Architecture Trends Influencing Sustainable Hospital Design

Sustainable design and architecture has grown in popularity, not just as a stylistic approach, but architects and designers are thinking about the long term. Most new hospitals have taken to this approach and begun implementing sustainable design aspects and green materials that can help reduce emissions and energy use. If you’re the manager of a facility or hospital, you’re probably trying to think of ways to cut costs on your energy bill through long-lasting solutions.

Here are a few architecture trends that are influencing sustainable hospital designs that you may want to consider during your next remodel, or if you’re about to embark on a new facility.

Increasing Natural Light & Using Low Energy Bulbs

There are many benefits to natural light. It helps reduce the need for electrical illumination to lower energy costs. There are many effective ways this can be done, including skylights, larger windows and window walls, and glass doors. When the sun sets, that’s when you can utilize low-energy bulbs to provide light without burning up too much energy.

Get More Green

Indoor plants have many benefits. They can reduce carbon dioxide levels, keep the temperature down, boost humidity, and even help reduce pollutants in the air. Using more indoor plants can help improve moral, as well as help the building maintain a healthy environment. However, outdoor gardens and courtyards can also have positive benefits for hospitals, mainly with the patients.

When a patient can see or even walk through a gardened area, it can have positive effects on their health in terms of stress reduction. Having multiple “green areas” makes the hospital more visually appealing. Run-of-the-mill hospitals have a stuffy lack of imagination, and the environment in which a patient is trying to heal has a lot to do with it. Having a garden terrace for patients to relax, enjoy the sights, or spend time with their family has positive benefits on the building, and the patient themselves.

Using Recycled Materials

One of the easiest and most efficient moves towards sustainability is using recycled materials in any way you can. Not only does this help reduce waste, but it also helps conserve natural resources, and it can help reduce greenhouse gases.

There are also plenty of great materials that are recycled. HDPE (high-density polyethylene) is a solid-plastic that can be used for a variety of applications, like toilet partitions and durable lockers. This plastic not only provides a strong structure, but it’s also non-absorbent, impact-resistant, and long-lasting.

Moving Forward with Sustainable Hospital Design

Now that you’re aware of some of the newer trends that hospitals around the world are using to make their facility more sustainable, you have a few ideas to run with. Not only did you see that these design aspects have benefits of reducing your energy costs and the actual building emissions, but you also saw that it can have a positive effect on the patients and their health. With the right design implementations, hospitals and patients can benefit greatly. Are you looking for ways to make your facility or hospital more sustainable? Check out this free eBook, Sustainable Building Products: How to Make Your Facility Eco-Friendly from Top to Bottom, from your friends at Scranton Products.