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ARCHITECTURE
& DESIGN

environment for Gentle Yoga, Tai Chi,
and ways to build a support system.
Family members are also welcome to
join and learn, Long notes.
Research and experiential evidence is
key to modern design, as is observation:
“Research has shown that patients re-
spond better to natural environments. In
response, we designed a space where fur-
niture could rotate to look outside. In
our focus groups, when the staff set
them up, they were all facing the middle
of the room, and the patients inevitably
rotated to look outside.
“Incorporating the notion of biophilia
into design is proven to also lower stress
levels and promote healing. So much is
needed to combat stress and promote
comfort and convenience. Now we’re at
the point where sufficient research and
data have accumulated to prove that de-
sign helps patients feel better and heal
better,” says Long.

“Just as important, well-de-
signed environments also help the
doctors and nurses deal with
stressful situations and help them
feel comfortable in the space they’re
essentially living in.”

Adopting Biophilic features in health-
care architecture, reconnecting patients
with nature and the world outdoors, has
evidence-proven impact at practices
large and small. RVK’s design for Heying
Orthodontics incorporated these princi-
ples; by client request, “They wanted the
site’s natural setting to be preserved as
much as possible, so the architecture had
to respond to the existing trees and site,
as well as include a playground, as most
of the patients are children.”
continued on page 20
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