Dissertation - Jasmin Loke Jeffery

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Chapter Two: Colour as Indicators in Aged Care Facilities

The use of colour in health care facilities, particularly aged care facilities, is a significant factor within the design process which must be considered appropriately for the general user and in particular for those with degenerative colour perception. This chapter will cover three primary areas of colour indication within an aged care environment, detailing the need for their consideration and the ways in which they benefit a patient or users well-being and aid in the healing process. It is widely discussed that colour and light can be used to compensate for the visual changes, such as ‘reduced adaption, reduced retinal illuminance, reduced contrast and saturation discernment, and impaired colour vision associated with ageing, with studies suggesting that ‘appropriate colour selections and contrasts levels assisting in improving the way the elderly… visualise and understand the built environment’ (Hegde 2007: 22). When thinking about colour in the built environment, particularly health care environments, the idea of colour psychology is widely discussed as a way which benefits the users through colour selection and its assumed associations. However, as voiced by Mahnke, ‘health care facilities can aid the healing process by establishing an environment that contributes to the psychological and physiological well-being of the patient’ (Mahnke 1996: 146). Within these environments, each individual complex space, that according to Mahnke demand ‘a supportive visual milieu’ of their own, must be individually considered in terms of functionality, aesthetic and design, in order to create a space that aids wellbeing whilst preserving the unity and structure of the facility (Mahnke 1996: 147). The three main areas of focus indicators which this chapter will discuss as drawn from the analysis of the first chapter on colour perception, are colour as a movement indicator, behavioural indicator and a social indicator. By breaking down these three separate indication aspects within the healthcare environment, we can aim to establish the importance of colour in correlation with each indicator.

Colour as a movement indicator A suggested usage for colour in healthcare environments is as a movement indicator or wayfinding device, which aids in the identification of physical elements such as door handles, levers, grab rails and signage (Leibrock 2000: 82). Way-finding refers to information systems which are used to guide individuals through a building or environment, providing them with information to gain a better understanding of their location and destination. Colour can typically be used within the built environment to assist in orientation through signage, symbols and directional indicators (seen in Figure 2.1) (Leibrock 2000: 82). However colour as a movement indicator can further provide wellbeing properties to elderly patients by generating physical activity which aides their overall physical health and mental well-being (Mozzer 2014). Way-finding and orientational cues are important factors which must be included in health care, particularly aged care facilities, in order to function 16


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