healthcare | ARIDO

Transformative healthcare interiors that blend creativity and functionality

This week we are spotlighting the visionary work of registered members who are reshaping the landscape of medical facilities. From ergonomic furniture and barrier free and accessibility considerations to soothing color palettes and inclusive spaces, join us as we explore how design thinking is transforming healthcare interiors into havens of healing on this World Health Day.

From bustling hospitals to serene clinics, the spaces where healthcare is delivered play a significant role in patient comfort, staff morale, and overall healing. Interior Designers are revolutionizing healthcare spaces, blending creativity with functionality to craft environments that promote wellness and healing.

Creativity is a healing force at Marnie’s Studio, SickKids

A padded orange alcove provides a seating nook next to a blue, orange and yellow linear graphic on the wall.

The Marnie’s Studio project at Sick Kids Hospital transformed the existing Bear Theater into a multi-purpose art and performance space. The original theatre space resembled a forest with dark colours, murals of forest scenes, and heavy dark drapes that kept daylight out.

Interior Designer: Andrea Langham, ARIDO
Design Firm: Parkin Architects Limited
Project Photographer: Richard Johnson

View the full project here.

ARIDO Award: Institute for Specialized Medicine & Intervention (ISMI)

The Institute for Specialized Medicine and Intervention provides people underserved by the medical community—women, trans and pediatric patients—with compassionate, state-of-the-art treatment. It was important to establish a sense of control for clients in the space, and the exam rooms are designed with adjustable lighting, individual climate control, and elevated finishes to create a therapeutic, rather than medical atmosphere.

Interior Designers: Sara Dagovic, ARIDO; Allison King, ARIDO
Design Team: Susan Chang, ARIDO; Rowena Au Yeung, ARIDO
Design Firm: HOK
Photographer: Langlois Photo

View the full project here.

Community is the healing force in this rehab transitional residence

A room for gathering and socializing with comfortable sofa and warm yellow lounge chairs

CONNECT Communities is a transitional residence near Hamilton, ON for those recovering from a stroke or acquired brain injuries. Built off their client’s Life Redesign Model, the design team were asked to design a space that resembled a residence more than a medical facility. Their strategy was to create a place for inclusion and seclusion, allowing people to heal within a community of others along the same journey in a comfortable and pleasant environment.

Interior Designer: Patty Clydesdale, ARIDO
Design Firm: DPAI Architecture Inc.
Photographer: Michael Muraz

View the full project here.

The medicine wheel is a motif in the design of this Health Centre

Tall timber columns and beams welcome everyone into the health centre with a large octagonal skylight at the centre.

The Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre is a hospital built in Sioux Lookout in 2012, and serves a population spread over a large geographical area. Health Centre clients come from 29 First Nations communities spread across Northern Ontario, as well as Sioux Lookout, where there is a non‐Indigenous population with its own rich culture.

With a First Nations associate architect guiding the design team, many important aspects of Indigenous culture were incorporated in the planning and design of the facility.

Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre
Interior Designer: Taeko Rhodes, ARIDO
Design Team: Ena Kenny, ARIDO
Design Firm: Stantec Architecture
Project Joint Venture: Douglas Cardinal, Douglas Cardinal Architect Inc
Project Photographer: Richard Johnson

View full project here.

Designing healthcare spaces for kids: Introducing a sense of exploration and curiosity

A boy plays with letters on a magnetic wall at the SickKids PlayPark with curved wall columns that resemble trees. Support beams are surounded by green organic forms at their tops to resemble trees with leaves.

What’s it like to design a healthcare space for children? Is it possible to infuse that space with imagination and whimsy, while simultaneously following the practical rules of a healthcare setting, such as infection control, times of operation, and safety? These are the questions that inspired Stantec’s designers to take a unique approach to the redesign of the Women’s Auxiliary Volunteers (WAV) PlayPark at SickKids Hospital in Toronto.

Interior Designer: Laurena Clark, ARIDO
Design Firm: Stantec Architecture Ltd.
Photographer: Richard Johnson

View the full project here.

More healthcare articles are available on BLOG//ARIDO under the healthcare section.

