Your Source for Healthcare Exteriors Using Sustainable Design
Sustainable design is a critical factor for healthcare facilities, which must practice what they preach in terms of providing healing environments for patients, staff, visitors, and families. The exterior of a building, whether it’s a hospital, clinic, or medical office building, is just as important as the interior in presenting a positive image of health, support, and community. Healthcare Design magazine recognizes the fact that landscape designers have a unique opportunity to build sustainable design features—such as water reclamation systems, the use of local flora and vegetation, solar energy, green roofs, and more—into the overall healthcare site aesthetic.
These green design features also help healthcare facilities achieve LEED certification. Healthcare Design includes stories on the multiple ways designers can build green practices and sustainable features into attractive, functional healthcare exteriors and landscapes.
Outdoor Healing Gardens Serve Patients and Families Alike
The families of hospital patients play a critical role in their healing process, and providers know that designing for families in healthcare is a key to success. To this end, many designers and healthcare providers strive to include outdoor healing gardens, children’s activity centers, labyrinths, and walking paths to enhance the landscape and the hospital exterior.
Designing for families in healthcare, both inside and outside the facility, serves to improve the patient experience because their loves ones will stay longer and feel more comfortable in the overall environment. Research shows that the role of nature in healing is profound, which is another reason why landscapes and exteriors must be well-tended to provide healing views of nature for those who can’t get outside.
