Kriston Symons, project team leader for AECOM, says it just seemed ‘common sense’ for the project to focus on both health and environmental outcomes
“There is a large amount of evidence showing that patient recovery rates improve when you provide high levels of Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) such as access to natural light,” he says.
A range of studies support the idea that green hospitals are good for the environment and good for patients. A study at the Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre in Canada, for instance, found that depressed patients in sunny rooms recovered 15 per cent faster than those in darker rooms. Another study at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Michigan linked green design principles such as improved ventilation, natural light and a connection to nature with an 11 per cent reduction in secondary infections and a decrease in nursing turnover rates.
“Many of the initiatives you see in New South Wing are good practice and should be incorporated into healthcare projects as a matter of course, starting with passive design principles of building orientation, form, shading and insulation,” Symons argues.