Catalysing innovation: four projects nominated at the European Healthcare Design Awards

The projects shortlisted include Cambridge Children’s Hospital, Oriel and The New Malmö Hospital (NSM Vårdbyggnader) in the Future Healthcare Design category, with Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital in the Interior Design and the Arts category.

The European Healthcare Design (EHD) Awards celebrates and recognises professional and research excellence in the design of healthcare environments, both in Europe and around the world. The awards champion healthcare environments that promote health, wellbeing and quality, while supporting the delivery of treatment and care in an accessible, sustainable and equitable way.

It is with pride that we can contribute globally towards the development of knowledge and standards in the design of healthcare environments and infrastructure – and not just in Scandinavia. Oriel and Cambridge Children’s Hospital introduce new models for care, research and education to the UK. The architecture is derived from over a decade’s worth of in-house research into the effects of nature, light, materiality and user experience, firmly rooted in Swedish values.

Read on to learn more about how these projects positively transform the delivery and experience of healthcare for the communities they serve.

Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital
Gothenburg, Sweden
Interior Design and the Arts category

Artwork played an important role in the design of Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital. The huge ball track that occupies the lobby is one of five larger works, designed to inspire joy. Based on our evidence-based research, play is part of the rehabilitation process and art encourages recovery.

Another of the works is a large painting with a motif made up of smaller figures. Each figure is unique and is found within the patient rooms. At the beginning of the stay, the child may not be able to move outside their room. When the child feels better, they can leave and walk towards the big picture in the entrance – they will find their figure there. By stimulating the child into movement and exploration, the artwork also becomes a way to aid recovery.

This is a principle reinforced by the architectural design. For example, niches and windows have been designed on different levels in library. This again stimulates movement, and when the children notice that they are able to get to places where they have not been able to climb before, it becomes a natural confirmation of recovery and gives them the feeling of independence.

Click here to learn more about the project.

Oriel
London, UK
Future Healthcare Design category

Oriel integrates world-class eye care and research for Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL’s Institute of Ophthalmology, within the high-tech setting of the King’s Cross & St Pancras Knowledge Quarter. Together with Penoyre & Prasad, we are part of AECOM’s team commissioned to design Oriel.

The ambition was to shape a place that was far removed from the traditional British hospital or healthcare facility. In a similar idea to the New Karolinska Solna biomedical campus in Stockholm, Oriel is designed to actively foster knowledge exchange between leading care and research institutions to deliver the greatest benefits for patients. Drawing on White Arkitekter’s significant research into healing environments, light and materiality, our evidence-based design supports recovery, while forming a high-performance workplace for staff.

– It is based on key design principles that consider the full spectrum of visual impairment and what that mean spatially. A safe and welcoming atmosphere eases wayfinding, appropriate lighting solutions and natural material throughout the building are designed to last – and meet changing needs in treatment and care, says Caroline Varnauskas.

Click here to learn more about the project.

New Malmö Hospital/NSM Vårdbyggnader
Malmö, Sweden
Future Healthcare Design category

The Skåne University Hospital campus in Malmö is undergoing a modernisation process to provide patients with highly specialised care. The campus includes a new hospital building with a total of 240 single-occupancy rooms, wards, operating rooms and a sterile processing unit plus robotics. The first department is scheduled for occupancy in 2024.

The city-integrated hospital also supports an efficient and enriching workplace for staff.

The different building volumes relate to the city scale on different levels. An important architectural consideration was to present a ground floor that is welcoming and facilitates orientation. The façade design supports wayfinding and connects the public realm with the entrance halls. Wood is an important theme at this level. The wood panel of the facade corresponds to the ash panels that clad the inner walls and the ceilings of the entrance halls.

Views towards greenery, access to daylight and a conscious colour palette was adopted to reduce stress for patients and hospital staff. Visual contact with outdoor environment is offered through large windows on every level. From the top floors, the greenery of the adjacent roofs plays an important role in healing.

Click here to learn more about the project.