Posted in Urban Design

Expressed emotion and the hospital environment

Expressed emotion and the hospital environment: An update on consumer perceptions of mental health environments

Consumer perceptions of safety within mental health treatment environments was found to be a significant determinant of therapeutic engagement as outlined in Expressed emotion and the hospital environment.  Consumer perceptions of built environments were further examined through qualitative analysis in conjunction with an examination of existing built therapeutic environments. The information attained was used to develop a series of design recommendations for architects/designers to utilise when designing therapy and counselling spaces. Despite the literature affirming links between good design practice and mental well-being , existing design guidance is often too generic, describing broad principles to be achieved, but offering little tangible advice for the designer to integrate these principles into a realised built environment.

A series of design recommendations were developed based on environment aspects commented on by consumers, and supported by other interview participant groups. If these design recommendations were to be integrated into the built environments delivering mental health services, then the difficulties or negative psychological interferences reported by the consumers would be mollified and/or eliminated. To illustrate how these design recommendations could be utilised, two concept designs for built mental health service facilities were developed.

What emerged from the study was the notion that for individuals who self harm, the built environment is not merely the housing of therapy, but an active participant in the therapeutic process.

Stephanie Liddicoat
PhD Candidate and Sessional Staff
Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning
University of Melbourne VIC 3010
Australia

Step outside for a moment: the value of pedestrians in healthcare precincts

Michaela Sheahan, Researcher, HASSELL

Bump space, serendipitous encounters: whatever the label, the name of the game in healthcare design is connecting people. But the focus on internal collaboration has some unintended side effects: buildings get bigger, and people spend more time inside.

External space is shrinking as large clinical and research buildings bring teams closer together via soaring atria, internal streets, and sky-bridges. Good connections are vital to a well-functioning hospital, but as public realm diminishes, so does walkability and street activity. Nothing kills a precinct quite like a deserted street.

My research shows that as these precincts grow, two indicators of pedestrian activity – Walkscore and intersection density – decrease. The bigger a precinct becomes, the more difficult it is for people to walk around.

Large buildings and impermeable blocks obstruct pedestrians, and limiting land use to only healthcare decreases small business opportunities. If every nearby building is a health facility, people won’t go outside to grab lunch or drop into the bank. In Boston’s high density Longwood precinct an internal pedestrian network is being developed in response to traffic danger and a need to connect teams across buildings and streets. In Houston’s vast Texas Medical Center, the combination of a sky-walk system, a car-dependent location, and exclusive healthcare land-use leaves the footpaths empty. The meticulously landscaped gardens and public spaces are wasted.

Designers and administrators are working to overcome the barriers to vibrant precincts; high land costs and burgeoning healthcare space requirements limit opportunities. But modest initiatives in external space can deliver large benefits.

At the Gold Coast University Hospital, courtyards provide opportunities for fresh air and quiet conversation.  The Necker Hospital in Paris is replacing obsolete buildings with a park.  In Boston, small public spaces host musical performances to coax staff outside. In Melbourne’s Parkville, public seating has come a long way since the old wooden park bench, and at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital precinct, a new vision that prioritises walkability and community integration is just beginning.

These small acknowledgements of the importance of street level activity suggest a willingness to invest in public realm projects for the good of patients, staff and the community. High quality design of the spaces between buildings plays a crucial role in inviting everyone to step outside for a moment.

This research project was funded by the National Association of Women in Construction, and Cult Design. The full report can be accessed here: http://apo.org.au/node/53548

3D modelling for communicating urban revitalisation

Two years have now passed since City of Launceston finished constructing and began working with the 3D virtual model of Launceston running in Urban Engine software.  The final product has lived up to expectations as a tool for communicating urban revitalisation and more.  Since that time the model has grown in detail with the addition of Aero3DPro building model data, street scape design concepts, building proposals, future development buildings and massing models.

Alexander Crothers

Beyond the initial scope of supporting the Launceston City Heart project, the model has proven to be a practical tool for evaluating designs during planning meetings, allowing exploration of designs issues and scenarios in an iterative manner. It has been useful for exploring massing models of the proposed new University of Tasmania campus buildings, surrounding access roads and the impact on the landscape.   All this is often created on-the-fly in a short space of time, even during a meeting, and this is where the model really proves its worth in galvanising consensus and understanding in a short space of time, often solving perceived problems very quickly.

It the coming weeks  the model will be transitioning from its current hardware platform – a high end gaming Laptop –  to a hosted cloud platform to enable greater access from any computer or meeting room with a good internet connection, thus improving access to the model and simplifying updates and maintenance.

The Paper ‘3D modelling for communicating urban revitalisation – A local government experience’ which was submitted for the 2016 Liveable Cities Conference sets out to clarify that project managing the creating a 3D model is not a simple matter and relies heavily on a small team of people with specialist skills and knowledge as well as coordinating specialist consultancies    Additionally the ongoing maintenance and return on the considerable investment in the model relies on ongoing development and support by these skilled staff.  The author of the paper hopes to present enough detail to assist others, especially in local government, to understand the pitfalls and focus areas to build similar successful 3D model systems.

Alexander Crothers | Spatial & Investigations Manager | City of Launceston
www.launceston.tas.gov.au

Land of opportunity – accommodating population and social diversity from the ashes of manufacturing

Preston is a typical Melbourne working class suburb characterised by industrial properties along key routes with surrounding ¼ acre worker housing.

The recent decline in Australian manufacturing has resulted in many sites becoming vacant and jobs going out of these areas.  In many cases these vacated sites are large enough to accommodate significant residential, commercial and civic infrastructure and therefore generate local employment.

They also present a great opportunity for exemplary urban design outcomes due to the sheer scale.

Oakover Square is such a property.  This proposal is an example of industrial land being successfully knitted back into its suburban context.  It provides an urban village development model based on a series of “key moves” designed to establish meaningful community connections and a high level of liveability, as follows:

  1. Net positive urban outcome – protected public and private amenity, favourable aspect to and from buildings, an architecture that is highly expressive
  2. Contribution to public open space – an urban square at the heart of the site provides space and amenity for the residents and all the community
  3. Hierarchy of streets – primary streets widened to facilitate access and enhanced through landscaping, the green streets and pocket parks create attractive amenity for residents
  4. Enable modes of public transport – a highly porous pedestrian and bicycle network and inter-modal public transport exchange
  5. Vertical green amenity – ground level community and commercial uses integrated with landscape, first floor child care with open play areas and upper level green terraces accessible to residents.
  6. Encourage Social diversity – a mix of housing types, diverse employment opportunities and a collection of buildings with individual character and identity.

The development convenes around a central public square with a grid of internal streets and lanes which are generated from the surrounding context.  Combined with pocket parks these provide a series of gathering places of different scales and levels of intimacy.

A multi-generational village is created through offering a variety of residential options.  Localised retail and soho suites activate the ground plane and connect with the existing grain.  Vertical layering enriches the experience through multi-level greenery, providing secluded havens, enhanced amenity and visual stimulation.

The idea is relaxed enough to allow each of the pieces its own character and an equivalence of urban space-making between buildings and open areas.

While subject to statutory height limits, the investment of social capital such as child care, aged care and affordable housing, combined with the contribution of public open space, provides community benefits which justify a significant uplift in scale.

The consequential additional height provides the necessary critical mass of residential infrastructure to support the financial, operational and commercial feasibility of the place.

The overall impression is a sophisticated approach to urban place-making with the feel of a highly energised and individual local living hub.  This is type of outcome we need to address the increased demand for housing in these inner city suburbs.

Murray Brassington
Partner – Commercial
BALDASSO CORTESE