The positive effects of space and the environment were
well known in the era before science. For many centuries in
ancient Greece, temples to the God Asklepios, such as the
one at Epidaurus, were designed to surround patients with
nature, music, and art, to restore harmony and promote healing
in the absence of other treatment modalities.1 In the nineteenth
century, Florence Nightingale recognized the negative
effects of hospitals by observing differences in survival
rates at various facilities. She attributed this difference to
the hospitalsÕ design and construction, particularly regarding
crowding, light, and ventilation.2