as to provide a quality and pleasure experience from the
surroundings. These and many other positive elements from other studies shall form the pond of ideas from
which my study shall stem.
Regardless of their location, size, or budget, all hospitals should have certain common attributes. (WHO Annual
Report 2007). These are as outlined below:
• Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness
According to (World Health Design 2005.) An efficient hospital layout should:
 Promote staff efficiency by minimizing distance of necessary travel between
 frequently used spaces.
 Allow easy visual supervision of patients by limited staff.
 Include all needed spaces, but no redundant ones. This requires careful pre-design
 programming.
 Provide an efficient logistics system, which might include elevators, pneumatic
 tubes, box conveyors, manual or automated carts, and gravity or pneumatic chutes,
 for the efficient handling of food and clean supplies and the removal of waste,
 recyclables, and soiled material.
 Make efficient use of space by locating support spaces so that they may be shared by adjacent functional
areas, and by making prudent use of multi-purpose spaces.
 Consolidate outpatient functions for more efficient operation — on first floor, if possible—for direct access
by outpatients.
 Group or combine functional areas with similar system requirements .
 Provide optimal functional adjacencies, such as locating the surgical intensive care unit adjacent to the
operating suite. These adjacencies should be based on a detailed functional program, which describes the
hospital's intended operations from the standpoint of patients, staff, and supplies.

• Flexibility and Expandability

Since medical needs and modes of treatment will continue to change, hospitals
should:
 Follow modular concepts of space planning and layout .
 Use generic room sizes and plans as much as possible, rather than highly
 specific ones.
 Be served by modular, easily accessed, and easily modified mechanical and
 electrical systems.
 Where size and program allow, be designed on a modular system basis. This system also uses walk-through
interstitial space between occupied floors for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing distribution. For large
projects, this provides continuing adaptability to changing programs and needs, with no first-cost premium,
if properly planned, designed, and bid. This Building System also allows vertical expansion without
disruptions to floors below.
 Be open-ended, with well planned directions for future expansion; for instance positioning "soft spaces"
such as administrative departments, adjacent to "hard spaces" such as clinical laboratories.

• Therapeutic Environment

Hospital patients are often fearful and confused and these feelings may impede recovery. Every effort should be
made to make the hospital stay as unthreatening, comfortable, and stress-free as possible. The interior designer
plays a major role in this effort to create a therapeutic environment. A hospital's interior design should be based
on a comprehensive understanding of the facility's mission and its patient profile. The characteristics of the
patient profile will determine the degree to which the interior design should address aging, loss of visual acuity,
other physical and mental disabilities, and abusiveness. (Interior Design Manual 2005.) Some importantaspects
of creating a therapeutic interior are:
 Using familiar and culturally relevant materials wherever consistent with sanitation and other functional
needs.
 Using cheerful and varied colours and textures, keeping in mind that some colours are inappropriate and can
interfere with provider assessments of patients' pallor and skin tones, disorient older or impaired patients, or
agitate patients and staff, particularly some psychiatric patients.
 Admitting ample natural light wherever feasible and using colour-corrected lighting in interior spaces which
closely approximates natural daylight .
 Providing views of the outdoors from every patient bed, and elsewhere wherever possible; photo murals of
nature scenes are helpful where outdoor views are not available.
 Designing a "way-finding" process into every project. Patients, visitors, and staff all need to know where
they are, what their destination is, and how to get there and return. A patient's sense of competence is
encouraged by making spaces easy to find, identify, and use without asking for help. Building elements,
colour, texture, and pattern should all give cues, as well as artwork and signage.
• Cleanliness and Sanitation
Hospitals must be easy to clean and maintain. This is facilitated by:
 Appropriate, durable finishes for each functional space.
 Careful detailing of such features as doorframes, casework, and finish transitions to avoid dirt-catching and
hard-to-clean crevices and joints.
 Adequate and appropriately located housekeeping spaces.
 Special materials, finishes, and details for spaces which are to be kept sterile, such as integral cove base. The
new antimicrobial surfaces might be considered for appropriate locations.
 Incorporating practices that stress indoor environmental quality (IEQ).
• Accessibility
 All areas, both inside and out, should:
 Comply with the minimum requirements of the Disability Act (DA2005).
 (Source: Ministry of Health Codes 2006) .
 Ensuring grades are flat enough to allow easy movement and sidewalks and
 corridors are wide enough for two wheelchairs to pass easily.
 Ensuring entrance areas are designed to accommodate patients with slower
 adaptation rates to dark and light; marking glass walls and doors to make their
 presence obvious.
• Controlled Circulation
 A hospital is a complex system of interrelated functions requiring constant movement of people and
goods. Much of this circulation should be controlled.
 Outpatients visiting diagnostic and treatment areas should not travel through inpatient functional areas nor
encounter severely ill inpatients.
 Typical outpatient routes should be simple and clearly defined .
 Visitors should have a simple and direct route to each patient nursing unit without penetrating other
functional areas.
 Separate patients and visitors from industrial/logistical areas or floors.
 Outflow of trash, recyclables, and soiled materials should be separated from the movement of food and clean
supplies, and both should be separated from routes of patients and visitors.
 Transfer of cadavers to and from the morgue should be out of the sight of patients and visitors.
 Dedicated service elevators for deliveries, food and building maintenance.
 Services.
• Aesthetics
 Aesthetics is closely related to creating a therapeutic environment. It is important in enhancing the
hospital's public image and is thus an important marketing tool. A better environment also contributes
to better staff morale and patient care. Aesthetic considerations include:
 Increased use of natural light, natural materials, and textures.
 Use of artwork.
 Attention to proportions, colour, scale, and detail.
 Bright, open, generously scaled public spaces.
 Homelike and intimate scale in patient rooms, day rooms, consultation rooms,and offices .
 Compatibility of exterior design with its physical surroundings.
• Security and Safety