ARIDO Award: Institute for Specialized Medicine & Intervention (ISMI)

Interior Designers: Sara Dagovic, ARIDO; Allison King, ARIDO
Design Team: Susan Chang, ARIDO; Rowena Au Yeung, ARIDO
Design Firm: HOK
Photographer: Langlois Photo

Waiting area at The Institute for Specialized Medicine and Intervention with biophilic elements and calm neutral colour palette

It was important to establish a sense of control for clients in the space, and the exam rooms are designed with adjustable lighting, individual climate control, and elevated finishes to create a therapeutic, rather than medical atmosphere.

Exam room adjustable lighting, individual climate control, and elevated finishes

Visual and acoustic privacy was addressed so sensitive conversations can take place in confidence, while biophilic elements, including a living wall, enhance the sense of calm. The clinic has attracted top radiology talent because of the welcoming and supportive space, moreover, staff are choosing to complete their work in clinic instead of at home.

Community is the healing force in this rehab transitional residence

CONNECT Communities is a transitional residence near Hamilton, ON for those recovering from a stroke or acquired brain injuries. Built off our client’s Life Redesign Model, we were asked to design a space that resembled a residence more than a medical facility. Our strategy was to create a place for inclusion and seclusion, allowing people to heal within a community of others along the same journey in a comfortable and pleasant environment.

Interior Designer: Patty Clydesdale, ARIDO
Design Firm: DPAI Architecture Inc.
Photographer: Michael Muraz

Reception desk in a black and white colour combination with modern sleek lines against the warm wood on the floors. Warm coloured wood finish is on the ceiling above

Since the project was built off CONNECT’s Life Redesign ModelTM and the building was to feel like a home first, every design decision needed to be about what one would do in their own home. We achieved this through a unique home-style, relaxed format which groups residents at varying stages of recovery in each apartment, in a comfortable and comforting setting. There was a conscious goal to create spaces not only for communal living, but also smaller spaces for personal reflection. The kitchen and living rooms are communal spaces, which allow for interaction but at the same time can be used as a quiet space for reading or personal reflection.

The Life Redesign treatment programme requested that traditional barrier-free code requirements be incorporated in a creative way or hidden where possible, creating a definitively residential environment. We wanted to achieve a more home-y feel with warm toned wood flooring and comfortable furniture both in communal spaces and private bedrooms.

Staircase going up to the second floor with black risers and wood coloured steps create visual interest

A hallway area with comfortable seating, modern circle shaped pendants in red above, warm coloured wood flooring, and a ton of natural light

The 42 bedrooms with accessible ensuites and communal living spaces are connected to amenity spaces and offices. The living spaces are complemented by a tangible connection to the landscape and thoughtful access to the surrounding community. This care facility consciously fits within the context and scale of the Hamilton residential community in which it exists.

Accessible bathroom with a curbless shower equipped with a bench and grab bars, free standing tub and barrier free vanity. The colour scheme is predominantly grey with white walls around the vanity

Though suburban dwellings surround the property on two sides, nature abounds to the east where the residence overlooks the scenic Eramosa Karst Conservation Area. Just steps past the intentionally transparent box-wire fence lie walking trails through a Carolinian woodlot, and a provincially designated area of Natural and Scientific Interest– karst land formations. This required our team to collaborate in a meaningful way with the Hamilton Region Conservation Authority.

The surrounding conservation land was an important consideration in our design and inspired the visible connection to nature which was accomplished by placing the building components apart from each other to create narrow connecting corridors with large windows. This allowed natural light to flow in and provided endless views of the conservation area directly through the building. The concept of natural light as a healing element is not new, but the goal for the living spaces went further, with a desire to have a meaningful connection to the surrounding residential community. We created courtyards between residences and large balconies to encourage integration with neighbours and passersby.

A small courtyard with seating in between the building units

CONNECT Communities strives to make their patients’ lives better by providing them with a nurturing and innovative community environment while they recover from their injuries. We designed a unique interior that was to feel like a home more than a facility and complemented the living spaces by a tangible connection to nature and thoughtful access to the surrounding community.

