Introduction

Introduction

The majority of the world’s population will have been to a hospital at some point in their lives, whether it be birth, illness or death. Many rely on hospital care to live a long healthy life. So why has human-centred design not been incorporated into hospitals and can more considered hospital design benefit patients’ healing process? Today’s hospital designs emerged from scientific and political influences with little or no consideration of biophilic experience. This dissertation examines how the hospital typology has evolved over time to produce an undesirable space for fostering psychological healing and how it can be improved through the application of biophilic experience within a space.

Biophilia, as defined by American biologist Edward O. Willson (1929), as the ‘innately emotional affiliation of human beings to other living organisms’ (Willson, E.O 1993 p. 31). The first chapter of this dissertation identifies and categorises the many biophilic experiences that can be utilised by architects within hospital design. Leading theorists whose voices are heard throughout this chapter are Edward O. Wilson, Roger Ulrich (1946), Professor of Architecture and Centre for Healthcare Architecture at the Chalmers University of Technology, and Nikos A. Salingaros (1952), Architectural Theorist and Urbanists. The biophilic experiences that are discussed are direct, indirect and spatial experiences including the known psychological and physiological benefits of each approach. These approaches investigated are natural light, caring for plants, natural views, natural materials and their fractals, ornamentation and spatial qualities.

Chapter two investigates the historical influences on hospital design, ranging from the scientific to political views, and defines the major changes to the aesthetic and layout of the hospital typology. In particular, these changes to the typology are discussed in reference to the recommendations set out by Florence Nightingale’s 1863 guidelines for optimal hospital layout. Although Nightingale’s guidelines were written in 1863, her notions concerning the design of the hospital environment align remarkably closely with contemporary scientific findings regarding the effects of biophilia. This chapter moves through biological and scientific evolutions and how these developments have influenced government policies. The discussion leads to the evident necessity of a human-centred design within the hospital typology and the central and ethical obligations of the architect to respond and critically evaluate this typology.

Lastly, the final chapter within this dissertation focuses on two twenty-first century case studies that demonstrate the results of the evolution of hospital typology. This evolution is from its science and government lead past to the human-centred approach today. Both contemporary case studies focus on human-centred design, in particular biophilia, and are analysed in conjunction with the information discussed within chapter one. The first case study analysed is the Haraldsplass Hospital’s new main building, designed by C.F. Møller Architects (C.F. Møller Architects, 2019). This building was completed

in 2018 in Bergen, Norway. The second case study is the Gartnavel Hospital Maggie Centre, designed by OMA, completed in 2011 and is located in Glasgow, Scotland (OMA, 2013). This spatial analysis explores biophilic design though the use of natural light, views, materials, fractals and spatial qualities, in particular prospect and refuge. The purpose of this spatial analysis of these two twentyfirst century case studies is to demonstrate the architects' ability to design biophilic spaces that successfully improves the patients' psychological state of mind, and hence, overall wellbeing.