The FSU Care House
TALLAHASSEE, FL
4th year | Fall 2019
Category: Healthcare Design
Duration: 2 months
Skills: Revit, Lumion, Photoshop, InDesign, Hand Rendering, FF&E Selection, Space Planning, InDesign, Microsoft PowerPoint
Healthcare design isn’t often associated with positive emotions and while the environment doesn’t reflect the quality of the care given, as a designer it is crucial to help patients have a positive experience, visually and physically. The new design for the facility focuses on one’s experience through tactile stimulation and visualization. Based on the concept of experiencing Beyond the Visual, the new outpatient clinic provides an energizing and familiar environment with a color palette inspired by human tones. The overall space portrays texture as well as concave and convex lines. The boundaries of the space become points of transition and connection, creating a natural flow within the clinic. The design goes beyond the surface of nature by blurring the lines between natural and human-made. For this reason, design decisions are influenced by nature but dictated by patients’ needs.
Overall, the environment will promote well being and healing, helping to turn the negative emotions associated with healthcare to a more intuitive, encouraging, and accepting space.
CONCEPT
Intuitive
Purifying
Energizing
Comforting
Explore Beyond the Visual
Comfort, pleasure, and delight are not governed by visual perception alone but by temperature, humidity, air, aromas, sound, and other environmental forces. Other variables, such as acoustics and environmental surroundings, play a significant role in determining how users respond to a space. Our environment shapes who we are as human beings so it is important to create a familiar and comfortable design. Healthcare design isn’t often associated with positive emotions and while the environment doesn’t reflect the quality of the care given, as a designer it is crucial to help patients have a positive experience, visually and physically.
The new clinic will become a visually enriching experience as well as a place of growth. To do so, the design will emphasize sensory engagement as a tool to enhance their experience. The new concept will push patients to “Explore Beyond The Visual” through the use of tactile stimulation and visualization by playing with texture as well as concave and convex lines. The boundaries of the space will instead become points of transition and connection, creating a natural flow within the clinic. The design will go beyond the surface of nature by blurring the lines between natural and human-made. For this reason, design decisions will be influenced by nature but dictated by patients’ needs. The design will provide patients and workers with a familiar and energizing environment. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional elements will corollate, creating a positive and visually relaxing space. The cool atmosphere will promote a sense of well-being through the synthesis of full, organic forms and warm environment materials. The undulating surfaces will capture the light and let gradually shift into shadows. Shadows will become a source of light accentuated by artificial light.
Overall, the environment will promote well being and healing, helping to turn the negative emotions associated with healthcare to a more intuitive, encouraging, and accepting space.
DIAGRAM
Community Room
Clinic Area
Circulation
Staff/Business Area
Waiting Room
The curvilinearity of the walls create smooth transitions reducing the amount of sharp edges and potential collisions.
The overall flooring materials uses human tones to help soothe patients and ease their senses. The color palette also helps create a calm and cozy environment.
Main Patient’s paths are laid out in a circular shape highlighted by the different colored ceiling structure above. The ceiling helps patient follow a distinct path towards the front desk and waiting area
FLOOR PLAN
The waiting room serves as the heart of the community gathering. Flooring transitions delineate different seating groups and help creating a fluid connection path between the front desk and the lounge seating.
The overall flooring materials uses human tones to help soothe patients and ease their senses. The color palette also helps create a calm and cozy environment.
A darker flooring was used in areas where intimacy and comfort was mostly needed such as the behavioral rooms, the kids waiting area, the staff break room, and the Staff Bullpen. The change In materials will affect patients behavior by making them feel more relaxed, which directly relates to the Person- Environment Theory.
The space under the stair will be blocked off to avoid the accumulation of dust and bacteria and to limit collisions.
The community room and the waiting area are joined by the kids waiting room. Connected by two curtain walls, the kids room allows parents to have a direct eye on their child from either room. This arrangement relates to the Person-Environment Theory as it allows parents to be at ease while doing their activities as if they were at home.
The Staff Bullpens are located on either wing of the building. The circular shape allows both rooms to be accessible from different sides while creating a distinct path of travel.
EXAM ROOM AXON
EXAM ROOM FF&E
DRAWINGS
A first impression determines the mood and emotions patients & employees can have and has a direct impact on their health and happiness. Through tactile stimulation, visualization, and comfort The FSU Care House welcomes visitors with a visually enriching experience. The soft curves of the check-in area gently invite patients under its roof, allowing them to exchange information privately. The entrance introduces a warm yet refreshing color palette blurring the lines between natural and human-made. More specifically there is an honesty of materials in some areas while other mimic natural patterns such as the ceiling.
WELCOME
The overall design is governed by nature's organic properties. The outpatient clinic challenges the typical healthcare design by incorporating warmer tones and 3 three dimensional forms to resemble nature and restore healing. The vivid shapes renew the mind and the body through focal points and materialistic movements.
The flooring pattern emulates the custom ceiling feature and delineates different seating arrangements. The boundaries of the waiting area transition to the kids’ waiting room, which connects to the community room. The kids’ room becomes a point of transition between the two spaces, gradually absorbing light deeper in the space. The overall design creates a natural flow within the clinic, transforming boundaries into point of transitions.
Process Sketches
Ceiling Inpiration
RECEPTION
HALLWAY
The hallways of the facility take patients and employees through an intimate and intriguing journey. The resin material on the exam room wall emulates bamboo immersing visitors in a state of wonder and distracting them from negative emotions. Contrast is applied using lighter flooring material and paint colors. This application allows patients with visual impairments and other medical conditions to navigate through the space easily.
Room occupancy is dictated by light. Each exam room is equipped with an LED panel showing the availability of the rooms. When the light is on, the room is available and when it is off the room is occupied.
STAFF BULLPEN
The staff bullpen allows employees and shadowing students to work together in an open setting, offering different sitting options. The concave curvature enable the space to fill more of our field of view, which translates to a more immersive and collaborative experience. The room directly connects to two procedure rooms on either side, allowing the staff to keep a constant eye on their patients.
ACCREDITATION LETTER