This sophisticated interior goes beyond aesthetics

Dr. Ford’s new plastic surgery clinic needed to reflect his reputation as a preeminent plastic surgeon who keeps himself and his private-practice on the leading edge of aesthetic medicine. The design concept, motivated by modern warmth and sensitivity, required an efficient plan to accommodate the various functional requirements without compromising on luxury or discretion.

Interior Designers: Jacqueline Claassen, ARIDO and Donna Wood, ARIDO

Design Firm: Bullock + Wood Design Inc.

Photographer: Joaquim Santos

Waiting area looking toward the glass enveloped staff offices across the hallway

The award-winning architecture of the luxury commercial condominium at 7 St. Thomas Street in the heart of Toronto’s prestigious Bloor-Yorkville district provided the ideal location for Dr. Ford’s established practice. The building’s modern and dramatic glass facade appealed to our client’s vision for the interior of his clinic with panoramic exterior views to a green-roof and cityscapes to provide a calming experience and support a bright, dynamic environment.

White walled hallway viewed from the main entrance glass door

The quality of interior finishes selected reflect Dr. Ford’s high standards and eye for detail. Materials used in this interior are durable and sophisticated to mirror his established practice. New condominium construction required the client to budget all new energy-efficient mechanical and electrical services, infrastructure and distribution. Strategically designed to fit within the ceiling, the new infrastructure is tightly shared together with various lighting and an integrated sound system, finished discreetly in a smooth drywall ceiling.

Natural and neutral palettes were selected to showcase authentic materials. Crisp-white walls, ceilings and floors provide contrast to the natural warmth of walnut veneer walls, doors and millwork.

A peek into one of the consultation offices through the glass doors with black geometric patters printed on them

View of one of the offices and walnut veneer custom cabinetry with black hardware looking in from the white walled hallway

Dramatic black and white marble in the reception desk and double sided feature-wall create modern architectural detail that elegantly frames the white, butterflied slabs and vivid artwork. The simplicity of black accents also seen in lighting and hardware provides a modern yet classic edge to contrast softer elements.

A black graphic mimicking the bold contrast of the carpet pattern delivers a visual signal on glass throughout. While creating a definition between spaces, glass partitions with discrete sliding doors allow natural light to infiltrate interior offices and provide a personal connection between waiting patients and clinic staff.

Calming exterior views to the green-roof are available throughout the clinic, stimulating our innate biophilia connection with nature, while powered black-out blinds provide absolute privacy when needed. Consultation rooms equipped with LED lighting and the latest technology aid in visual accuracy for doctor-patient consultations.

Walnut veneer cabinetry in the kitchenette with black hardware consistent with rest of the office space

A galley kitchenette furnished with discrete, high-end appliances provides staff a refreshment oasis with sightlines to exterior views while maintaining the same comfort level as the public spaces.

As Dr. Ford consistently exceeds his patients’ expectations, so too does his new plastic surgery clinic, elevating the standards in aesthetic medicine.

Why do modern hospitals still suffer from underperforming workspaces?

In my more than 25 years as a healthcare planner and workplace consultant, I’ve helped multiple healthcare organizations plan and program new hospitals. With each new project, I’m amazed and inspired by the attention given to patient care and clinical delivery. At the same time, something is often missing in these planning sessions. For all the time devoted to clinical planning, comparatively little is given to the needs of the people who staff our hospitals. It’s as though we are focused on optimizing only a portion of the building for its users and not on the effectiveness of the parts of the hospital set aside for staff to complete their administrative work, collaborate and—especially important today—recuperate.

The Impact of Poor Workplace Planning in Hospitals

This lack of attention can have real consequences. Burnout is already tremendously high in the healthcare sector. Space designed to support the whole health and wellbeing of staff is one way hospitals can address their current recruitment and retention challenges.

