healthcare design for durability, flexibility AND aesthetic
Interior design for healthcare is filled with unique considerations: durability because of the hard use in areas that host patients around the clock, flexibility to address a wide range of functionality and equipment, and aesthetics to promote efficiency and the comfort of patients. All of this in a setting where cleanliness and hygiene are crucial factors and where the space needs to remain in constant use. Downtime for repairs can be a logistical nightmare. Combine these elements with the rapid construction timeline often required for healthcare spaces and the challenge can be daunting.
How Prefabricated Architectural Solutions Rise to Meet the Challenging Demands of the Healthcare Industry
Interior design for healthcare is filled with unique considerations: durability because of the hard use in areas that host patients around the clock, flexibility to address a wide range of functionality and equipment, and aesthetics to promote efficiency and the comfort of patients. All of this in a setting where cleanliness and hygiene are crucial factors and where the space needs to remain in constant use. Downtime for repairs can be a logistical nightmare. Combine these elements with the rapid construction timeline often required for healthcare spaces and the challenge can be daunting.
Featured below are three healthcare project profiles. In every instance, the facilities and design teams chose to buck traditional construction methods in favor of the advantages of modular construction. The customized solutions offered by DIRTT Environmental Solutions were specifically tailored to provide a state-of-the art response to the needs of each space.
Detroit, MI
Detroit Medical Center needed a space for observing ER patients with undefined and mild symptoms without tying up their medical/surgical beds. The hospital devoted an underused storage area to be transformed into a new observation unit equipped with 29 beds. However, the logistical prospect of such a big construction endeavor to the working hospital was creating a headache before it even began. Concerns about the drywall dust and noise associated with traditional construction were paramount to the point that the design team was receptive to taking a new direction with custom prefab construction.
“I sat down initially as a skeptic,” said John Miller, architect and senior program manager at the Detroit Medical Center. But he gave DIRTT its day in court and determined that if the team could make it work in terms of budget after a careful cost-by-cost analysis, then it would be a game changer for the observation unit project.
“We were 5% less on using DIRTT than using a stick built comparison,” said Miller. The cost savings with DIRTT came from the labor savings. Eliminating on-site fabrication not only reduces noise and debris, it also nets a tremendous reduction in the cost of labor.
Timeline was also a massive factor for the project; it had already been cut by 18 months by the time DIRTT was proposed. At the very least, it was an expectation that DIRTT would be able to match the conventional construction timeline. DIRTT was able to complete the project 30 days sooner than the conventional construction quote, which impressed the team tremendously.
The resulting space enhances the comfort of patients and performs well for staff. “We’ve got great aesthetics,” said Miller. The durability of the beautifully designed space has also garnered high praise from the project team. The observation unit patients are more mobile and active than those typical to the emergency department, and they tend to interact with the space more heavily. “We get hard use of the space,” explained Miller. “These patients are fidgety. They’re not home.”
Despite the heavy use the space receives, the team hasn’t had to perform any repairs to the DIRTT elements. Although easily replaceable DIRTT tiles were a key consideration of the facilities team, they haven’t even had a chance to showcase this aspect during tours: DIRTT is holding up perfectly in the high-demand space. “We have had to repair and protect drywall regularly,” said Miller.
Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin
Madison, WI
This cutting-edge primary care clinic sought to employ flexibility and efficiency to create a space that would continue to evolve alongside changing healthcare delivery methods. For Group Health Cooperative, timeline was a critical factor: three months to complete a 4,100 square foot space. Conventional construction was not a viable option for the project.
“We chose to build a space in which every inch was thought through, where design features are functional,” said Project Management Specialist Becky McGuire. DIRTT’s unique customization allowed the team to forgo protective bumpers, provide aesthetically-pleasing privacy in exam rooms, and maximize areas where equipment could be stored.
“We felt DIRTT provided us with the most efficient footprint flexibility, as well as quality of design,” explained CEO Kevin Hayden. Staff have lauded the space’s effect on increasing the level of care that they are able to deliver, and local medical staff are clamoring for position openings at the clinic.
“Now we have a blueprint for easily reconfiguring and adapting our clinic space to meet healthcare’s ever-changing needs,” said McGuire.
