The writings of James Joyce, the scribblings of Kate Bush and the design work of my ex-employer, Nightingales. Who’d have thought they could be so intertwined? Probably just me. Below, is the text from an as yet unreleased press report by journalist Will Hurst regarding research into alternative therapy and it’s possible impact on healthcare design. I hope you find it of interest, especially as it shows some insight into the work of a potential competitor in the health sector, particularly where both P+HS and NA’s spheres overlap across South Yorks and the Midlands. 

Nightingale Associates is to put a decades’ worth of research into the healing aspects of design to the test, under a unique project also involving the Building Centre, Arup and electronics giant Philips. By Will Hurst  Together they have devised the Hpod, designed to demonstrate how manipulating the five senses can affect wellbeing and healing.  The Hpod will form the centrepiece of a public exhibition at the Building Centre next autumn, and is set to influence government policy on hospitals and could even revolutionise building design in general by focusing architects on the benefits of lighting and sound rather than the fabric of buildings.  

The pod — which individuals sit in to receive a tailor-made cocktail of sensations according to an individual “prescription” — is designed to show how single rooms in hospitals can respond to a patient’s needs through smart card technology.  Richard Mazuch, a respected figure in healthcare design and director of Nightingale’s, who has been working on the prototype device explained: “We have been collecting data on sense-sensitive design from around the world for 10 years, and I can actually give you a prescription to get better based on colour, views lighting, touch and so on.  

“Studies have shown, for instance, that visions of snow and ice can reduce the pain of burns victims. We know that the colour orange helps mothers lactate and the smell of vanilla helps babies to feed.  “We are going to build these pods in the Building Centre. They will have flatscreen monitors inside and some will be heated, some will be oscillating, some will have air pumped in… it all relates to research. We are trying to bring all the evidence-based knowledge we have to create the optimum healing environment.”  

Chief architect at the Department of Health’s estates and facilities department Chris Farrah called the Hpod an “exciting and innovative” development.  “This is the first time anyone has tried to grab hold of all of the information [on sense-sensitive design] and make… tangible modifications to the healthcare environment in this way,” he said. “I will be very interested to see it in action and would like to be able to use it to inform the department’s work.”  

The partners also hope the device can be modified for use in the education sector by using lighting and acoustics to influence the ability to learn.