Inattention to staff work needs and styles also makes for inefficient use of space and resources. Many hospitals continue to follow outdated workplace formulas that assign staff a set amount of space based on their title and not their true work needs. For example, healthcare staff often are allocated private offices and other dedicated spaces that can go unused for up to six to 10 hours a day (30-50 hours a week!) as they fulfill their essential clinical roles and other non-administrative work. While these spaces sit unused, there is a lack of other types of spaces hospital staff can use to collaborate or decompress. Further, individually allocated spaces tend to be much larger than is necessary in today’s modern world of workplace planning where technology and newer furniture design make for greater efficiencies in smaller spaces. My clients outside of healthcare would be shocked by this inefficient use of real estate and resources. Yet, in hospitals, this type of wastefulness is all too common.

So, what can we do about it? How can we make hospital workspaces more efficient, productive, supportive and responsive to staff needs? The answer, I believe, lies in drawing lessons from workplace planning in the corporate and business world. That planning begins with understanding the “Three P’s.”

A Solution in the Three P’s: People, Process, Placemaking

As a workplace consultant, one of the first things I do with a new client is to get a sense of the different people within an organization and the processes in which they work. With that understanding, I can then work with the client on placemaking, or creating the space types that meet the needs of an organization and its people. Here’s how the Three P’s could be applied to hospital workplace strategy:

People – What are the divergent staff needs that the workplace must support? The initial stages of planning and ideation in healthcare spaces should encompass engaging with a hospital’s staff to explore who they are, what will help them thrive, and what kinds of choices will relieve their anxieties and support their wellbeing in the workplace.

Process – What do people require to do their best work? Once we have a good understanding of the hospital staff, we can look at what they need to complete their work within their non-clinical workspaces. By looking at people’s work process and preferences—such as independent vs. collaborative work; in-person vs. remote work; patient-facing vs. administrative work; desk-based vs. mobile work—we begin to get a sense of space needs and function. For example, after two years at home during the pandemic, who and how many staff are coming back to the office? Will in-person staff need their own desk, or can they share a workstation? What types of amenities or collaboration spaces do they require? What technology? Answers to these questions create a clearer picture of the workplace needs of an organization.

Placemaking – How can we create spaces that show we value employees? The final step is to take the data and stories collected from our people and process research and use it to define the types and amount of space required. The goal here is to create a variety of space choices—from open to private—that enable people to not just complete their jobs but to do so in a way that helps them thrive personally and professionally.

Results and Next Steps

By applying the Three P’s to their staff workspaces, hospitals can cater to the whole health and needs of their employees just as they do for their patients. I have seen this result in hospital employees who are happier in their work, more appreciative of their employer and better caregivers to their patients.

The Three P’s can also make hospital workplaces more efficient by cutting down on underutilized spaces and freeing up valuable real estate for clinical services. Going back to the example of the individually allocated spaces, smart workplace planning is not only about how much workspace you provide employees. It’s ensuring the space you do provide fully addresses employees’ personal and professional needs. The business case is that this approach can also be less expensive and require less real estate, making it a win-win for both staff and employers.

Want additional information on the Three P’s or how workplace planning can apply to hospitals? Connect with me on LinkedIn or shoot me an email at susan.chang@hok.com.

This article is re-published from HOK with permission. It previously appeared on LinkedIn.

Designing healthcare spaces for kids: Introducing a sense of exploration and curiosity

Interior Designer: Laurena Clark, ARIDO

Design Firm: Stantec Architecture Ltd.

Photographer: Richard Johnson

These are the questions that inspired Stantec’s designers to take a unique approach to the redesign of the Women’s Auxiliary Volunteers (WAV) PlayPark at SickKids Hospital in Toronto. The PlayPark is a volunteer-run space for the siblings of young patients who are at the hospital for treatment. Over the years, the much-loved PlayPark had become outdated. Stantec’s designers were tasked with not only updating the look but upgrading the space to be more functional and accessible.

Two of members of the PlayPark design team — interior designer Laurena Clark, ARIDO and architect Olivera Sipka — sat down to discuss their approach and provide advice for others designing similar spaces.

What was different about the SickKids PlayPark, compared to other projects that you’ve worked on?

