Five Modern Projects Bringing Hospitality Into Hospitals

These five projects encapsulate how hospitality design principles are being used to create welcoming, warm, cutting-edge healthcare spaces.

Aiyuhua Hospital for Children and Women, by HKS

Courtesy HKS, Inc./Blake Marvin


Hospitals are not hotels; healthcare design must respond to rigorous standards, strictly follow code, and follow briefs far beyond the scope of your typical hospitality project.  But healthcare and hospitality have more in common than usually acknowledged—it’s not by chance that many top managers from the hospitality industry have been recruited by healthcare facilities in the past few years.

Hospitals are focusing ever more on patients’ satisfaction levels, shifting to a more customer-oriented approach. This shift incentives hospitals to invest not only in the quality of the healthcare service they provide, but also in the physical space where the services occur.

The following five projects encapsulate how hospitality design principles are being used to create welcoming, warm, cutting-edge healthcare spaces.


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Aiyuhua Hospital for Children and Women / HKS
Beijing, China

Courtesy HKS, Inc./Blake Marvin

The Beijing Aiyuhua Hospital for Children and Women is China’s first women’s and children’s medical center. The use of wood enhances the warmth of the spaces and moderates the colors. For the floor, HKS used neutral porcelain tiles, easy to maintain and suitable for carts and wheelchairs.

Courtesy HKS, Inc./Blake Marvin


Swedish Medical Group MS Center / CallisonRTKL
Seattle, Washington

Courtesy CallisonRTKL Inc.

For this multiple sclerosis clinic, CallisonRTKL researched the specific design elements that make patients more comfortable. The distinctive “Living Wall,” for example, not only serves as an intuitive wayfinding element, but ensures wellbeing and improves indoor air quality.

Courtesy CallisonRTKL Inc.


Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital / HMC Architects
Los Angeles, California

Courtesy David Wakely Photography

Designed by HMC architects using evidence-based design, this hospital proves that aesthetically pleasing, effective design doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Light, colors and materials work together to create a healing space for both patients and staff.

Courtesy David Wakely Photography


St. Dominic Hospital Medical Spa / NMA
Jackson, Mississippi

Courtesy Chad Chenier/NMA (Nicole Migeon Architect)

The St Dominic Hospital Medical Spa integrates elegant contemporary details with the complex operations of a state-of-the-art medical spa. It was one of the first spas run by a private hospital in the US.

Courtesy Chad Chenier/NMA (Nicole Migeon Architect)


Fort Worth Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology Coalition Unit, Fort Worth, Texas / HKS

Courtesy HKS, Inc./Daryl Shields

This facility focuses on creating a space that is not meant just for treatment but for socializing, spending time with relatives and friends, and enjoying leisure activities. The scope was to use furniture, colors and space  to make the oncology unit a livable and welcoming place.

Courtesy HKS, Inc./Daryl Shields

Courtesy HKS, Inc./Daryl Shields

 

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