Fulfilling mans' soul needs, referred to by Christopher Day and reflecting mans' advanced needs of self-awareness and transcendence as defined by Abraham Maslow, are inherent to the effective treatment of the psychological causes of addiction. These are discussed here in terms of how their fulfilling may manifest in the built environment.
The neonatal intensive care unit in the Princess Anne wing of the Royal United Hospital in Bath, England was partly funded by inventor, Sir James Dyson and designed by architects, Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios based in Bath and London. Having personal experience with his own son being born premature, Dyson was insistent on a holistic design approach with the
Figure 4: Architects Sketch Describing Person-Centred Approach (source: www.fcbstudios.com) Figure 3: External View (source: www.vinciconstruction.com)
63 | P a g e intent of creating a sustainable healthcare environment, using technology to auger the person- centred approach of the proposal. The scheme describes the intimate relationship between a built environment that acts simultaneously on all of the perceptual systems to provide an innate and unconscious healing in tandem with traditional therapies.
3.2.2 An Atmosphere of Care
The atmosphere of the centre touches the emotional sensibilities in response to the perception of calm and the cognition of serenity, imbibed by the tactile use of natural materials that express the healing and ethereal quality of the abundance of light within. This atmosphere is enhanced through the auditory perceptual system and the decided insulation from mechanical and external noise, most notably in the babies' wards. As a result the centre has achieved ground-breaking results in terms of improved efficacy of treatment. Breast-feeding time increased from 64%-90%, the babies were recorded as sleeping 22% longer due to the reduction of noise levels from 65 to 55DB and nurses spent approximately 20% more time with their patients. Anxious parents found the atmosphere more relaxing not least of all, because siblings were catered for with a dedicated play-pod (Bignell, 2013). The built-in seating within the wards themselves serves the dual purpose of allowing large amounts of light to enter the space and providing an area of repose for parents wanting to be near their babies during treatment. The height of the window seats encourages relaxation enhanced by the views outside, while the depth of the window reveal, ensures a comfortable seat as well as tempering the light to be less harsh within the ward.
Figure 17: Locality Map of the Dyson Centre in Bath (Source:
www.googlemaps.com)
Figure 18: Location Plan of Centre within the hospital complex (source: www.ruh.nhs.uk)
64 | P a g e 3.2.3 Health-Giving Tranquillity
The walls are periodically painted varying colours and act to break up the expanse of white mixed with the soothing natural hue of occasional timber panels, that seem to add a gentle rhythm to the circulation space surrounding the nurses' station and administration spaces that form the core of the unit. The open plan feel, creates the perception of a socially interactive space where intensely public areas that have the potential for becoming points of tension have been eased by the use of curved counters that respond to the intuitive movement through the space. The clockwise arrangement of the spaces radiating from this circulation zone are said to create 'a psychological effect of development and health improvement' (Bignell, 2013), subsequently enhanced by the extensive use of skylights illuminating the circulation space.
The double height at this point in the units provides a feeling of space that is restrained by the occasional connection to the utility space above, that again serves to enhance the perception of the rhythm of movement throughout the space while still acknowledging the intimacy required in the care of premature babies, their families and the staff that care for them.
Figure 20: Built-In Bay Window Seating for Parents within the Actual Ward (Chris Auckland - Fotohaus, 2011, Source: www.europaconcorsi.com) Figure 19: Siblings Pod (Chris Auckland -
Fotohaus, 2011, Source:
www.europaconcorsi.com)
65 | P a g e The sketch section figure 24 below describes the holistic approach to creating an environmentally as well as emotionally sustainable health care facility that acts on the auditory, visual, haptic and emotional perceptual systems simultaneously in creating an atmosphere of healing for all users of the space.
Figure 23: External View of Window Seat (source:
www.fcbstudios.com)
Figure 24: Architect's Sketch Section (source: www.fcbstudios.com)
3.2.3 Summary
The architects commissioned specifically with no previous healthcare experience, brought a more holistic approach to the design, separate from any preconceived notions of the typology.
The result is the diluting of an outdated hospital typology in and an improving of the health and well-being of all of the users of the space, from the premature babies being treated to
Figure 21: Illuminated Circulation Around Nurses Station (Stephen Shepherd source: www.independent.co.uk)
Figure 22: Skylights in Circulation Space (Stephen Shepherd source:
www.independent.co.uk)
66 | P a g e their entire families, including young siblings and staff. This idea lends itself to the concept of a universal cognition of spaces in the built environment, that satisfy the soul needs of one being worthy of care.
Figure 25: Architects Sketch Capturing the Essence of Care in the Built Environment (Source: www.fcbstudios.com)
67 | P a g e