 In addition to the general safety concerns of all buildings, hospitals have several
 particular security concerns:
 Protection of hospital property and assets, including drugs.
 Protection of patients, including incapacitated patients, and staff.
 Safe control of violent or unstable patients.
 Vulnerability to damage from terrorism because of proximity to high vulnerability targets, or because
they may be highly visible public buildings with an important role in the public health system.
POORLY DESIGNED SPACES

IMPORTANCE OF DESIGNING WITH THE PATIENT IN MIND

Happiness requires a particular state of mind. Stress has an enormous impact on happiness and one’s ability to
heal and stay positive. The design of a healthcare facility is not only important for function and efficiency, but
also has a vast impact on patients’ wellbeing and ability to cope with stress. Many times patients walking into
hospitals become stressed due to the stark-bright, white lights, cold floors, and hard walls along with the
confusing way-finding.
It’s no wonder that people feel more sick the longer they spend in these depressing environments (see Fig. 1).
When there is a lack of humble, human interactions and spaces to facilitate this energy, staff , doctors, patients,
and visitors all become less able to cope properly with the stress they experience in these spaces. This is
completely counterintuitive to the whole purpose of a hospital, which is to help people who are ill, feel better.
What hospitals tend to do is make people feel a lot worse before they feel better.
Often, large hospitals will be programmed like a well-tuned machine in terms of how they register, process, and
treat people. Registration staff , nurses, and doctors see so many people on a daily basis that the special attention
and care for each individual patient is lost, which is what people so desperately crave, especially in a time of
dire need.

EVIDENCE BASED DESIGN

Evidence based design is a decision based on research papers, scientific evidences and evidence gathered from
experienced client operations. An evidence -based design should results in improvements in productivity ,
customer satisfaction and economic estimation .Evidence based design is linking the physical environment with
better patient outcomes by using the best research evidence to guide design decisions.
Traditionally, the design of healing environments has been based on practical experience and
philosophical considerations, rather than on scientific evidence. Scientific evidence is used to improve the
effectiveness of design interventions and to gain the support of health care providers, who are trained to
rely soley on sound scientific data.

