This year, we were delighted to be invited to support the first series of the European Healthcare Design Congress Podcast. Episode 1 dropped ahead of this year’s conference and provided an opportunity to reflect on what lies beyond the Hospital.
As our collective focus shifts (left) to delivering healthcare services outside of traditional hospital settings and embracing AI and digital to deliver both diagnosis and care, new opportunities are emerging.
On the one hand, we have a wonderful opportunity to redefine and redesign healthcare spaces, using art to connect people and place.
On the other hand, the concept of Hospital 2.0 and standardisation brings new challenges: how to create hospitals with a sense of self; a feeling of belonging; spaces with soul and real identity.
No items found.
Joining me and our wonderful host, doctor turned designer Rolake Ojo, were EHD Programme Director and former RIBA President, Sunand Prasad OBE and Kieron Boyle Chair of the Impact investing institute and formerly, Chief Executive of Guys and St. Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust.
🎧 Click here to listen to the full episode, but in the meantime, here are the key takeaways from my contribution…
No items found.
“Architecture is an extraordinary thing - it is anticipatory - it falls down when it is too literally focused on solving something for the here and now because it exists over a long period of time. It has to seek a higher order of understanding.”
Sunand Prasad OBE
Img above Grove View Integrated Health and Care Hub. Artist Marcus Walters with Art in Site
Img right The New QEII Hospital, Welwyn Garden City. Screen by artist Charlotte Mann with Art in Site
No items found.
Fragmenting service delivery means we need to ‘connect’ the system in a different way - through art and identity. The left-shift in healthcare delivery brings both opportunities and risks. While bringing care closer to people’s homes gives greater accessibility and convenience, it also threatens to fragment the patient experience across multiple locations and providers.
I've learned that as clinical services become more distributed, we as designers must work harder to create seamless, connected experiences that maintain continuity and a culture of care.
This culture is user friendly, not top down or about the big impersonal machine, and that’s key to our approach at Art in Site. As our health is increasingly in our own hands - through education and technology - we need to explore the design of healthcare settings through the lens of wellness, creating a sense of nurture. That’s what we should all be working towards.
Identity is key
Development shouldn’t just be convenient, it needs to be human scale; manageable; delightful. It needs to bring joy. It’s a feeling that takes people through these processes and services. We need to create that feeling.
A good example of this is the QE2 Hospital, Welwyn Garden City, where the focus on quality of care is represented in the fabric of the building. There’s a real sense of high quality facilities and convenience.
Similarly, at South Tyneside, the Integrated Care Hub at Haven Court, designed by P+HS Architects took all the associated care and clinics outside of the hospital, into an inviting, fresh and open building filled with interest, community connections and chickens! It’s wonderful.
Project the positive
Projects that are nestled into daily life tend to be the most successful.
As an example, working with Hunters Architects and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, we created two clinics in a retail setting (Eastleigh Shopping Centre).
No items found.
Each had bright, friendly, modern colour schemes: the children’s therapies centre has animals - a cast of characters who track through the department - giving them a sunny woodland glade feeling. It’s obviously popular as we’ve heard that children are dancing in the waiting room as they wait for their appointments. Visits are connected to the good times - shopping, tea and the cinema. For parents it’s easy and convenient.
Similarly, the Sexual Health Clinic receives more walk-ins since relocation. It’s in the right place with more footfall. Sexual health campaigns have reduced stigma so people aren’t shy or hiding away any more about these issues. The clinic is still private - and respectful of privacy - but the approach encourages local people to look after their own health and take the step to get checked out.
Focus on the culture, not just the convenience
As people, we are surrounded and nourished by the culture of our community and this should be recognised in our healthcare spaces. It’s not simply about convenience, but also the willingness to be there.
I started Art in Site because I saw how powerful a difference a well designed environment can make to people in hospital. It changed my career and I constantly challenge the perception that art and design are luxuries in healthcare.
I recall hospital managers spending £2 million on ward refurbishments, only to find patients describing the results as "sterile." Staff didn't want to work in them. In contrast, when King's College Hospital invested in both equipment and thoughtful design for their pediatric ICU, it was the art that generated excitement and emotional connection.
But it isn’t just decoration - it's functional design that pays for itself through improved experiences and outcomes.
“I can get better now you’ve done that.”
Img above Sexual Health Clinic Swan Centre, Eastleigh. Artist Celia Knox with Art in Site
Img left Children's Therapies, Swan Centre Eastleigh. Artist Martin Jones with Art in Site.
No items found.
No items found.
Be strategic
Art has to pay for itself - so our design approach needs to be strategic and focused around user needs.
- Help phlebotomy go faster by showing the steps of how we take blood.
- Ease anxiety by providing information in a friendly approachable way
- Recognise overwhelm and the sensory overload of healthcare systems. Soothe feelings and reduce the fear of the ‘garage’ of equipment, by using colour, imagery and light.
Be connected
Connection is critical - whether we’re designing healthcare facilities in the heart of a community or standardising the delivery and construction of new hospitals. The success of Hospital 2.0 cannot be at the expense of creating something that is beautiful and meaningful.
As we’ve worked across the UK, we’ve found differences in approach; vibrancy and nuances in each region resulting in a huge variety in our work. We cannot lose that - people need it.
They need to feel connected with their community, not taken out into this strange, huge medical world, disconnected from daily life. Art provides an essential layer - beyond the basics of colour and design - creating an emotional connection.
If we don’t design for people, we design for systems, efficiency and clinical adjacencies, then we risk losing everything we’ve learnt over the last 50 years on patient satisfaction and patient experience.
If we ignore how people feel, we’ll see a deepening of the crisis of morale in the service. It will impact staff too. We need people to feel proud of their facility: proud of places that build feelings of confidence and trust and have been shown to build better clinical care partnerships that lead to better outcomes.
Which leads me to my last point…
Img left Haven Court, South Tyneside Integrated Care and Social Services. Artist David Jones with Art in Site. Featuring a 'community memory box' managed by a local museum.
No items found.
No items found.
No items found.
No items found.
No items found.
Be human
Successful retailers understand exactly how customers feel moving through their spaces. They design environments that accommodate and delight because it makes good business sense. Healthcare requires the same, customer-centric approach.
If you feel like no one cares, what kind of business is that?
As Sunand quite rightly says, “successful architecture is grounded in personal experience - human-centred design.”
Art and design are critical components of hospital design, ensuring it is ‘by, for and of its people’. The designs must come from the people they serve, reflecting personal experiences - local communities and cultures - rather than imposing sterile uniformity.
- Staff recruitment and retention depend on creating environments where people feel proud to work.
- Patient outcomes improve when design builds trust and strengthens the clinician-patient relationship.
The future of healthcare design lies not in choosing between efficiency and humanity, but in recognising that they're inseparable. As we reimagine health systems beyond traditional hospitals, we must ensure that every touchpoint reflects our commitment to treating people with dignity, compassion, and care.
Design isn't just about making spaces look better - it's about making care work better for everyone involved.
No items found.
No items found.