With an understanding of the historical progression of hospital architecture and how neuroscience is currently impacting the development of architectural features considered to assist healing, visits were made to three UK medical and health based sites. For their differing approach to healthcare, the sites analysed were Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham which is a large NHS hospital; Burrswood Christian Hospital, Tunbridge Wells, which provides holistic care to its patients; and West London’s Maggie Centre adjacent to Charing Cross Hospital, offering cancer patients with palliative care and emotional support. Comparisons were made on sense of place, architecture, interior and spatial experience, in order to evaluate their effectiveness as environments for healing.
Open to the public in 1977, Q U E E N S M E D I C A L C E N T R E [Q M C]
is one of the biggest hospital complexes in the UK (Swift, N/D). Due to its large scale, the site was complicated to navigate: wayfinding signage is misleading and the carparks and sub-roads necessary to access different departments provide a negative setting.
The interior adopts a dated aesthetic; users were standing waiting in clusters near the reception desk due to lack of seating, and the lino flooring reflected harsh lighting. Colour injection as wayfinding is applied to the floor and walls, however it did not brighten the atmosphere and the warm temperature gave the impression of poor air quality. Patients waiting in beds were positioned against corridor walls; overcrowding circulation spaces.
In contrast the N O T T I N G H A M N H S T R E A T M E N T C E N T R E on site, also providing surgical procedures and treatment, offers an opposing experience. Natural materials and plants are dispersed throughout the large central atrium, which reveals alternative spaces to sit and treatment rooms. Despite its openness, noise levels were significantly less than in QMC and users appeared less stressed, presumably due to the absence of narrow corridors and impression that spaces were not restricted. The ceiling features large wooden beams and diffused glass, exploiting the natural light. This modern building exemplifies that hospitals can provide architectural features that form a therapeutic environment, despite the stressful nature of treatment.
T A K E M E T O
B U R R S W O O D H O S P I T A L provides patients with ‘intensive rehabilitation, respite care and post-operative care’ in addition to a variety of therapy services. The approach to care is holistic, focusing on the unity of the ‘mind, body and spirit’ (Burrswood Hospital, N/D). Built in 1834 as a country house (Bowden-Pickstock, 2009, pp111), it was improved in the mid-20th century by ‘modern-day Christian saint’, Dorothy Kerin and turned into a healing centre (Burrswood Hospital, N/D). Burrswood is a charity and Anglican organisation (Bowden-Pickstock, 2009, pp112), evident in architecture through the main hospital being flanked by the original chapel and a church.
A long drive surrounded by trees and a lake to one side forms the approach to Burrswood, which in itself is therapeutic. The reception visualises its original country house function rather than that of a typical institutional hospital, and patients are greeted by a receptionist waiting behind a wooden desk. Burrswood employee, Angie Yeoman, states that ‘it is like working in one big home’, describing its design as homely and unique. In this sense, it is similar to the design motives of Maggie’s West London, however its antiquated aesthetic is likely to be better suited to older generations. Patient’s admiration for the hospital is largely due its natural setting; with one patient stating that the glass façade separating the hydrotherapy pool from the countryside grounds had calming and rehabilitative impact.
M A G G I E ' S W E S T L O N D O N is described as ‘by far the most urban of centres’ (Heathcote and Jencks, 2010, pp136) the approach through Fulham Palace Road is a busy commercial and residential road, however the site, which is situated to the left of Charing Cross Hospital’s entrance, is semi-concealed by trees. The metallic roof hovers over the bright orange building and has protective, comforting connotations.
Signature to Maggie Centres, the building revolves around a central kitchen as a social hub and familiar point of reference. Patients and family openly used the large wooden kitchen table and facilities surrounding it, giving the space a friendly and comforting ambience. The domesticated aesthetic is further instilled through the use of natural materials of light washed wood and stone, partnered with warm, patterned furnishings and varied comforting textures. The spaces are undoubtedly modern, but avoid the clinical aesthetic known to many late 20th and early 21st Century establishments.
It is noticeable that spaces seamlessly flow and are an open sequence of private and public space, with light-filled open voids leading into smaller and private niches. Compensating for its stressful city location, the use of glass planes sectioning off planted courtyards and a calming roof garden allows the rehabilitative impact of nature to reach the users; an element absent in QMC.
L A N D S C A P E + V I E W S
B U R R S W O O D E X T E R I O R
B U R R S W O O D I N T E R I O R
Q U E E N S M E D I C A L C E N T R E
N H S T R E A T M E N T C E N T R E
M A G G I E ' S E X T E R I O R + N A T U R E
M A G G I E ' S I N T E R I O R
H O V E R
H O V E R
H O V E R
HAYLEY MARCROFT
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE | NTU
N0495471