Un-tunnelling the Tunnels
At C& Partners Architects, we focus on architecture that is focused on healing and education with an emphasis on “care”. We pay significant attention to the experience of the end-user which drives our functional, efficient and lost-standing architectural language. Over the years, we have had the opportunity to work with various organizations throughout the city of Toronto, striving to craft spaces that are conscious of human movement and spatial fluidity. Using a research-focused, forward-thinking and evidenced-based framework, recently, we collaborated with Idea Couture to propose Biophilic Design in healthcare institutions in order to transform the experience of medical facilities.
Together, our teams have combined the power of human insight with strategic foresight in order to understand emerging and evolving patient needs. Based on this understanding our design approach informs programs, services, spaces, and the incorporation of technology, leading to an improved quality of experience in our city’s medical facilities.
As we all know, the serving hospitals in our cities are homes to some currently-outdated, often-neglected spaces in need for rejuvenation. In most cases, the overall mood in some areas is cold, dark and confined. For a person visiting and moving through them, these dark and cold spaces may cause anxiety and despair. So, how can we reframe these outdated environments, and create a sense of place that would enhance the end-user’s experience?
Our collaborative findings for the enhancement of these facilities proposed the use of Biophilic Design, connecting humans with nature in the built environment. We believe this approach, combined with the use of proven psychology of colour and improved lighting would quite economically improve the quality of these spaces. Stay tuned for more information regarding this concept, and we look forward to your thoughts on the subject matter. Please feel free to go to our ‘contact’ page or any of our Social Media channels, and let us know your ideas.