Based
on the vision applying to the building project, an innovation process has been
defined in a close collaboration between patients, families, managers and
staff. This process resulted in a number of important design principles, and
the aspiration is that these principles are to govern both the organisation and
the building facilities.
The diagram illustrates general principles for user-based hospital architecture and specific design principles for the family hospital
Five specific design principles
Integrated play
Children do not stop playing ‘simply’ because they become ill. Play must therefore be an integral part of the hospital design as well as of activities and processes in the new facility. This is not just a matter of providing play areas and offering play breaks, but rather of integrating play in the entire patient pathway. A child’s acceptance of his or her illness and treatment may be aided by play activities where the child is treating another person or a toy animal. Play must be an all-pervasive theme throughout a patient’s stay at the hospital. We will take play seriously.
Designed for everyday life
Everyday life is real life. We have to eliminate the feeling of life being at a standstill during hospitalisation. The world inside must be in tune with the world outside. Family rooms enable families to continue everyday routines and activities: they can prepare and eat food, go to the cinema or sit on a sofa watching TV together. Those are little things, but they relate to everyday life and hence to real life.
See me, ask me, let me
Children and adolescents have the same basic need for recognition as adults. Their feeling of being able to take control of their own situation can and should be stimulated in as many ways as possible in order to reinforce and enhance the patients’ own resources and skills.
The good journey
Patients should experience a coherent, coordinated process without any troublesome transitions between departments, clinics, centres and sectors. Coherence and coordination should be an all-pervasive theme in the new hospital facilities, which should not only be characterised by ground breaking architecture but also by a completely new approach to logistics and functionality. The objective is to provide tailored intelligent treatment pathways to each individual patient – children, adolescents and adults alike.
Clearly defined zones
Wayfinding in the new building must be intuitive. The building is to feature architecture, technology, materials and colour schemes that tell people what they should, can and may do. The architecture must be created from within, and the architects must work with the people who literally have their finger on the pulse: the people who want a quiet place where they can get to know their delicate newborn baby, and the people who know when a quick change of scenario is needed in the event of complications during childbirth.
Reference is also made to the annexes entitled ‘Vision and principles for the world’s best hospital for children’ and ‘BørneRiget: User experiences at the world’s best hospital for children and families’.
Report on design principles and user involvement
Read the report