CREJ - Healthcare Properties - April 2017
In a health care environment, art can do plenty more than fill a blank space on a wall. A successful art program will provide positive distractions, enhance the design theme and aid in wayfinding. Two of our firm’s recently completed health care projects received overwhelming praise due to their well-coordinated art programs. Here are three tips on how art can tell a story with a fairytale ending. First, appropriate art selection for health care is crucial. Artwork selected for a patient setting must decrease anxiety and anger while alleviating boredom. Crisp and clear landscape photography can transport the viewer to a peaceful place or to a positive memory. In Colorado, we are blessed to be surrounded by majestic mountains with expansive views and amazing sunsets. Utilizing a combination of macro and micro landscape and nature images are a nice balance. Viewers can become lost in thought gazing at a mountain lake at sunset or filled with curiosity over an enlarged image of a rain drop trickling down a reed of grass. Stay clear of animals, blurry or busy abstract images as they may instill anxiety or confusion. Two other factors for a successful art program include a strong theme and wayfinding attributes. Art can be the voice of a project that speaks in a dialect that all can understand. Art can speak volumes by pulling together all elements of a design theme and passively guide a visitor to their destination. For the new Emergency Department at St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System in Savannah, Georgia, the theme was subtle Savannah. We wanted to represent the historic city in an unusual way, with imagery and vantage points not typically viewed or experienced. Every photograph and art piece is a focus on something of quality such as a unique perspective, sense of light, texture or color. In the waiting room, we highlighted the downtown skyline from historic rooftops and atop bridges and then led the patient along their journey to triage with photography of decorative ironwork found on gates and fences. Within the exam spaces, images of statues throughout downtown Savannah were hung, providing comfort and distraction to patients. Similarly, at the new Henderson Hospital in Henderson, Nevada, the art is uniquely themed to each floor by subject matter and color. The second floor is themed earthly treasures, with a focus on the blues and browns of desert landscapes. The third floor theme is luminous skies, with imagery of the expansive canyons and endless sunsets in shades of rust and salmon. The fourth floor is themed desert blooms, with fresh, green succulent desert cactus. Again, we repeated and reinforced a theme with consistent imagery and color to guide patients, families and staff to their destination. A photograph hung in a corridor doesn’t independently create a pleasant experience. It doesn’t reinforce a corporate image, nor, tell the viewer which way to turn. However, with early planning, a strong theme and appropriately selected artwork, a happy ending can develop with your next design project.