Thesis Adviser: Ar. Bernard Joy Dones
PUP – STA. MESA
Access to healthcare is an important necessity and the right of every human being. As the Universal Healthcare Law mandates provision for everyone to have access to quality healthcare that is affordable, efficient and equitably distributed without prejudice to religion, age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Regardless, healthcare expenses do not only end in hospital bills and medical expenses; it also includes other expenditure such as transportation costs. This implies that having healthcare facilities closer to the patients would help them in saving the burden of these additional costs. However, public specialized healthcare facilities for children on other islands such as in Visayas are still limited and not enough to cater to their young population.
In addition, existing public specialty hospitals that offer a wide range of patient care services for children are only located in Luzon, such as Philippine Children’s Medical Center and National Children’s Hospital. Not only the availability and accessibility of these hospitals are the problem but also its facilities that are supposed to be child-sensitive and promote fast recuperation.
Hence the proposal of Cebu Children’s Medical Center: Adapting Principles of Neuroscience in Enhancing Efficiency of Pediatric Hospital Design, a specialty hospital that aims to cater to the children and high-risk pregnant women of the Visayas that will give equal advantages and privileges offered by the Universal Healthcare Law and for better quality of life and well-being for healthcare professional, patient’s families, and especially to children to meet their health needs as a patient and as Filipino children.
This study aims to answer the main question: How can the proposed development enhance the efficiency of children’s healing environment through its design and planning and provide quality of life and healthcare for its young patients and other users in a hospital setting? With this established general query, the goal of this study is to establish a pediatric hospital in Cebu that offers a wide range of patient care services similar to existing public pediatric hospitals in the country to extend its medical services to the maternal and child population of the province and its nearby provinces and to create an efficient healing environment suitable for its young patients adhering to their medical needs through the application of the concept of neuro architecture.
The chosen site for the project is situated in Lahug, Cebu City (Site A) based on the assessment through the Likert scale system. Among the three sites, site A has no inappropriate and industrial establishments that may cause more implications to the young patients. It is also located in an area that can be easily accessible by the catered patients and hospitals for ease of transfer of patients. It has enough land area that can be utilized and maximized for the development and is accessible via major road and has nearby terminals.
The general concept of the proposed Cebu Children’s Medical Center is derived from the integration of neuroscience – a multidisciplinary science that is concerned with the study of structure and function of the human nervous system – in architecture. This shows a synergy between architectural elements and human sciences and how both concepts influence one another. It is the scientific process between the sensorial input of the built environments and their bio-clinical impact on the users.
Physical stimuli (light, sound, texture, dimension, etc.) of a physical environment or the built setting act as an input that is process and generate responses ( sensory, perceptual, emotional, and cognitive) from the body, brain, and mind yielding behavioral output and going back as a loop process that represents the complex interaction between the physical and human outcomes.
Every element incorporated in an environment can have a different effect on the user’s perception of the space, affecting their connection and experiences. In a deeper sense, it can influence the brain’s functioning, its components, and overall structure.
The principles of Neuroscience adapted are (1) Perception and the Sense which explains how the effect of elements present in a space through different sense affect the perception of the human mind of its environment. This includes the concept of Sharp vs. Curved Objects, Fractal Patterns, Wood Texture, and Cross-modal Stimuli. (2) Health and Well-being which explains how the space configuration affects the processing of human mind in terms of recuperation and stress. This includes the concept of Perception of Pain, and Minimalist vs. Stimulating Design. And lastly (3) Development or Aging which explains how the interaction between the users and its environment helps in the production of different hormones and other brain factors that can boost the user’s cognitive reserve which help protects the brain from rapid aging. This includes the active-promoting design elements.
The form concept of the proposed Cebu Children’s Medical Center is inspired by the structure of the brain – the Forebrain, Midbrain, and Hindbrain. The development will have connecting structures like how the brain is divided into three major divisions which is composed of its other specific components. This is adopted to incorporate how the functions of the brain divisions are also similar to how each department / zone in the hospital are interconnected in terms of its function and process to serve and provide each of its users with excellent patient care and hospital experience.
The final design of this project adopted Steven Holl’s utilization of the contemporary style in the façade and interior of his building. His sculpture-like façade, big glass windows for the passage of natural light, strategical use of curves, application of minimalist and stimulating design elements, and his way of connecting the internal and outside environment is the main design elements adopted by this project to anchor with the established design concept.
The presented concept of neuro architecture will introduce a different approach in designing pediatric hospitals into the proposed development which is more efficient in serving its purpose in adherence to the medical and developmental needs of young patients which is essential in achieving quality of life and proper healthcare. In addition, this will also consider other individuals who are part of the child’s health care and recovery such as their family, healthcare professionals, and hospital staff as they also play an integral role in the children’s healing process. As children are the hope and future of the nation, this project will greatly contribute to promoting and improving children’s health and well-being. Ensuring that their needs as children and patients will be met inside the hospital.
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