Accelerating Healing and Recovery Process of Patients in Healthcare Facilities through Biophilic Design

Abstract

Humanity grows in intimate interaction with nature, and the quality of this relationship is reflected in the emotions, ideas, culture, and health that each individual or community expresses. However, in modern times, the built spaces have been created and designed by assigning nature a function that is minimal and irrelevant to humans' health and pleasure. The era of technology has enabled the belief that humans may neglect their relationship with their environment and that progress can be judged by the ability to modify the natural world. This delusion has aided environmental deterioration and the alienation of humanity from natural systems and processes. Biophilic architecture is a long-term solution to the unfortunate design of urban built environments where the deterioration of natural mechanisms has resulted in growing isolation between humanity and nature. Biophilic design promotes using natural processes and systems as design inspiration in the built environment. The application of biophilic concepts in healthcare facilities is one of the pillars of healthcare humanization. Healthcare facilities can create immense stress, anxiety, and fatigue depending on how they are designed. Hospital design tends to make the experience as pleasant as possible, and one approach to doing so is through Biophilic design. This study aims to examine the impact of Biophilic design on patients' recovery in healthcare facilities with a view to proposing a paediatric hospital that infuses natural elements in design in Ota, Ogun state, Nigeria.