1st Edition

Designing Public Spaces in Hospitals

By Nicoletta Setola, Sabrina Borgianni Copyright 2016
    304 Pages 150 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    304 Pages 150 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Designing Public Spaces in Hospitals illustrates that in addition to their aesthetic function, public spaces in hospitals play a fundamental role concerning people’s satisfaction and experience of health care. The book highlights how spatial properties, such as accessibility, visibility, proximity, and intelligibility affect people’s behavior and interactions in hospital public spaces. Based on the authors’ research, the book includes detailed analysis of three hospitals and criteria that can support the design in circulation areas, arrival and entrance, first point of welcome, reception, and the interface between city and hospital. Illustrated with 150 black and white images.

    Foreword.  Acknowledgments.  Image Credits.  Introduction.  Part 1  1. The New Spaces of the Hospital  2. The Importance and Interest to Public Spaces  3. A Tool for Reading and Describing Public Spaces  Part 2  4. Visibility  5. Accessibility  6. Proximity  7. Intelligibility  8. Relationability  Bibliography.  Index

    Biography

    Nicoletta Setola is a researcher at the University of Florence, Italy, and a registered architect. She has a PhD in Architectural Technology and Design (2009) and her work focuses on healthcare building, particularly on spatial configuration related to flow analysis in hospitals.

    Sabrina Borgianni is a researcher and a registered architect. She holds a PhD in Architectural Technology and Design (2012) and her work focuses on public spaces in urban context and social buildings, particularly in healthcare and residential buildings.

     

    "Attention is usually given to the private spaces of the hospital: the wards, consulting rooms and operating theatres. In this book the focus is on the public spaces of reception, circulation and waiting. Setola and Borgianni have pioneered research into the way that the complex whole of the hospital building works to give access to healthcare. This is essential reading for anyone engaged in the design or commissioning of large and complex healthcare facilities." - Alan Penn, The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, University College London, UK