The hospital
of the future
Interview with Studio Zweithaler
Architect Markus Pernthaler of Studio Zweithaler sees
the trend in hospitals moving from four-bed to two-bed
and one-bed rooms. This clearly shifts the focus to design
measures that support patient recovery. Colour-changing
light's use is undisputed from a medical perspective. In
addition to health-promoting aspects in intensive care,
lighting enables the creation of an atmosphere that helps
patients recover and provides staff with an activating
working environment. The combination of natural and arti-
ficial lighting plays a central role here because light is the
strongest pacesetter for the inner clock. No medication
has a comparably powerful effect. For patients waking up
from a deep sleep, high illuminance significantly supports
recovery. According to the hospital supplier HT Health Tec
GmbH from Heideck in Germany, over 2000 lux should
horizontally illuminate the bed's surface for several hours.
A dynamic light curve is ideal for this.
Thanks to increasing digitalisation and lower costs, a large
range of intelligent lighting systems with dynamic light
sequences are already available. However, the acceptance
of such complex lighting systems stands and falls with its
operation. Appropriate, user-friendly solutions are there-
fore needed. How are multi-dimensional lighting systems
understood, and – without training – operated? It has
been shown that care staff often reject complex control
systems because nothing is as intuitive and fail-safe as an
analogue light switch.
Regarding epidemics and pandemics, changes are already
emerging in floor plan configurations of access areas to
take account of epidemiological requirements. Sustaina-
bility, the ecological, and economic framework conditions
are core concerns. Energy and resource-saving products
continue to pose an acute challenge. This also applies to
lighting. The lighting system and its individual components
must be easy to maintain, fully recyclable, and, ultimately,
affordable.
Benjamin and Markus Pernthaler
Studio Zweithaler
xal.com/health
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