The Centre for Health Design (CHD) defines EBD as “the deliberate attempt to base building decisions on
the best available research evidence with the goal of improving outcomes and of continuing to monitor the
success or failure for subsequent decision-making”. It can be used for all design decisions.
“HEALING ARCHITECTURAL SPACES IN HEALTHCARE”

LITERATURE STUDY
The use of healing environment in the healthcare center are studied with the help of case studies.
Case study on the physical aspects and healing environment of the healing architecture are
described below :
 Muktangan Mitra, Pune – Primary Healthcare cum drug de-addiction
and Rehabilitation centre.
 Location
Mohanwadi ,off Pune-Alandi road,Yerawada,Pune
 Plot area : 39,870 sqft
 Built up area : 23,700 sqft
 Design by – Ar. Shirish Beri
“Shouldn’t our designs respond to the behavioural psycology of the users ?”
“Can our designs include this immeasurable dimension of the ‘Human spirit ‘ that
will rejuvenate and integrate with the wholeness of life”

 It is one of the best institutes in the field of drugs and alcohol de-addiction today. It
has treatment schedule of five weeks based on rational emotive behavior therapy,
alcoholic anonymous and Gandhian principles. There is small, enclosed
amphitheatre with beautiful landscape in the center of structure let the light and joy
enter into the building while helping the patients to connect and communicate with
each other and the staff.
There is a small-enclosed landscape amphitheatre of capacity 150,breathes light and ventilation in
the building , it blinds the various functions together , creating a ‘sense of belonging’.It is also
used as interaction space and focus point .Corridor have ample amount of light and ventilation and
visual connectivity with open amphitheatre. Balcony of general ward open into open
amphitheatre, providing visual interaction. Opening in the lobby provide light and ventilation in
waiting area. Clearstory windows in the meditation hall provide light in interior from top.
Façade treatment
• Random rubble masonry
• Aesthetically appealing

Treatment - 12 Principles
Unconditional acceptance
Every human being is rational & trustworthy
Security, love and gratitude:
Role models
Values
Work is recovery
Reintegration in the family setup is the key of rehabilitation
Recovery - a journey of happiness
Gandhiji's five principles of simple life to be adopted
Self-help groups
Nurturing relationships
Positive substitutes for addiction
Apart from these, some of the other aspects of our treatment are:

• Minimum medication administered - enough to relieve the patient of the intense withdrawals.
• Emphasis on clinical and ward observation. The patient's validated history is collected.
• Psychological tests administered as required to get an idea about the patient's personality and
coping up patterns.
VISUAL CONNECTIVITY
–From Visitor and User point of view

From the entrance gate of the building ,

the vision of the observer is not obstructed
and the open space is focused from this
point.
The waiting area of the O.P.D department
flows into the amphitheatre , which
continues the openness of the building.
From User point of view
The transparency is maintained by
connecting outer scene of the building to
the interiors.
.

LIGHTING AND INTERIOR

The building is functionally easy to monitor with only one controlled entrance .The
increased visibility because of the transparency makes this supervision easier. A balance
has been stuck between a sense of freedom and disciplinary control.The architecture
attempts at raising a sense of belonging and sharing between the users and therefore
indirectly causing recoveries.

The balcony of the general wards

opens up into amphitheatre , this
provides relief from the built up
space.
The opening in the waiting lobby continues till the
terrace and pours sufficient light into interiors.

Raised planters and the spread of flowers of

the window sill are used to cheer the patient
as soom as he enters the rooms that he can
feel free and interact well with counsellor.
• Livsrum Cancer Councelling Center by EFFEKT

The first prize winning proposal in the competition for a new cancer counseling center by EFFEKT, in
collaboration with Hoffmann and Lyngkilde, is designed as a cluster of seven small houses around two
green outdoor spaces. Each house has its own specific function and together they form a coherent
sequence of different spaces and functions such as a library, kitchen, conversation rooms, lounge,
shops, gym, and wellness facilities. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Located in Denmark, the house offers a wide range of different rooms for informal advice, therapy and
interaction with a focus on the users’ comfort and wellbeing. A varying roof height and materials used
means that the building will have its own unique architectural character that clearly distinguishes it
from the surrounding hospital buildings. With the location of the cancer counseling centre close to the
hospital’s cancer ward, it is set for a closer collaboration between hospital staff and the Danish Cancer
Society.

“The house will feel homely and comfortable and provide room for all forms of activities. The center
will be located quite close to the hospital, this will make it easy for cancer patients and their relatives
to come by for a cup of coffee and maybe a talk between treatments.“
The simple but carefully laid out plan shows interlocking rooms that wrap around two central courtyards.
The entire effect is calm and reflects the sensitive design of the ideas of healing architecture. Livsrum
can be seen as redesign of a standard hospital environment. The residential scale buildings focus on the
beneficial qualities of light, open spaces, privacy, and views of and access to outdoors. Although the
buildings are designed by the ambitious architects at EFFEKT, the focus is on making nurturing spaces,
not making huge design statements.
The principles of healing architecture have been fundamental in the design of the project..The
concept represents the vision that architecture affects human well-being, and that the architecture
can therefore help to strengthen or promote the healing process in individuals.

