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Designing For Healing Environments In Healthcare Facilities

 
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  Subscribe to FREE newsletter  		Oct 30, 2011

No one looks forward to a hospital stay.

First and foremost, it means you are sick or injured. Secondly, the utilitarian design of most healthcare facilities is not likely to be restful or calming.

Lack of privacy. Noise. Fluorescent lighting. These are hardly healing conditions.

Healthcare facilities boom

There is currently a global hospital-construction boom.
In the US alone, over $200 billion is expected to be spent on healthcare construction by 2015. This estimate doesn’t even include veterinary facilities – a healthcare sector that is also experiencing growth. Indeed the American Pet Products Association (APPA) has seen spending on veterinary care jump by 50 percent over the past few years.

Whether human or animal – progressive healthcare design is now paying more attention to the elements that help constitute a healing environment. Elements that will help reduce stress and create a more calming and empowering setting for patients.

Focus on light, quiet and privacy

There are many design considerations that contribute to healing environments. Three of the most consistent of these are the beneficial qualities of light, quiet and privacy.

The healing benefits of daylight, tranquility and privacy are profound in both humans and animals.

  • Lighting – Good lighting is critical in healthcare facilities. Some areas require bright lights; other areas, such as recuperating spaces, require softer lighting. Use louvers or Venetian blinds encased in glass to control lighting while ensuring critical hygiene standards.

  • Access to daylight – The healing benefits of natural light are undisputed. Effective daylighting design has significant emotional as well as economic benefits. Consider solar shading complements to exterior windows and skylights to manage daylight for optimal benefits. Aluminum louvers can better reflect lighting to act as a light shelf.

  • Noise reduction – Calm and tranquility are essential to recuperation and to stress-free treatment and examination. Incorporate aluminum louvers into glazing to help attenuate sound in interior and exterior doors and windows.

  • Privacy – Privacy provides patients with a sense of control when they may feel their most vulnerable. Windows and doors need to provide medical staff with a view into patient areas, while preserving patient’s dignity. Employ louvers-within-glass for adjustable visibility. Louvers can be angled to offer completely adjustable privacy and visibility levels.

    • About Unicel Architectural

    For over 45 years, Unicel Architectural has built a reputation for the most advanced aluminum and glass solutions. These solutions encompass louvered glazing, skylights and more, to enhance major global construction initiatives with utmost quality and reliability. Unicel combines its market leading know-how with great design to ensure optimal aesthetics and sustainable performance.

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