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    Hariri Pontarini rethinks cold medical interiors at Barlo MS Centre

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    Canadian architecture studio Hariri Pontarini has completed a clinic in Toronto for multiple sclerosis patients that features warm wood tones and spaces designed to feel like “first-class airplane lounges”.

    The Barlo MS Centre is Canada’s largest clinic dedicated to those with MS, a complex autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system.
    The BARLO MS Centre was designed with atypical colours, materials, textures and lightingNamed after its two biggest donors, the Barford and Love families, the centre occupies the top two floors of a new 17-storey tower at St Michael’s Hospital in Downtown Toronto.
    The 30,000-square-foot (2,790-square-metre) facility was designed by local studio Hariri Pontarini Architects, which aimed to rethink sterile-looking healthcare spaces and focus on patient wellbeing through the use of atypical colours, materials, textures and lighting.
    The clinic’s two storeys are connected by a staircase that rises through an atrium”Canadians are particularly prone to MS for reasons that are unclear,” said the studio.

    “This hospital’s mission is nothing less than to transform MS care and become the world’s leading MS centre through research and clinical treatment.”
    Circular consultation rooms are partially clad in walnutTaking cues from the hospitality industry, the team aimed to create a “comfortable and welcoming environment” by filling the spaces with daylight and offering views of the skyline.
    The two floors are connected by a double-height atrium, topped with an oculus that allows more natural light in from above.
    The wavy panels conceal the rooms from the main circulation corridorA staircase rises up through the atrium, curving towards the top with a glass balustrade to follow the shape of the opening.
    Downstairs, the atrium connects to a lounge at the corner of the building and a reception area anchored by a curved white counter.
    Infusion pods are given privacy by pale wood screensA wide corridor leads past a series of cylindrical consultation rooms that are partially glazed, but screened where they face the circulation area by wavy walnut panels.
    On the other side of the floor plan, smaller and more open consultation booths named infusion pods are still offered privacy with curved pale wood screens.
    Different varieties of wood give the interiors a warm tone”The infusion pods where patients may sit for up to eight hours are modelled to resemble a first-class airplane lounge and provide complete control over their environment,” the Hariri Pontarini team said.
    Various light-toned woods are used for wall panels and balustrades, as well as thin slats that extend across the ceilings.
    The atrium connects to a lounge and waiting areaAll spaces were designed with durability and accessibility in mind, considering that some MS patients have vision and cognitive loss, fatigue and impaired coordination.
    Bronze-coloured handrails were installed along the majority of walls and partitions, while anti-slip porcelain tiles cover the floors to aid patient mobility.

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    The centre also includes a gym, a mock apartment adapted for MS patients, and rooms for meetings, research and administration.
    Together, it provides patients with a space to see a dedicated healthcare team in one location and clinicians the state-of-the-art resources to offer the best possible treatment.
    An oculus above the atrium brings daylight into the centre of the buildingHariri Pontarini Architects was founded by Siamak Hariri and David Pontarini in 1994.
    One of the studio’s most recognisable buildings is the Bahá’í temple in Chile, featuring torqued wings made of steel and glass, while its work closer to home includes the glass-wrapped Tom Patterson Theatre in Stratford, Ontario.
    Handrails are provided throughout the clinic to aid patient mobilityThe Bar MS Centre is one of five projects shortlisted in the Leisure and Wellness Interior category of the Dezeen Awards 2022, along with a Shenzhen cinema and a spa in the Maldives.
    See the full Interiors shortlist and vote now for your favourites.
    The photography is by A-Frame.

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      Integrated Field decorates children's hospital in Thailand with slides and a pool

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      Design studio Integrated Field has created colourful arched interiors filled with animals and clouds to provide an enjoyable experience for children at a hospital in Samut Sakhon, Thailand.Playful touches in EKH Children’s Hospital include a bright yellow slide that spirals through the reception and animal shapes above hospital beds and light-up constellations that act as night lights.

      A yellow slide spirals through the entrance
      EKH Children’s Hospital has been shortlisted for leisure and wellness interior of the year at Dezeen Awards 2020.

      Integrated Field wanted the young visitors to the medical facility to be put at ease in what can be a scary and unfamiliar place.

      Waiting rooms have play areas and soft benches
      The designers put fun elements, such as clouds above an indoor swimming pool and soft play areas in the waiting rooms, to help distract children who could be nervous or feeling unwell.
      “Imagine being a kid dreading going into the hospital, the slide will definitely make you stop crying,” said the studio.
      “The waiting area of each clinic is designed into a playground, which becomes something of a burden for the parents when having to convince the kids to leave the hospital.”

      Slides make hospital visits so fun sometimes children don’t want to leave
      An indoor swimming pool adds to the fun, with arched windows that form circular reflections in the water and white clouds decorating the walls against a sky-blue backdrop.
      In the pharmacy, the play area is designed so that parents can easily keep an eye on their charges when they’re waiting at the counter.

      The rooms are themed around animals such as rabbits
      Arches above doorways and alcoves and rounded seating areas were all designed with a child’s perspective in mind, and these architectural elements were scaled to their height.
      Rooms are painted in soft pastel tones, including pink, blue and yellow.

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      “The pastel colour tone encourages the children’s use of imagination,” Integrated Field told Dezeen.
      “As a kid, we all create our own imaginary world when we are experiencing a space for the first time,” it added. “Each specific colour refers to a specific animal representing each zone, such as sky blue for whales.”

      Ceiling decorations double as nightlights
      Rooms for overnight stays are given animal themes to make them more appealing – Whale, Turtle, Lion and Rabbit Constellation.
      The animal’s outline is picked out on the ceiling so that it is visible during the day. At night, soft lightbulbs and glow in the dark strips pick out a constellation of stars that acts as a comforting nightlight.

      Arches feature in the hospital’s bathrooms
      Lighting in all of the hospital rooms and corridors is also designed to be soft, rather than the harsh fluorescent lights usually found in hospital settings.
      In the hospital bathrooms, the girls’ toilets are tiled pink and the boys’ yellow. Sinks and urinals are set into arched alcoves, with half of the facilities placed at a child’s height for easy access.

      The facade is also decorated with animals
      On the exterior facade, pastel-coloured metal screens have perforations that form the shape of animals.
      “As adults, we find ourselves amazed if not a bit jealous by the mesmerising variety and development of children’s toys or even snacks these days,” said the studio.
      “EKH Children Hospital will change everyone’s perception about what the space of a children’s hospital can be.”
      Integrated Field was founded in 2011 and is based in Bangkok.
      Other colourful children’s hospitals include a hospital in Brisbane with a colourful facade and a layout inspired by trees, and a brightly coloured children’s outpatient clinic in Kyiv that is also designed to be deliberately un-threatening.
      Photography is by Ketsiree Wongwan.
      Project credits:
      Owner: Ekachai HospitalInterior architect: Integrated FieldArchitect: S:CSBLandscape architect: S:CSBLighting designer: Nopporn SakulwigitsinthuEnvironmental graphics: Integrated FieldStructural engineer: S:CSBElectrical engineer: S:CSBSanitary engineer: S:CSBMain contractor: Adisorn ConstructionInterior contractor: Open Interior, PansinSignage contractor: D.R. Advertising

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      Adam Nathaniel Furman brightens up London maternity centre with “flowerburst” mosaic

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      London designer Adam Nathaniel Furman has applied his signature colourful aesthetic to a tiled entrance and reception area for the maternity centre at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. The London hospital received a donation from the Reuben Foundation to create an artwork for its new maternity centre and approached Furman to enhance its reception and […] More