The basic idea is not that architecture alone can

heal, but that the architectural design in terms of
daylight quality, the room’s mood, color, sound
and the ability to be private and secure to support
the healing that takes place both physically and
psychologically.
Bookshelves cover entire walls, integrating small
window seats, while a mixture of homely
furnishings feature throughout.

Each house-shaped building provides a different

function and they include a library, a kitchen,
private meeting rooms, a lounge, a shop, a gym
and a healthcare facility.
• University of Arizona Cancer Center / ZGF Architects

Architects: ZGF Architects

Area: 20438.5 ft2
Year: 2015

The underlying goal was

to bring the highest
standard of cancer care
to Phoenix within an
evidence-based,
multidisciplinary model,
using the most modern
technologies.
This new cancer center represents the first clinical healthcare component on the Phoenix Biomedical
Campus. The 220,000 SF building includes spaces for radiation oncology, diagnostic imaging,
endoscopy and interventional radiology, exam and procedure rooms, a support and wellness center, an
infusion area, and a clinical pharmacy. A secured healing garden, located outside the main lobby, can
also be used for outdoor gatherings.
A deliberate layering of
glass, copper-colored metal,
and neutral stone forms the
building’s architectural
expression, which directly
relates to the patient
experience—their comfort,
privacy, and warmth—while
simultaneously establishing
the building’s unique
identity on the campus.

Materials and furnishings

used in the interior infuse
this healthcare facility with
warmth and hospitality. The
look and feel of the interior
environment more closely
resembles a hotel or spa,
with an elegantly designed
lobby, floor-to-ceiling
windows, valet parking, and
a coffee bar.
A unique sense of transparency was achieved through the use of slatted wood divider walls and a
mix of clear and etched glass in the lounges and at check-in on the second floor. While the clinical
spaces are more representative of medical facilities, the neutral palette is continued, binding the
entire facility together. All of the exam and treatment rooms have access to daylight, which is
supported by the floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides of the building. Those façades that receive
the harshest sunlight rely on a series of see-through exterior screens to help maintain patient
comfort.
 Inferences

The buildings have used ample of greenery for healing environment.

Muktangan rehabilitation has provided landscaping in entrance and amphitheatre to let patients
communicate with each other and staff. All buildings provide viewing windows in every room.
Natural light and ventilation has made accessible for each patient which triggers physiological and
hormonal progresses, affects psychology and well being of patients. All the buildings do not
compromise with height to give innovative, comfortable environment to patients.
 CONCLUSIONS

When designing buildings, emphasis is placed on construction and maintenance costs. However,
real people will be working in these buildings, so consideration should be given to their
psychological and physiological well-being. The improved health of building occupants benefits
employers and building owners because of improved performance. With strategically installed and
controlled daylighting systems, natural light has proven to be really beneficial for the health
productivity, and happy mind of building occupants. Natural light make occupants in touch with
outer world which can act as silver lining in time of sorrowness. Geometric patterns, proper
proportion of elements and acoustical control designs also supports the healing environment but
among all the measures suggested greenery, open spaces, and landscaping is most common and
preferable way used for effective healing. There are some studies showing a huge range of positive
impact of plants on occupants. Plants lead to change our mental health, helps our physical health,
and make aura happier. in some environments, where people are subjected to prolonged stress, such
as in rehabilitation centre and healthcare facilities,and office spaces planting more trees with dense
green canopies may be useful otherwise for creating general rehabilitative environment, planting
trees of any colour and any form can be improved human well being.
 Design considerations

• Welcoming entrances.
• Qualitative daylighting
• Human comfort
• Privacy
• Normalcy
• Proximity of spaces
• Open spaces
• Access to nature
• Views and vistas
• Spaces for interactions
• Easy way finding
• Respecting patient’s choice
• Air quality
• Furniture design
• Indoor planning
• Therapuetic garden
• Security,safety and affinity
BIBILIOGRAPHY

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