The Therapeutic Benefits of Perceived Open Space for Healthcare Patients and Staff

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. In this course we explore the impact that healthcare environments can have on patient and staff wellness. We examine the role natural daylight and perceived open space play in modulating cognitive function, and how we can engage our past memories of natural environments to create a therapeutic patient experience. The course introduces a cognitive approach to design that underscores the restorative value of perceived open space as a healing attribute that can engage our biophilic memory.

Two spatial reference frames present in nature, the perceived zenith, the highest point above the observer, and the perceived horizon line, the farthest point before the observer, can be recreated in an enclosed interior space by staging an appropriate illusion to alter our perception of space. Recreating these fundamental spatial maps through an effective illusion enables a range of wellness benefits normally associated with interiors applying more traditional biophilic design principles.