If you able to make a donation to this very worthy charity, I highly encourage doing so.

Interesting discussion over here on Reddit, with people of varied (though unconfirmed) expertise weighing in on the issue.

Impressive project. The most impressive part, I’d say, is the automated delivery of supplies- this is the kind of intervention that will go a long way to reducing HAIs, and quite frankly I never expected to see such a system deployed quite so soon. I went into the video expecting any innovation to be strictly in the digital realm, and was very happy to see the implications of a digitally-enhanced workflow spilling out and affecting the spatial arena.

Other than that, though, the rest of hospital appears quite standard, with analog devices swapped out for digital one wherever possible. In other words, there’s no real investigation of how a digital devices might fundamentally change workflow; instead, the devices simply supercharge the existing model of care. That said, there’s not much more one can expect from a facility this size. Any paradigm shifts would have be proven in smaller facilities before being scaled up.

Also, I really hope they’ve through a infection control strategy for those fancy touchscreens.

Technology should be something that we use to make medical work simpler and safer. It should help give back patients control of the environment and autonomy. The capabilities of this facility are off the charts and the project should be commended for doing something out of the box- but it really highlights the absolute need for proper design in these spaces.

High-tech is not enough; rackmounting equipment is not design. If I was that patient, I would be terrified.

Spatial design in these facilities isn’t something that can “wait” until the unit is functional- it needs to be part of the project from the ground up.

When designing my Futureward project, I often had to assume that some pretty wild stuff will be developed in the next 10-15 years. And pretty often, I’d fell guilty about those making those assumptions, because might drive the project from the realm of responsible design into the realm of science fiction. Chief among those assumptions was the ability to windows that were touch sensitive, embedded with screens and dimmable for privacy.

Displays embedded in glass room doors

So, imagine my surprise when I saw this gem turn up last week:

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from FW, it’s that the rate at which the future is unfolding in front of us will always, always surprise you.

The difference between a medical space and healing space is huge, and I’ll be very happy if the difference has been codified by the guidelines, even if following them isn’t mandatory.

The Raspberry Pi board design

This is another case of something that I researched for Futureward- which I thought would take six or seven years to come to fruition- happening in less than two years. This is a big, significant step toward computing escaped concentrated points- desktop machines, phones, etc- and diffusing across the built environment. This, more than any other, is the major shift that will change how hosptials are built and upon which Futureward is predicated. Incredible to see it happening so quickly; I mean, I could wire up my entire apartment for $25 a board.

House by Jacopo Mascheroni of JM Architecture

Whether or not you’d want to live in a home like this depends on how much of a fan you are of minimalism. But in a medical environment, this kind of thing is bang on: large views to the outside and curved, continuous, easily cleaned surfaces. It goes without saying that medical facilities are typically function over form, but I’d like to see this kind of aesthetic become a primary driver to which all the functionality must respond.