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Industry Collaboration
Interior Architecture students support the NHS in considering how to tackle growing waiting lists | NHS
Interior Architecture students help the Macmillan Unit Christchurch Hospital to create a safe but welcoming environment for people in their final days of life | Macmillan Unit
Due to Covid-19 many outpatient appointments
Senior Lecturer, Monica Franchin, said, ‘It has been
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions on
resulted in many elective activities being stopped.
and an opportunity to participate to a real world setting
over the last year had to be cancelled. This has
a fantastic learning experience for Level 4 students,
With the current waiting list being around 45,000
experiment. The experience has been instrumental in
NHS Foundation Trust (UHD) joined partners and
to the local community for both students and staff.
patients, staff from University Hospitals Dorset
enhancing the sense of engagement and belonging
healthcare colleagues from across Dorset to plan
We were proud to be part of the development of
currently are able to. Project priorities were how
We look forward to continuing with the collaboration
how they can treat more patients than they are
to create a safe environment for clinical staff to provide face-to-face care for these patients, while
also providing privacy and dignity in a Covid-secure
innovative spaces to tackle NHS waiting list issues.
with Ashleigh Boreham, Deputy Director Transformation for Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)
and his team’. Monica continued, ‘It is evident that
way. In addition, ensuring any plans provide support
the healthcare sector is ever evolving and it is in
and Design students and staff were delighted to
the IAD course has been involved with the health
for staff wellbeing. BA (Hons) Interior Architecture
be asked to help in setting up the day which took
place at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC),
which has temporarily been serving as Dorset’s large vaccination centre.
constant need for new ideas, in the last three years sector as we believe that students can benefit from
this, and it can open new employment opportunities.’
All options discussed are now being developed to work out the best plan.
“
It has been a fantastic learning
experience for Level 4 students,
and an opportunity to participate
in a real world setting experiment. The experience has been
instrumental in enhancing the sense of engagement and
belonging to the local community for both students and staff.
Monica Franchin, Senior Lecturer
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hospital furnishings have been implemented to
address the latest health and safety regulations in battling this contagious virus. This has resulted
in many of the homely fixtures and fittings being
removed from hospital units around the country and leaving centres feeling empty and cold.
Louise Pennington, Lead nurse of palliative care
at the Macmillan Unit told us about the initial stage of the project: ‘At the beginning of the pandemic
the environment at the Macmillan Unit needed to
change, this meant it stopped feeling so warm and homely. The very foundations of Palliative Care have
been challenged by the pandemic such as needing to adapt to less visiting and the use of PPE. We wanted
to help the hospice to recover its warm, homely, supportive environment but I knew we needed
some help. I got in touch with Interior Architecture and Design at the Arts University Bournemouth and
they have taken the time to understand what is at the
Erin Harris and Caitlin Fletcher, both Level 5
Erin
the environment in becoming therapeutic again’.
a positive and comfortable environment where
lead nurse, the designs were adjusted to better suit
heart of the care that we deliver and how to support Staff from the BA (Hons) Interior Architecture
and Design course helped to develop the project with the Macmillan team. Senior lecturer, Monica
Franchin told us, ‘The Interior Architecture course is particularly interested in how we can create spaces
for people that could improve people’s health and increase wellbeing, we were delighted to be asked to support Macmillan’.
students, took up this challenging brief to create patients and family members could enjoy their
last memories together. The four main areas that
needed to be re-designed were the entrance, the unit hub, the day lounge and the day centre. There were numerous issues that also needed to be
addressed, for example it was crucial that the space had cleanable surfaces and consideration was given to patient accessibility.
explained
the
collaboration
process,
‘Throughout regular conversations with Louise, the the needs of the palliative care and the day-centre users. Through these discussions we arrived at our
final set of concepts. Erin continued, ‘Our current designs are actually only a temporary solution as the palliative care centre will be moving into a brand new
building within the next three years. Therefore, the visual design style didn’t have to consider longevity,
but furnishings and their possible integration into
the new building were taken into account so as to be more sustainable.’
Caitlin added, ‘As part of the project it was
important to us that the patients’ artwork was
embraced into the designs. Currently artwork
is displayed at the day centre entrance and in a corridor. To enhance this feature and display the patient’s artwork, we created a gallery display unit which was designed to allow multiple artworks to be
rotated and showcased. Alongside this, there will also be an arch display at the entrance of the day centre to welcome visitors.’ Caitlin continued, ‘This
has been an extremely rewarding project and it has
been a privilege to work with Louise and see how our work can make such a positive difference to people.’
The project is still ongoing, and will be made possible through NHS funding and charity donors.
aub.ac.uk/aub-human
