Do our physical surroundings impact our health? If so, what do designers need to know to create environments that support our health? In particular, how can the design of healthcare facilities be optimized? This topic will be explored at The Wolfsonian by a panel of experts on Saturday, June 19, 10:30am –12:30pm.
“We now recognize that aspects of the physical environment have an influence on physiology, psychology, and sociology,” explains panelist Kirk Hamilton, FAIA, FACHA, fellow of the Center for Health Systems & Design and associate professor of Architecture at Texas A&M University. “In healthcare settings we see important connections to human behavior, mood, pain, recovery time, spread of infection, medication use, errors, and falls.”
Hamilton will be joined in the discussion by interior designer Elizabeth C. Brawley, AAHID, IIDA, CID, president of Design Concepts Unlimited, and healthcare professional Glyn Jarvis, consultant clinical psychologist and program director of Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre, Oxford, UK. The panel will be moderated by Jose Estevez, AIA, LEED AP, founding principal of MGE Architects in Miami.
Estevez emphasizes the importance of designing “an environment where the patient can rest, which includes providing appropriate light levels, noise controls, and comfort. Exposure to natural light has proven to shorten hospital stays, and the use of natural materials such as wood and stone and neutral colors can help reduce the stress level and provide a warm and soothing environment.” Estevez’s firm is currently working on an expansion for Jackson South Community Hospital in which the patient rooms are designed with floor-to-ceiling glass walls that allow natural light in and provide the patient with an expansive view of the outdoors. The rooms are organized with the bathroom on the corridor side to reduce the noise from the hospital’s hallways.
Designing Healthy Spaces: Three Views is part of The Wolfsonian’s celebration of the first year of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University. The event is free for members and $10 for others, and it offers AIA CEU credits. The event is co-presented with the Architecture Club-AIA Miami and is sponsored in part by VITAS Innovative Hospice Care; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information, contact 305.535.2644 or lydia@thewolf.fiu.edu.