The new hospital building sits higher than its predecessor, offering sweeping views over the Don Valley. Photo by Nic Lehoux
In 2013, I joined experimental social psychologist Dr. Celeste Alvaro to conduct a post-occupancy study of Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, a complex care hospital in Toronto. This study, the largest of its kind in Canada, was uniquely positioned to look at the psychosocial impacts of design on staff and patients in chronic care and rehabilitation, as Bridgepoint relocated from its old building to a new state-of-the-art facility on an adjacent site.
While most evidence-based design research has focused on readily quantifiable impacts, such as optimized workflows, this study sought to investigate some of the harder-to-measure qualitative aspects of design. We were interested in the effects of design on the psychological well-being of patients?depression, connectedness, mood, stress reduction?as well as looking at health impacts such as pain and mobility. The hospital?s architects?Stantec Architecture / KPMB Architects (Planning, Design and Compliance Architects) and HDR Architecture / Diamond Schmitt Architects (Design, Build, Finance and Maintain Architects)?aspired to make the 464-bed facility into a new paradigm in patient-centered care for chronic disease and rehabilitation in Canada. The country?s aging population is projected to be living longer with complex and multiple chronic diseases, which means longer-term or recurring relationships with trea...