PERCEIVING HOSPITALITY IN HOSPITALS : TOWARDS A HOLISTIC HEALING ENVIRONMENT IN SINGAPORE HOSPITALS
NG WEI QI
NG WEI QI
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Abstract
Preoccupation with achieving technical & economical efficiency takes virtual centre‐stage in
hospital design. With the advent of modern technology & medical science, healthcare spaces are
seen to be solely planned on the premise of rational planning. A misinterpretation of hospitality
in hospital design is unfortunate since the original intentions are borne out of goodwill.
Successes so far in 'hospitable' environments that rely on the direct importation from the
hospitality industry are limited. The over‐emphasis of healthcare as a commodity exacerbates
this problem.
The hypothesis is that current hospitals are far less 'hospitable' than they should be, and that
whatever successes they have achieved in terms of 'hospitality' are direct importation of
ideology from the hospitality industry. The misinterpretation of hospitality originated from the
limited understanding on the mechanisms of sensorial perception and it limited application in
design processes, especially in the discourse of healthcare design. The hospital thus requires a
hospitable environment that approaches design from the users’ perspective and supports this
specific model of ‘hospitality’ that is not only contextual to its functions and user, but to be
conceived with the holistic understanding of healthcare and sensorial perception in architecture.
The dissertation will first define the terminologies and models to establish a foundation in order
for subsequent discussion to be meaningful. It will also dwell into the theory of perception, as it
is an essential component in understanding the concept of hospitality. Critical issues of
contemporary approaches to hospitals will also be analysed and discussed. An indicative
research will be designed based on the discussions, and conducted to further the claims of this
dissertation.
Hospitality in hospitals is fundamentally the provision of care for its users. The critical question is
what kind of care is suitable? What the hospitals need is the instillation of ‘wellness’ and this
should not be confused with ‘pleasuring’ the patient. The fundamental issue of hospitality
design can be traced back to larger issues such as healthcare principle, design methodology and
urban planning. Hospitals cannot be compromised in crisis such as SARS and H1N1 pandemic,
and with the recent spike in hospital‐acquired MRSA, it is time to reflect upon the validity of this
model.
Keywords
Architecture, Design Track, Ruzica Bozovic‐Stamenovic, 2010/2011 DT, Hospital, Hospitality, Perception
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Date
2011-02-19
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Dissertation