By Healthcare Facilities Today

In healthcare settings, the function of public spaces is just as vital to the mission of the facility as private patient or clinical spaces. Rather than designed as afterthoughts, the public spaces should be identified and designed to function according to their specific typology, says an article in Health Facilities Management.

Public space is more than the front lobby and plays a part in shaping the overall experience of healthcare, which is an important consideration given the customer-focused climate in healthcare today. Healthcare public spaces fall into five categories, or typologies: spaces to enter and get oriented, spaces for quiet and introspection, spaces characterized by constant movement, wayfinding spaces and service-based spaces.

What each typology means and requires in a healthcare setting must be considered, says the article. For example, taking into consideration that people in these spaces might be emotionally vulnerable is important. Designers should, "look beyond just physical metrics like the square footage of the space and consider the emotional content of space," says the article.

Some organizations are starting to break public space out during design, with "public amenities space" called out in the space program as line items. Public space generally accounts for about two percent of the overall space, but focusing on that small percentage can have a big impact, the article says.

Read the article.