More and more healthcare facilities are eschewing sterile and cold environments for more comfortable surroundings. These boutique healthcare spaces showcase just how color, design and architecture can augment and help healthcare facilities design better patient experiences.
Parsley Health
Parsley Health (pictured above) and Alda Ly Architecture & Design sought to bring the outside in for the West Coast flagship of the hospital. The design sheds the traditional doctor’s office aesthetic, instead opting for a modern, comfortable atmosphere with a palette of dusty desert hues and rich shades of Pacific Ocean blue. Meanwhile, floor-to-ceiling windows, plants and natural materials like rattan accentuate the sun-drenched reception area.
“If we want to encourage people to be proactive about their health, we can’t build spaces they’ve been conditioned to avoid,” principal Alda Ly says. “Anything we can do to make that experience easier is our duty.”
Beyond there, hardwood floors appear alongside organically patterned textures, and biophilic elements abound in spaces like a windowless central hallway that evokes natural light and culminates with a sprawling cactus. Exam rooms feature textured glass walls to offer a sense of privacy without feeling claustrophobic.
Oula
Alessa Hess, founder and lead designer for the firm Very Truly Yours approached the design of Oula from a hospitality lens, aiming to fulfill the design dreams of founders Adrianne Nickerson and Elaine Purcell in disrupting the maternity space.
“Everything in this space was designed with the patient in mind, and an attempt to make the experience of their maternity care something to look forward to,” Hess says.
It all started in the renovation of an existing doctor’s office. By opening up the reception area, reimagining the layout and reducing the number of exam rooms, she created a setting that is warm, inviting and peaceful. Curves in the beverage bar, undulating edges in the bathroom and rounded wooden spheres all help to soften the rooms.
An inviting palette of terracotta, soft pink, yellow, and blue plays off the brand colors and further responds to Oula’s mission, helping the space feel “bold and colorful, without being stark.”
Practice in the City
For mental health consultation platform KnowYourself’s first brick-and-mortar location Practice in the City, Mur Mur Lab sought to create a space secluded from the bustling streets of Shanghai that resembles urban caves.
In accentuating sinuous curves with natural and artificial light that filters into the space, the designers were able to work around the narrow and restrictive layout of the second-floor space they had, with patterns of abstract and artistic expression adding a layer of serenity to the space. A soothing palette of blue, white, and gray imbues a sense of calm in the reception, VIP zone, and three yoga rooms.
Tia
Having first started as an app, Tia’s first physical location sought to emphasize the inclusive, personalized and compassionate experience through experience-based design.
The 3000-square-foot space was developed by the LAB at Rockwell Group and features a mix of white-painted brick, white oak floors, terrazzo, pops of blue, and white ribbed wood. Upon arrival, the lobby and entrance area puts patients at ease through clarity and convenience of its design.
The interior is further enlivened by custom commissioned works by several women artists and upholstered furniture pieces—many of which pay homage to the curves of the female form. The living room takes the place of a traditional waiting room and features retail and F&B on one side and a curved sofa, chair, and curated selection of books and magazines on the other.