This article picks up from my previous article on how Hospital design can improve as healing environments. I focus on the need for daylight and what design aspects one must keep in mind at the design stage.
Much research exists to prove that access to daylight contributes to faster patient recovery and to staff’s welfare, morale and performance. Although this is not a new concept, it has not been as widely practiced as preached, until recently.
Present day hospital designs focus on creating a superior and delightful overall experience for the patients, staff and visitors with the use of high glass atrium entrances, shops, restaurants and cafes and use of artificial lighting, daylight, colours and arts.
Daylight or sunlight is a free source of light and heat, and its recommended best use lies in an intelligent building design. A design which not only reduces building energy and equipment costs but also minimises environmental pollution by significantly reducing the facility carbon footprint.
First and foremost the physical location and dimensions of the hospital building dictates how deep can the natural daylight penetrate? So, very wide or deep buildings will have fairly dark rooms in the core. If you are stuck with such an existing building, use of skylights or light wells can be an option. This obviously should be undertaken by experienced and approved hospital design architects and structural engineers. Otherwise, try to design all short use rooms in the deep core such as toilets, showers, changing areas, and stores etc.
Orientation of the hospital, clinic or other such facility building is the next thing to make use of the sunlight. It involves employing the sun path during different seasons and the sun angle calculator to establish light and heat gain during different hours of the day and night. This then informs the engineers on controlling the heat / solar gain, ventilation, heating, cooling and lighting requirements. Obviously it depends majorly on the number, location and dimensions of the windows and glazed walls.
Hence all the inpatient and some staff areas are on the external walls. Designers then try to make intelligent use of glass on the inner walls of such rooms to bring some aspect of daylight to corridors and rooms across. This, however, needs much thought to patient privacy, dignity, ability to obscure light when patients need to sleep during the day, patient care and staffing levels. Thus there is a clear case for less deep buildings and use of courtyards.
As a rule of thumb always remember, any good hospital design must be patient focused, provide clinical functionality, comply with local health and safety regulations, give due regard to the environment and sustainability, and only then consider additional creativity and flair.
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