A new 24-hour healthcare service, (med)24, is inspired by both medical and spa environments. Featuring a carefully considered layout, lighting and atmosphere, the London health centre puts patient experience at the heart of its ethos.
Threefold Architects is behind the 7,000 sq ft healthcare facility in London, with every aspect – from the open-plan reception to the calibrated lighting allowing for reading – considered to ensure optimal comfort for the patient. ‘Both the client and ourselves were keen to bring a fresh thinking and design approach to the project and to this sector,’ says Threefold’s director Jack Hosea, explaining why the centre takes its inspiration from hospitality rather than healthcare.
‘Healthcare is generally about getting well when you have something wrong with you, whereas the approach of med(24) is more holistic and centred around monitoring and maintaining wellness, whilst also being able to solve issues that may arise. We strove to create a building that embodied wellness through both the physical journey and the experience of a series of spaces that are human centred, calming and uplifting. Not starting from a traditional medical mindset helped free us from the clichéd conventions of medical design whilst creating a clinic that is fully compliant with Care Quality Commission standards.’
The new private medical clinic includes five consulting rooms, two treatment rooms and a therapy suite; the interior design is used to link the different spaces, with elements such as lighting and the use of natural materials providing a seamless transition. ‘We considered the experience for the patient, thinking about how each space, each interaction and each step of a person’s journey could be designed to make one feel better,’ says Hosea.
The end result has more in common with a spa than a medical facility: ‘It is comfortable and spacious, full of natural light, natural materials, planting, high-quality acoustics and fresh air services. The experience is enhanced by carefully choreographed interaction with staff; patients are guided through each step of their consultation, with spaces to decompress and relax along the way.’
INFORMATION
-
This designer is revitalising the lost folk tradition of Ukraine’s painted cottagesThrough gleaming hammered-steel panels, Victoria Yakusha is opening a dialogue about ancestral memory, craft and womanhood
-
Lind Canvas is a new electric surfboard extending surf beyond the waveSwedish minimalism meets California cool with Lind’s new electric surfboard, promising the feeling of a never-ending wave. Wallpaper* heads to the Swedish archipelago to try it out
-
A guide to modernism’s most influential architectsFrom Bauhaus and brutalism to California and midcentury, these are the architects who shaped modernist architecture in the 20th century
-
Shard Place offers residents the chance to live in the shadow of London’s tallest buildingThe 27-storey tower from Renzo Piano Building Workshop joins The Shard and The News Building to complete Shard Quarter, providing a sophisticated setting for renters
-
Kengo Kuma’s ‘Paper Clouds’ in London is a ‘poem’ celebrating washi paper in construction‘Paper Clouds’, an installation by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, is a poetic design that furthers research into the use of washi paper in construction
-
Foster + Partners to design the national memorial to Queen Elizabeth IIFor the Queen Elizabeth II memorial, Foster + Partners designs proposal includes a new bridge, gates, gardens and figurative sculptures in St James’ Park
-
Wolves Lane Centre brings greenery, growing and grass roots togetherWolves Lane Centre, a new, green community hub in north London by Material Cultures and Studio Gil, brings to the fore natural materials and a spirit of togetherness
-
A new London exhibition explores the legacy of Centre Pompidou architect Richard Rogers‘Richard Rogers: Talking Buildings’ – opening tomorrow at Sir John Soane’s Museum – examines Rogers’ high-tech icons, which proposed a democratic future for architecture
-
At the Royal Academy summer show, architecture and art combine as never beforeThe Royal Academy summer show is about to open in London; we toured the iconic annual exhibition and spoke to its curator for architecture, Farshid Moussavi
-
This ingenious London office expansion was built in an on-site workshopNew Wave London and Thomas-McBrien Architects make a splash with this glulam extension built in the very studio it sought to transform. Here's how they did it
-
Once vacant, London's grand department stores are getting a new lease on lifeThanks to imaginative redevelopment, these historic landmarks are being reborn as residences, offices, gyms and restaurants. Here's what's behind the trend