Hunterdon Orthopaedic Institute
Flemington, NJ
Hunterdon Orthopaedic Institute sought to differentiate themselves from the competition by offering patients a world-class facility that despite its grand scale, didn’t feel impersonal and convoluted. Efficiency was vital to ensure that patients would feel well-cared for and comfortable. Organized equipment storage and ergonomic positioning would allow care providers to focus on patients rather than fumbling for items haphazardly.
The demanding storage needs of the space made the project team initially doubtful of a prefabricated millwork solution, but DIRTT’s custom abilities were soon proven. “I didn’t realize DIRTT’s solution was truly custom,” said Dr. Robert More, the physician overseeing the buildout.
“As I learned more about DIRTT I started to challenge the team – and they came through,” said Dr. More. “I got everything I wanted, giving our team maximum efficiency.”
All of this customization was completed without an increase in cost, because DIRTT’s price is based exclusively on materials and is not dependent upon standard sizes with additional charges for specials. “I never had sticker shock,” said Dr. More.
REDUCING the sedentary work day
We’ve all heard it: “sitting is the new smoking!” Such bombastic statements can lead to skepticism and assumptions of sensationalist claims backed by little research. But the numbers are in. And while your desk won’t give you cancer, there are genuine health problems linked with leading a sedentary lifestyle.
We’ve all heard it: “sitting is the new smoking!” Such bombastic statements can lead to skepticism and assumptions of sensationalist claims backed by little research. But the numbers are in. And while your desk won’t give you cancer, there are genuine health problems linked with leading a sedentary lifestyle.
Consider your day. You sleep (hopefully for eight hours), you get ready, you commute, you sit at your desk, get up for the printer a few times or to go sit (yet again) in a meeting, you commute once more and only a few hours later, it’s time to go to bed. Even if you get in gym time or a run, you might be spending as many as 18 hours being still; more if you enjoy the occasional Netflix binge.
Even if you hit the gym, a sedentary lifestyle can increase your risk for certain diseases or conditions that could result in premature fatality. Cancer, cardiovascular disease, and Type 2 diabetes are all made more likely by a lifestyle that incorporates very little or only small bursts of activity. But other areas of your health can also be impacted by sitting so much. Studies are now showing that too much inactivity can increase anxiety and depression, in addition to obesity.
Humans have an intrinsic need to be upright and mobile. Interestingly, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to sign up for more spin classes or start training for a marathon just to combat the ill effects of sitting too much. Even making the time to go for walks more consistently during the week can have enormous health benefits physically and “above the shoulders,” in terms of reduced anxiety and depression.
Despite its position as a leading contributor for a sedentary lifestyle, the workplace is actually where you can try and make the most improvement (at least, until we go back to the cars from the Flintstones). In fact, health experts are now recommending standing more during your work day as the answer to reducing the harmful effects of all that sitting. Also, taking brief strolls through the day can have even more health benefits than simply standing.
There are many ways to incorporate these changes into your work life; having walking meetings and taking your phone calls while standing are just a few examples. But more than ever, there are now workplace solutions to help break the sedentary cycle. Height-adjustable desks and treadmill desks are changing the office game. Workplaces are ordering community treadmill desks that people can temporarily use while checking email or taking calls.
With these new products in the workplace, marked improvements are being seen not only in maintaining physical health but even with increased work performance. It turns out that the “get the blood flowing” adage rings true: as simple an exercise as walking can increase creativity and productivity and also reduce stress. Many companies are seeing huge benefits from corporate wellness programs that encourage more movement in the office. We’re all motivated to perform better for companies that have our interests at heart, even on as personal a level as caring for our health.
Consider the benefits that slight adjustments in your daily routine can produce and encourage your employer to do their part in making the workplace better suited for activity. Make use of office tools and culture that can get you moving more. Stand up, stretch your legs and talk to someone next time you need information. See if you can get your boss on board with turning your next meeting into a stroll. Walk a lap around the office next time you move your desk to standing height. Savor the resulting changes to your well-being and endeavor to make even more positive decisions.
what comes after gen y?
