Pediatric Paradigms

CREATING A SENSE OF SPACE FOR EVERYONE

ABSTRACT PATTERNS FOUND IN PARKS BEGAN TO FORM THE IMPLIED BOUNDARIES OF THE ADJOINING SPACES WITHIN THE DESIGN OF UPMC CHILDREN'S HARRISBURG, ULTIMATELY PULLING THE DESIGN VISION TOGETHER. BY CHESENIA BURGOS AND EMMA LEACH

To truly design an inclusive pediatric environment, all users and their needs must Oftentimes pediatric design tends to cater more towards the younger age groups. be taken into consideration and addressed. Pediatric design has adapted a lot over the years. It’s no longer just primary colors and teddy bears. Through examples like SeraphMcSparren Pediatric Inpatient Center in Lancaster, PA., and UPMC Children's Harrisburg, Harrisburg, PA., we’ll show you how incorporating simple yet important planning strategies in the design of a space will help support family health. Childlike graphics don’t necessarily appeal to a patient who is a bit older. In a space with a wide variety of age groups, creating an inclusive environment becomes even more important. In addition to caring for a wide range of patients, an important factor to creating inclusive environments is incorporating their family members and siblings. Instead of using childish motifs, we’ve found ourselves inspired by nature which relates to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). To better relate nature and STEM with the design of interiors, designers will present abstract images of nature and STEM, alongside photos of the built environment, showcasing their similarities such as composition,

RETHINK THE TRADITIONAL Traditional pediatric design applies design to architectural elements whereas contemporary design incorporates elements within the architectural-built environment. Applied childish character motifs can sometimes seem like more of an afterthought, rather than a well-thought-out experience or focal point.

structure, developed pathways, gathering points, and color palettes. For example, a photo of the dried earth might spark an idea for a circular reading nook.

Sketches and parti diagrams have further developed from the imagery collected and naturally found their way to the design of pediatric spaces. This furthers the notion to rethink traditional.

A cohesive and integrated design brings great value as it takes into consideration the diversity of its users. Therefore, traditional rooms are starting to open up into their adjoining spaces. Implied lines of separation, whether though floor patterns, ceiling design or other architectural elements, began to form the units.

While bringing open concepts to healthcare, it’s still very important to create a unified interior that not only feels welcoming to the wide age range of the patient population but takes into consideration the intricate aspects of patient care, family engagement and caregiver support—all factors that place an important role in patient healing and satisfaction. A WELL-DESIGNED SPACE BUILDS CONFIDENCE AND EXPEDITES HEALING Space does not always have to be defined by full-height walls. In both projects we took advantage of partial-height walls, millwork elements, ceiling design and floor patterns to define spaces or activities. SeraphMcSparren featured open site lines to the play area and the family lounge, while UPMC showed visibility through the play space towards the front of the unit. Both projects maintain openness while still providing varying levels of visual privacy. The ability to feel a level of control over your environment and how you experience it is an important factor in building confidence and expediting healing.

Maintaining site lines is highly important in the pediatric environment. Therefore, implied lines of separation become especially important as individualized spaces are developed. That leaves us to discuss “A sense of place.” It’s important to identify specific areas that would draw in particular age groups, interests, or activities. In addition, solely because various space types are needed, does not mean they are required to be enclosed.

Half walls, vision panels, furniture and architectural built-in elements all promote flexible and open boundaries, offering a sense of place for all users—young children, teenagers, parents and caregivers. Co-locating these areas also promotes socialization and interaction as users can see across the adjoining spaces. As curiosity strikes, they have the freedom to move about without feeling like they are interrupting by opening and closing doors. It also promotes flexibility and visibility, encouraging users to choose their environment by allowing the activities that reside in those areas to define the space.

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Positive Distractions

A variety of elements were incorporated into the wall panels ranging from playful murals to light walls and touch screens. Built-in cubbies with fiberoptic lighting that kids can crawl into and custom hexagon walls were built-in throughout both projects.

Including elements like this creates an environment that encourages both play and creativity and ultimately provides distraction from the hospital environment. Between both projects, 35 interactive distractions were integrated into the design.

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FLEXIBLE FUNCTIONS: IMPLEMENTING VARIOUS TYPES OF WORKPLACES While some definition of space is still provided through design elements, the overall goal is to achieve an environment that is flexible and adaptable to all users and all activities. Part of that flexibility is encouraging kids to find their sense of place and provide a variety of options that appear welcoming and approachable, rather than separated behind the playroom door.

The key design goal of both projects was to ensure that every element of the design had dual purpose and could be used by multiple user types. From a design perspective, feeding areas and bench niches were incorporated wherever possible.

From an accessibility perspective, we were careful to make sure kids of all ages, sizes and mobilities could have access to all the same functions. For example, the custom sink in the center encourages handwashing and was designed with multiple heights to accommodate various accessibility or ergonomic needs. And both projects use millwork to create free-flowing shapes that added to the overall colorful design aesthetic. More importantly, it added to the functional needs of designing for a variety of users.

The play area millwork and counter elements provide a range of counter-heights and depths and allow for the use of accessibility.

When the play area’s main function is to encourage play and provide a positive distraction, its dual function as a therapy space was an important factor to remember when designing the play and interactive elements.

Providing caregivers with options for how they work is just as important as providing options to patients and their families. Offering a variety of seating heights allows that flexibility. Dispersing various work surfaces across the unit also allows for multiple moments of collaboration and touchdown. In one of the projects, adjacent to such seating types are open, semi-private and private work areas, which provide caregivers with the choice of the atmosphere most appropriate for their tasks.

It’s also very important that families maintain a visual connection to the caregivers. So, open and semi-private spaces still offer that line of sight to families while maintaining implied boundaries and privacy for the caregiver zones.

With flexibility still highly valued, the design of a patient room should also reflect the diversity of its patient population. With the goal of providing higher quality outcomes and better patient and family experience, the introduction and implementation of universal patient rooms creates inclusivity of care by encouraging the flexibility of providing varying levels of treatments in one space. This allows patients to remain in a single room during their stay and reduces patient transfers due to changes in acuity level by offering the capability of shifting to an ICU level of care.

Both projects incorporated a variety of touchdown surfaces for family members, whether it’s for work or pleasure. The goal is to make the users feel right at home so they can stay with their children as long as possible.

Regardless of being within the play area, school age group, teen space or family lounge, these examples showcase this way of thinking by incorporating playful yet sophisticated color palettes in an abstract way. s p

Chesenia Burgos

INTERIOR DESIGNER | STANTEC

Chesenia is a certified interior designer who has provided clients with planning, programming, research, and design services for various healthcare and education projects. Having experience in master planning, she has a well-rounded view on designing calculated and comprehensive plans that take into consideration the shifting needs of a particular space or building. Chesenia is currently serving as the VP of Advocacy for the International Interior Design Association’s (IIDA) Pennsylvania/ New Jersey/Delaware Chapter.

Emma Leach

INTERIOR DESIGNER | STANTEC

With a focus on client-facing work, Emma is most at home during design development. Using full scale mockups, virtual reality, and 3D renderings, she collaborates to capture the client’s needs in order to achieve the best design outcome. With a focus on healthcare design, Emma has experience in a variety of project scale types, including ground up hospitals and small-scale renovations. As a certified interior designer, she uses her knowledge and attention to detail to transform the client’s needs into reality. While bringing open concepts to healthcare, it’s still very important to create a unified interior that not only feels welcoming to the wide age range of the patient population but takes into consideration the intricate aspects of patient care, family engagement and caregiver support—all factors that place an important role in patient healing and satisfaction.

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