Madeleine Nymoen

What did you want to explore?

It seems that an acceptance exists of how hospitals are designed, and that few believe that it will ever change. I was fascinated by the fact that the same features function differently in different hospitals. Modern, new hospital buildings really do have the potential to improve if one looks at the statistics regarding patient injuries, research on the influence of surroundings, corridor spaces and user feedback. I wanted to explore which floor plans, room plans and designs actually function optimally.

What did you want to achieve with your project?

The project is about creating better rooms for patient recovery, better working environments for employees and safety for relatives. Three very broad issues, but my focus has been the interaction between these groups. My project aims have been to design solutions that argue in favour of interior architecture’s influence on hospital users. The result consists of a proposal of renovation regarding existing buildings. I also hope that my solutions can create debate in the hospital planning of today. There are currently plans for many new hospital buildings in Norway and that will cost many billions.

I think that all hospital buildings could be interesting objects. However, there are few buildings that would render the changes I would have to make possible in order to create an ideal hospital ward. Therefore, Oslo University Hospital became the most interesting complex, which has structural potential.

What have you discovered along the way?

During my study, I have experienced that the issue offers some complex dilemmas, especially the single-room model versus the shared-room model. The user groups are not demanding, and a solution based solely on feedback from users would have resulted in an equally poor hospital model as the one that exists today. It was only when I started to think freely and designed the load-bearing structures after I had found the optimal solution, that my ambitions were realized. This strengthens my argument which states that the interior architect must be part of the process at an early stage, and that it is expedient that the building is designed based on spatial solutions and not the other way around.

What has this resulted in?

To achieve an optimal interaction between employees, patients and relatives, the surroundings must be divided exactly; not too much and not too little. One must have visual overview, where there is necessary access, flexibility, freedom of choice and not least, space for important conversations. If this doesn’t take place in the early stages of construction projects, it will result in a building that never lives up to its full potential. A sense of joy can be a powerful antidote to grief, and forms associated with joy became an important part of the concept. This, in addition to careful analysis of user processes and the room plan, provided a more open-plan solution where architectural measures create zones in the open spaces. Natural light, colours and materials are also used in a new way in relation to the hospital world that exists today.

Gallery