A cancer centre cure : re-envisioning the healing environment

Abstract

RESEARCH QUESTION How can healthcare environments provide a reassuring and comforting experience for cancer patients and their families?

ABSTRACT Cancer is a disease that touches everyone; much of a cancer sufferer’s time is spent in hospitals and clinics, and for many, joined by family and caregivers. The role of architecture becomes increasingly important in the areas of health and medical care where the experience of the sick and the traumatised ultimately defines how a space may be perceived. Aotearoa’s healthcare architecture has for a long time been neglected; alienating those that use it. This alienation is a consequence of a lack of integration with its context and nature; its inhuman scale and difficulty of wayfinding, among other things. Humans have a natural affiliation with nature built into them over thousands of years of evolution. Biophilic design has been shown to have scientific advantages in the healing process of patients in the integration of architecture with the natural environment. A Salutogenic approach provides a way in which human health can be explored through influences that have a positive impact on a person’s ability to cope with stress and the preservation and promotion of their physical and mental wellbeing. Decentralisation of urban planning has led to a disconnection between communities and has been shown to have a negative impact on society, physical and mental wellbeing. By providing a series of physical and visual clues, intuitive wayfinding has been shown to reduce stress and increase enjoyability for users on their journey.

This project addresses the need for a community based and scaled approach for healthcare facilities. It uses architecture to create an uplifting and healing environment for users by utilising the aesthetic beauty and healing qualities of Biophilia, Salutogenics and scale with a strong focus on the patient journey

The reimagining of the healthcare environment will manifest in the form of a Community Cancer Care Centre. With the objective of creating a healing environment for cancer patients and caregivers that alleviates unnecessary stress and anxiety through the use of nature and community scale.