INCLUSION THROUGH technology

and the built enviornment

Designing sensory-sensitive spaces.
Harnessing smart technologies to implement lighting and other spatial designs that are strategic, beneficial, and safe in a Complex Care Facility.

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solution

process

Design for Health: Spatial Design Studio (OCADu)

TEAM

visual design & layout, research & writing, editing & report assembly

ROLE

indesign, illustrator, photoshop, zotero

tools

Challenge

“Reverse Inclusion”, the practice of bringing the wider community into disability spaces, is a key part of this client’s identity as a pediatric Complex Care Facility. For the construction of this client’s new building and the unique needs of a Complex Care Facility, they approached the spatial design studio at OCADu to create a spatial design proposal as a team.

On this page I’ll share my contributions under the sub-team umbrella of “technology”.

SOLUTION

The technology sub-team proposed to use Smart Building Systems to control building settings for sensory sensitivities, especially in lighting design, as well as implementing Chronobiophilic design.

It slots into how our studio team focused on implementations that would first and foremost benefit the client’s clientele, and secondarily would draw the public into spaces to create common ground through reverse inclusion.

chronobiophilic design

Biophilic design is the implementation of nature and natural elements, either directly
or indirectly, in spatial and architectural design.

Chronobiology is the study of biological rhythms and cyclic phenomena in living organisms, such as sleep cycles
(or, circadian rhythms).

Chronobiophilic design approaches the science of chronobiology through the lens of biophilic design. Lighting is designed to mimic the natural environment and natural physiological rhythms, i.e.,

cool-tone lighting throughout the day
warmer tones at night
combine natural daylighting with artificial lighting

Research shows that cool-tone lighting throughout the day and warmer tones at night can significantly improve sleep and decrease depression and agitation in care facility populations. Staff and community members benefit too, supporting “Reverse Inclusion”. And it reduces costs, too!

IMPLEMENTABLES

PHOTOSENSITIVE DIMMABLE LED

Many dim-to-warm systems are available on the market, such as those from Philips, TCP, Lutron, or Leviton. These systems can be programmed to seamlessly integrate with natural daylighting.

As photosensitivity is a concern for some complex care facility residents, special attention needs to be paid to ensure that any LEDs used have a compatible driver and dimmer.

SENSORS AND BEACONS

graphic by Katherine Valenzuela

Beacon technology (like wearable bracelets) interacts with smart building sensors to recognize a user’s presence, or through Internet of Things (IoT) technology on smart devices.

By introducing Using Wireless Sensor Networks and Big Data processing as the main system structure components and Artificial Intelligence subsystems (such as Artificial Neural Networks), lighting can become adaptive in its luminosity to better suit the needs of individual clients.

ELECTROLUMINESCENT PANELS/DISPLAYS

Hoyle, A. (2016). [Regent Street Apple Store][Photo- graph]. CNET. https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-unveils-rede-signed-london-store/

Seamless transition from daylighting to artificial lighting
Add calming biophilic elements (e.g., artificial skylight, nature scenes)
Adds a cozy glow to any space

CoeLux. (n.d.). [Cool Light from CoeLux 45 LC Skylight Product][Photograph]. CoeLux. Retrieved April 17, 2021 from https://www.coelux.com/en/p/coelux-45-Ic-en-8499

Luminous Surfaces (Color Kinetics), (n.d.). [Kvadrat Lumi-nous Textiles on Ceiling][Photograph]. Retrieved April 29, 2021 from https://www.archiproducts.com/pt/produtos/large-lu- minous-suraces/luminarla-de-parede-onmos-luminous-tex tile_111095

Exciting panels with moving colours,
shapes, and patterns
Perfect addition to a snoezelen room

Luminous Surfaces (Color Kinetics), (n.d.). [Kvadrat Lumi-nous Textiles with Clouds Display][Photograph]. Retrieved April 29 from https://www.colorkinetics.com/global/luminous-surfac-es/video-content/clouds2

process

Background research

Collectively, as a full-class team, understanding the broader context and needs of complex care facilities.

Initial literature review

Initial literature review of complex care facilities.

history; architectural, social, cross-cultural
physical environment
cognitive/communicative design
case studies

semi-structured interviews

We interviewed staff, resident caregivers, and the client company’s CEO. In non-pandemic times, we would have been able to tour the current facilities and interview residents who could provide informed consent, but we had to make do with what was available.

The interviews informed us on the specific needs of:

residents
residents’ families and caregivers
staff members
“Reverse Inclusion” (key part of SafeHaven’s identity)

TECHNOLOGY UMBRELLA

Under the assigned umbrella of “technology”, we investigated and brainstormed implementations that:

are beneficial and safe to clients/residents
support Reverse Inclusion

Therefore, we chose Smart Building System technology as the foundation, and divvied our following research up into three Sensory Sensitive categories:

LIGHTING

Chronobiophilic design (reflected on this page)

SOUND

Sound masking

Soundscapes

Navigation and wayfinding

TACTILE

“Positive Distractions”

Digital art for social sustainability

Impact & reflectionS

The client’s goal in approaching our MDes program was as much to “educate on the gaps and inequities that exist within [the complex care] sector and the healthcare system” as it was to seek insight from us as Health Design students. We “were able to apply [our] knowledge of Safehaven and human-environment behaviour to develop more accessible spaces for care”. The knowledge I gained of sensory sensitivity and the history of complex care has stayed with me to this day.

Co-designing with a population that cannot be interviewed directly is a challenge, with no equivalent substitution for primary research with your end users. One way we attempted to compensate is to use many additional materials from many additional sources, and find a balanced perspective that respects both the autonomy and safety of the client.

contributions TO FULL REPORT

When working with a large team, it makes a big difference to adequately plan and organize yourselves beforehand. Especially when you’re working towards one single final document (below). In addition to my work in the Technology team and as a peer to the other teams, my role in this project included:

- Copy editing
- References
  - checking
  - supplementing
  - formatting
- Report graphic design
- Layout configuration
- Some illustration
- Chapter 2: Technology
- References
- Image Credits

proposal snippet

Below you can check out the following chapters from the original proposal:

i-vi. Front matter
1-6. Chapter 1: Introduction
7-21. Chapter 2: Inclusion Through Technology and the Built Environment
95-98. Discussion & Conclusion
101-102. References
109. Image credits