Laurena: As designers, we always empathize with, and put ourselves in the position of, the people who will use the spaces we design. But with this project, we realized we needed to get to an even deeper level of emotion. SickKids provided us with touching information—like quotes from kids that have loved the space over the years—that made us more emotionally attached. One young man, who is now in his 20s, wrote about how he was so young when his brother began a stay at SickKids, and this young man felt so lost. Both of his parents were busy with his brother’s care, and the young man never got to see his friends. But he had the PlayPark. He wrote about what a joy it was to visit the PlayPark at such a gloomy time in his life. So, redesigning a space that makes such an impact on the lives of young people is a tremendous responsibility. And my kids are the same age as typical PlayPark visitors, between the ages of 4 and 9. So, on an emotional level, that also impacted my design approach.

Reception desk and entry at SickKids PlayPark with coloured circles in random organic patterns.

Can you talk more about your specific design approach for this project?

Laurena: We were doing so much more than designing a “space.” We were creating an experience for those kids and families. We added zones inspired by nature—like a lake, canyon, and hills—so we could bring a park setting to kids that are inside for long periods of time. Also, the PlayPark isn’t just a space that has a certain function. Most of the spaces we design—such as waiting rooms, for example—have specific functions in mind. And, while a waiting room might have some toys and games, those are isolated activities. As soon as you walk into PlayPark, you’re intrigued to explore. We also had to include so much more depth in the design and the activities available because many kids come to the PlayPark for extended periods of time—days, months, even years. We had to pack a lot more in than you might find in a typical waiting room where a child may only visit for a few hours at a time.

Cozy night sky area with midnight blue walls and a column with a graphic of Canada and pale blue LEDs across the ceiling to resemble stars.

Support columns at the WAV PlayPark surrounded by organic green shapes resemble trees.

Can you tell us more about the zones inspired by nature? What does that look like?

Laurena: We created a forest landscape in the central open space, which features trees made of thick resin panels to create a “leafy” canopy. The tree trunks are a perfect place to wind through on a tricycle. We added a quiet “cave nook,” with fiber-optic twinkling lights in the ceiling, to create the sense of sitting beneath the stars. This is a space where kids can sit quietly when they might not want to engage. It was important to us that kids have choices as they go through a difficult time. The art studio area features a meadow theme with a giant LED panel of tall grasses with lights overhead that look like fluffy clouds. The performance space is designed with curves to suggest hills, with an organic-shaped seating nook and original illustrations.

What’s your advice for others designing a space for children?

Laurena: Open communication. Create an environment of trust and respect so team members feel comfortable throwing ideas out, even if they’re not perfect.

Olivera: It’s about listening. Make sure you listen to kids’ experiences. While working on this project, we listened to children, parents, and even teenagers who used to visit the space when they were younger.

How did you get into the child-like mindset necessary for PlayPark’s redesign?

Laurena: I just had to shut everything off. For healthcare projects, we’re so used to working within the confines of budget, time, and cleanability. So, I had to stop thinking about all the practical things that block ideas from coming freely.

Can you think of something from your own childhood that you brought to this project?

Laurena: I have lots of memories of exploring freely as a child, such as exploring outside, or looking through my mom’s closet and playing dress-up. So, I wanted to bring a feeling of exploration, as well as surprise. During a visit to PlayPark, my kids loved looking through the cupboards and finding the toys that were in there.

Every surface has storage behind it. That alone is an element of exploration. This contrasts with a lot of other pediatric spaces, where you see toys everywhere. It feels busy, and it’s almost overstimulation. Whereas at PlayPark, you have a clean, bright, airy space, and you can interact with surfaces in different ways. All the clutter is hidden. And there’s that element of surprise, as kids discover what’s behind each door.

Do you have any final pieces of advice to offer someone approaching a project like this?

Olivera: Don’t just focus on technology. When designing for kids, we often tend to look at new technologies, such as interactive screens. But with this project, the focus was on play. It turned out to be more of a whimsical place, where kids have opportunities to be themselves.

Laurena: It’s possible to create a fun space while simultaneously working within the confines of a hospital. We designed PlayPark to hospital standards, in terms of infection control. We used all the same materials that other healthcare spaces use—like rubber floors and solid surfaces—and we considered cleaning, like you would in any other area of the hospital. Everything was wipeable. You can utilize those materials in a way that creates an environment that doesn’t look institutional.

