Learning from the two hospital visits to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and
La Rabida Children's Hospital, the role of artwork in healthcare environment has been extended beyond serving as an interior design concept. It also functions as a therapeutic tool to improve the environment quality of the space. The attributes of art, color and light undermined the identity of the hospital in both the cases and rendered it as a comfortable space for children.
The concepts of the could be broadly categorized into either graphical representations on a few surfaces or it could span along the entire hospital. My thought on visiting both these facilities was that it would be interesting to find out how much of an impact does each of these conceptual approaches have on the well-being of the patient. Both the hospitals’ interiors projected as a gallery space or a museum space and acted up as a positive source of distraction. Besides, the building design and the site location of La Rabida could be easily be taken for another amenity for children, if not for the boards and the service van that was parked outside it.
The interior themes in both the hospitals stood out in contrast - in terms of the inpatient and the outpatient facilities. And so it made it easier with the orientation and the way finding within the environment due to no repetition. At Laurie’s it was a collaborative work with the four museums in the city of Chicago. And in La Rabida, the outpatient was designed to be a ship and the inpatient unit was designed on the theme of animals.
As seen in the images below, although themed, Lurie's childrens hospital followed the concept of graphical representations on a few surfaces.
At La Rabida, some of the artwork in the hospital was done by the previously admitted children in the hospital, and it projected messages of support left behind by a group of children for others. In my opinion, the presence of this artwork represented the value that they have for their patients and how it mattered to their organisation. Rather than having a famous person’s artwork hung up on the wall, this artwork was an indication of the environment being child friendly and would give them a sense of ownership.
In conclusion, the artwork themes can be functional as landmarks and not create any discomfort in experience of the visitors and the patients. Quite notably, the patients were occupied and engaged within both the hospital environments.
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