Flash player is required to view weather conditions. Download

site web  

The vision from Cincinnati Children's Liberty Campus sprang forth from the minds of those it is aiming to serve.

Soon after the scope of the 230,000-square-foot project had been defined, BHDP Architecture and Columbus-based Karlsberger brought children and parents together for 'imagine sessions." The groups consisted of a mix of short-term and long-term patients, plus children outside that group, to find out what would make them feel comfortable and minimize anxiety.

T. Patrick Donnelly, BHDP's workplace team leader, said participants were asked to imagine a special place, think about its qualities and why it makes them feel good, then sketch it, focusing not only on what a space looks like, but what its qualities might be. They then described what they've drawn and session organizers immediately write in words to identify them.

"It accesses a different part of your mind than if you're just using language," Donnelly said. "We really learned from them not only ideas about the project, but also ways to design that are more conducive to innovative thinking,"

As a result of the Liberty Campus, BHDP then used 'imagine sessions' with adults during subsequent projects for Procter & Gamble, Fidelty Investments and other major corporations.

Real-world results for Liberty Campus 'imagine sessions" include see-through elevators and floor-to-ceiling windows to eliminate the unknown and maximize views instead of creating a stereotypical hospital environment with endless corridors.

"The more that's revealed, the less fear there will be," Donnelly said.

Entrances with colorful pictures under their canopies are designed to take a child's mind off the pain they might be experiencing.

They look up at (a parent) and they don?t see, for example, a ballcap. They see the underside of its bill,? Donnelly said. ?Those canopies were designed so that as they walk in, children will notice that, probably even more so than adults, because they?re always looking up.?

Interactive options include "All About Me" walls opposite elevators on each of the buildings three floors. Patients at the facility will be invited to create a sketch or drawing, then view their art on those walls as part of site's ever-changing "galleries," with initial galleries highlighting artwork by Lakota students.

?An adult, when they go to the hospital, may want a quiet place to go to reflect. Children are different,? he said. ?They want to have something they can interact with and keep them interested and keep their minds off waiting or their pain.?