This post originally appeared on Stantec.com’s Ideas Blog. The PlayPark project also recieved an Award of Merit in the 2018 ARIDO Awards.

Creativity is a healing force at Marnie’s Studio, SickKids

Interior Designer: Andrea Langham, ARIDO
Design Firm: Parkin Architects Limited
Project Photographer: Richard Johnson

With this redesign, the client and the kids wanted a clean and contemporary space, light-filled, and flexible to accommodate different activities and children, ages 4 to 18 with varying levels of mobility. Because the hospital couldn’t accommodate a serious renovation, existing walls, doors, and window frames were reused and repainted, while the HVAC system was maintained.

The space now includes a media centre for film/music, complete with a recording studio, a stage for live performances, and a creative arts area, and room for dance practices. The corridor leading to the studio needed to reflect its overall design, and the existing large and dimly lit alcove at the end of the corridor was to receive new seating, graphic art, and new lighting.

The tight budget and space constraints placed on the project required the designers to keep the existing general layout of the room and the existing ceiling grid and be creative with how the room could support all these activities.

A new colour palette uses neutral paints with fresh white walls and light wood-look flooring. Bright colours and patterns were injected into the space through custom vinyl graphics, floor patterns and magnetic, writable glass panels which provide kids with additional surfaces to express their creativity. To save space in the media centre, the designers opted to install a resin sliding door which was designed in collaboration with artisans in Senegal who used scraps of colourful fabrics embedded into the resin.

The overall result is a cheerful, multi-functional space which provides a place for creative expression for kids of all ages.

The medicine wheel is a motif in the design of this Health Centre

Menoyawin is an Anishinaabe word that connotes health, wellness, well-being and individual spiritual, mental, emotional and physical wholeness.

With a First Nations associate architect guiding the design team, many important aspects of Indigenous culture were incorporated in the planning and design of the facility. The principal concept behind the master plan was a circular path, 350 meters in diameter, cut through the forest and providing access to each building on the campus.

This path is a representation of the Medicine Wheel, a concept shared by many Indigenous cultures, that signifies the importance of appreciation and respecting the interconnectedness and interrelatedness of all things.

Within that framework, the objective of the interior design of the facility was to create an integrated healing environment, that would blend First Nations culture with the surrounding environment. Symbols of the primordial elements, earth, fire, air and water, are represented throughout the whole centre.

The main gathering space is a heavy timber structure, oriented east, towards sunrise. Sunlight fills the space through a large octagonal skylight, and below, a central ‘fireplace’ built in tempered glass, lit with LEDs, and circled by red pipestone. A traditional sunburst pattern, created in epoxy terrazzo circles the pipestone on the ground, while a black granite waterfall next to the recalls an element that is vital to all living things, and provides a soft burbling sound.

A Ceremonial Room was built for First Nations ceremonies and healing and repeats the important wheel shape, with an actual earth firepit, bordered by natural stone and walls clad in cedar.

Cedar lines the walls and floors of the octagonal ceremonial room with an earth firepit at its centre.

The canoe‐shaped Ambulatory Lobby is built in structural timber with a clerestory window, flooding the space with natural light, while underfoot, a flooring pattern suggests the movement of water.

Rectangular ambulatory lobby with clerestory window, supported by raw cedar poles.

Throughout the inpatient wing, long walls of windows provide views to a series of landscaped courtyards, further reducing the institutional image. The circular pattern of the Medicine Wheel is also present in the cubicle curtains and floor pattern throughout the hospital as a metaphor of healing.

Landscaped interior courtyard with winding paved paths, and rock and evergreen gardens.

By incorporating symbols from Indigenous culture like the Medicine Wheel and the four elements into the design, the hospital resonates with patients and the greater community as a healing place. The architecture and the interior design successfully bridge the gaps between Indigenous and non‐native cultures.

1 SLMHC Website

‘Movement is life’ is the driving theme of this North Bay healthcare centre

A project that has been in the works since 2012, the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit can now provide public health services to a community that was once seriously underserved.