Knoll has released their latest research on the generation that will be entering the workforce by the close of this decade: Generation Z. Like every generation, Generation Z has unique values, such as structure and predictability, and strengths, like their effortless comfort with the online world and technology. They will also face specific challenges because they are more distractible and will not be as adept at interpersonal work relationships and interactions. These factors will gradually reshape the workplace as it is redefined to maximize their effectiveness and productivity.
Knoll has released their latest research on the generation that will be entering the workforce by the close of this decade: Generation Z. Like every generation, Generation Z has unique values, such as structure and predictability, and strengths, like their effortless comfort with the online world and technology. They will also face specific challenges because they are more distractible and will not be as adept at interpersonal work relationships and interactions. These factors will gradually reshape the workplace as it is redefined to maximize their effectiveness and productivity.
Knoll has identified three opportunities to facilitate Generation Z’s perceived workspace needs. They recommend a sense of structure through clear layout and obviously purposed spaces, “enclave spaces” for one-on-one meetings and “refuge” spaces that minimize distractions and promote focused work. Understanding each of the characteristics that lead to these needs is vital in anticipating the workplace changes that will accompany the introduction of Generation Z.
The first characteristic of Generation Z is their appreciation for social connection, structure, order and predictability. Generation X, the parents of Generation Z, had unpredictable family lives as divorce rates climbed. As a result, Generation X has lower divorce rates and have responded to the varying stability of their childhoods with high rates of home schooling their children and having one “stay at home” parent, promoting a secure family base.
The values of connection with family, order, structure, work ethic and predictability encompass and define Generation Z. They will be inclined to prefer workspaces where it is easy to orient themselves and that are straightforward to understand and use. Legible, well-organized work environments will be more effective than complex planning layouts and vast arrays of workspace options.
Generation Z’s second set of characteristics are their strong multi-tasking skills with reliance on social media. Since birth, Generation Z has been tapped into the Information Age, facing a barrage of data from digital sources. Their familiarity with multi-tasking online will translate into other areas of their lives, though this can be weakness as much as strength. More and more research indicates that multi-tasking negatively impacts learning and cognitive development and could potentially lead to poor work performance and poor relationships with co-workers.
This same set of characteristics shows that for Generation Z, social media is the center of the social world, instead of a tool to enhance existing relationships, which is how Generation Y uses social media. Depleted face-to-face socialization could hamper social interaction and conflict resolution in the workplace. Cyber bullying is on the rise and the detachment that leads to this behavior and the ability to simply delete online contacts when there is a conflict make for weak social tools to deal with in-person working relationships.
Creating a refuge where Generation Z staff can escape from relentless distraction is vital; telecommuting is not a suitable solution since the home environment is equally full of diversions. An office “refuge” space can help Generation Z employees escape endless notifications and exploding email inboxes, resulting in increased focus and productivity. The space should provide a refuge on many levels; a small, enclosed area to take away visual distraction, sound-masking to reduce outside noise, easy access to power and seating to promote convenience and whiteboards to assist with shaping ideas and concepts. Rooms equipped with Wi-Fi that temporarily blocks social and non-work related websites may be an additional aid in enhancing focus within the space. Additionally, these refuges spaces could be used for private, one-on-one interaction. Managers could assist employees with work relationship difficulties in a comforting, secure area free from scrutiny.
The last defining characteristic of Generation Z is their extensive online gaming experience, offering leadership opportunities in virtual work collaborations. As already evidenced in the workplace, online applications for collaborative work are increasingly the way of the future. Simulated work settings with avatars to represent employees in online interaction will be perfectly comfortable to Generation Z staff and reflective of their gaming experiences. In this arena, Generation Z has outstanding potential to become workplace leaders in managing online business interactions.
Collaboration spaces where physical teams of people can interact via online applications will be crucial in the evolving workplace. Enclaved areas that support blended virtual and face-to-face interaction will be important to designate. Small and secluded accommodating small groups of staff can be either open or enclosed, as long as the space is defined and functional. Comfortable seating, low surfaces, access to power and data and visual displays to assist with communicating ideas should be the hallmarks of these enclave areas.
Proximity, privacy and technology are the three critical elements for success with refuge and enclave spaces. These spaces need to be conveniently located near the employees’ usual work area for easy access and to be used often. Anticipating the needs of the next generation of workers will make the changing workplace into an evolution rather than a disruption and abrupt change.