As hospitals embrace a more patient-centred approach, so do their architects, giving rise to curative spaces that emphasise a closeness to nature and stress-free wayfinding. 

Hospital design today – even within the public sector – reflects a shift away from prioritising the staff's convenience to focusing on patients’ wellbeing. David Watts, managing director of CCD Design & Ergonomics, a human behaviour and design agency, points to evidence of this in the UK’s National Health Service, which aims to drive up levels of customer satisfaction: “To achieve this, hospitals are looking to other sectors, such as hotels.” 

The rounded contours of the Coordinated Centre of Oncology in Lausanne, Switzerland, designed by meier + associés architectes, seek to counter the anxiety often experienced in an oncology department. Photos: Yves André

Watts cites the importance now placed on effective wayfinding in hospitals traditionally blighted by labyrinthine, featureless corridors that are disorientating for patients and visitors and make it longer than necessary for staff to get from A to B.