Interior Designer: Anne Carlyle, ARIDO
Design Team: Alanna Drawson, ARIDO
Design Firm: Carlyle Design Associates
Architect Lead: Paul Mitchell, B. ARCH OAA FRAIC
Architecture Firm: Mitchell Jensen Architects
Photographer: Lisa Logan

In a design collaboration between Mitchell Jensen Architects and Carlyle Design Associates, this highly functional building “brings public health into the public realm”, according to principal designer Anne Carlyle, ARIDO.

A site was purchased in North Bay that is easily accessible by public transit, bike paths, and pedestrian routes to embody the Health Unit’s objective to promote healthy lifestyles. The design team and client shared a goal of designing a facility which is practical, reflects the Unit’s values, welcomes the public, inspires staff and visitors, and symbolizes the value of health promotion to the community. ‘Movement is life’, and is fundamental to health, which became a driving theme in this project.

From the entrance, movement is expressed by the expansive open atrium with prominent, gradual stairs, and discrete elevators. The repeated elements of circular shaped lighting and Douglas Fir curtainwall continue this rhythm throughout the building. Expansive glazing and views of the landscape help to calm anxious visitors and to aid wayfinding, while the connection to nature is further reinforced by materials including abundant wood and natural stone.

Behind the scenes, staff are provided with a variety of workspace options including workstations, private rooms, lounge spaces, and group settings for table-based and more casual meetings, shared work or socialization. These workspaces run perpendicular to windows to maximize natural light, views and windows, and are adaptable to employee needs with sit/stand options, adjustable storage, and task lighting.

Art by local artists is placed throughout the space, fifteen were generously donated through an anonymous donor, while another fifteen are on loan via a partnership with a local gallery. The pieces inspire reflection and conversation, adding dynamic interest to the stunning facility.

This project was also awarded a Canadian Interiors Best in Canada Award for the Institutional Category. Congratulations to Carlyle Design Associates and Mitchell Jensen Architects!

Beach side serenity is the palette for this chiropractic clinic

The design scheme for Movement Chiropractic and Rehab was inspired by the client’s love of the beach. It was a narrow, bare unit with plenty of potential. We paired a sea-star blue accent colour with a very calming white throughout the clinic. A sand coloured floor and custom-designed reception desk with speckled quartz countertops complete the beach side serenity atmosphere.

Interior Designer: Luca Campacci
Design Firm: Level Studio Inc.
Photographer: Level Studio Inc.

A beach inspired waiting area with pale blue chairs and a photo of a beach scene hangs on the wall.

Reception area at Movement Chiropractic with white walls and a wood lined reception desk.

The client’s passion for art created another interesting feature. This clinic features the work of local artists along the main hallway. We felt it was important to provide aspiring artists more opportunities to showcase their work, especially in Vaughan, and was a great way to give back to the community in a subtle way.

Local art transforms this hallway into a gallery featuring work by GTA artists.

A long view down this chiropractic office hallway, with painted white walls and pale oak flooring.

A wide central hallway was crucial as some of her potential clients could be in crutches, a walker or wheelchair and also allows better viewing of the gallery wall. The hallway extends out to a very open area with plenty of space for exercise and rehabilitation treatments.

Private treatment room at chiropractice office with pale blue accent wall and anatomy diagrams on the floor.

Open exercise area at chiropractic clinic with pale gray flooring and a quote 'First move well, then move often' on the wall.

The biggest challenge was spacing of treatment rooms in such a small space in order to maximize profit while also providing other program requirements such as a kitchenette, accessible washroom, office and storage. A double-loaded corridor was the most efficient use of space that opens out to the rehab area. Natural light filters through the clinic on both ends maximizing daylight and we felt this was extremely important for a healthcare facility. We also chose to go with space saving sliding doors throughout the clinic.

Another challenge was addressing the existing location of the electrical boxes that were in prime real estate by a window. We used large blue bi-passing doors that were opaque for the electrical room which allowed light to filter through them and maximize daylight within the space.

The layout is flexible as the company grows. Rooms that don’t contain chiropractic tables can be used as meeting rooms or office space. With their first clinic, the client has the space and layout to build a thriving chiropractic practise