22 May 2012
Degree Show exhibit looks at improving the hospital experience
Images show some of Jonathan's plans.
A design for an innovative and interactive facility aiming to improve the hospital experience for long-term patients is among the exhibits at this year's Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design Degree Show.
Jonathan Macdonald's project developed the concept of an independent facility which would sit adjacent to hospitals with large numbers of long-term patients. Centered upon an interactive high street, the facility will offer the activities and environments that patients miss when staying in hospital.
If well enough, the patients will be able to visit and escape from their clinical wards. The centre aims to help motivate patients and make their time in hospital that little bit more enjoyable by making them feel more comfortable in their surroundings.
Jonathan (21), an Interior Environmental Design graduand from Bothwell near Hamilton, said the idea occurred to him when his grandfather was admitted to hospital last year.
"For two months we would visit him twice a day and that brought home to me what a dire place a hospital ward can be, especially if you have to stay there for a while," he explained.
"My granddad was bored out of his mind and there are patients sat in their beds in the same situation all around the UK. That's what got me thinking about how the experience can be improved by giving those patients able to get about somewhere to go.
"I was looking to create a fantasy place that also reflects reality. If you think of Disney, with the façade of a street, that was a big part of this idea. The patient can walk down the street contained within the facility and enter any of the shop front. Interactive displays can then be used to create the type of experience they desire.
"As well as conventional activities being arranged within the space, there will also be the opportunity to simply relax in a nice, non-clinical setting, It will take the patient back to the everyday, but also provide an escape from situation. Patients can become alienated if they are in hospital for a long time and this is what this projects is raising awareness of."
As part of Jonathan's research, he invited dozens of patients to share their experiences, and let him know the things they missed most during their stint in hospital. He then used this feedback to inform his designs and shape the type of facilities contained in his proposals.
He is interested in architecture from past eras and how old building can be converted for modern purposes whilst preserving their original character. This led him to choose the former Asylum for the Blind building in Glasgow as the site for his design. The building is situated next to the city's Royal Infirmary.
"Although the facility would be independent, it would provide support for the hospital, and recapture the original spirit of the Asylum, which was to help people to help themselves.
"The purpose is to create a bridge between the community and the patients. The street will be somewhere they can feel familiar, but stepping behind each façade will allow them to sample different experiences, with projections and video walls adapted for each individual patient.
"Although this is not a planning application, I hoped to show that it is possible to find new, interesting purposes for beautiful older buildings that are a bit more interesting than the standard response, which is to turn them into flats."
Jonathan is one of almost 300 students exhibiting at this year's Degree Show, which takes place from May 19th-27th.
More information about his work is available at www.itsjonathanmacdonald.co.uk.
Notes to editors:
Dundee Degree Show
19th -27 May 2012 (Preview May 18th)
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design
University of Dundee
13 Perth Road
Dundee DD1 4HT
T 01382 388828.
E djcadexhibitions@dundee.ac.uk
www.dundee.ac.uk/djcad/degreeshow
Exhibition open:
Saturday, May 19th (10am-4pm)
Sunday, May 20th (10am-4pm)
Monday, May 21st (10am-8pm)
Tuesday, May 22nd (10am-8pm)
Wednesday, May 23rd (10am-8pm)
Thursday, May 24th (10am-8pm)
Friday, May 25th (10am-8pm)
Saturday, May 26th (10am-4pm)
Sunday, May 27th (10am-4pm)
Graduate work on display:
Animation
Art, Philosophy, Contemporary Practices
Digital Interaction Design
Fine Art
Graphic Design
Illustration
Interior Environmental Design
Jewellery & Metal Design
Product Design
Textile Design
Time Based Art & Digital Film
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
