Planning the Design and Construction of Healthcare facilities is a very specialised field that has begun getting its due only in the last few years in India. This is because we have now come to realize the important role the design and planning of the hospital plays in healing the patient. The aim of an architect is to ensure that their design satisfies the people living and functioning in the space they design. In a hospital this includes the Doctors, Nurses, Staff and of course the Patient. The design of a hospital must meet all their requirements. It is therefore the Architect’s duty and responsibility to design accordingly.
Our understanding of the importance of visual healing has grown as our perception of healthcare changes. “In the past, there was an opinion that hospitals should be viewed as a technical or science-led machine. The opinion was that the more scientific it looked, the better the hospital was” admits Klow. “But we learned that was exactly the opposite of what made people feel good.” Hospitals have always been a place of intense pressure, traumatic experience and apprehension. The impression a hospital leaves on its patients can make a huge difference to the process of recuperation.
