Experience, discuss, refine

The SCDH offers services in its areas of activity from analysis, consulting and continuing education to simulation and co-prototyping. An overview of current projects.

Fotos: SCDH
In cooperation with the Swiss Center for Design and Health

The SCDH offers services in its areas of activity from analysis, consulting and continuing education to simulation and co-prototyping. An overview of current projects.


A new acute-care hospital
A project competition was held in 2023 as part of a quality-assurance process for the new-build Biel-Brügg hospital. This will be a compact acute-care hospital with around 200 beds, and the design takes particular account of the likely future transition to out-patient treatment. Process optimisation considerations dictate that the new building must be clearly distinct from out-patient services and geared to in-patient and technical services. Workshops are being held with users in the SCDH’s Extended-Reality Simulation Area to review and optimise the new hospital’s floor plans using projections, lightweight partitions and context-specific furnishings and mock-ups. The workshops focus on patient safety, staff well-being and work processes. The simulations cover patient rooms and corridors, operating theatres with pre-op and recovery rooms, the emergency and intensive care units, as well as the radiology and out-patient departments. The findings from the simulation workshops will be used to further flesh out the design of the new hospital.

Simulation workshops for new-build Biel-Brügg hospital, 2025-2026
Activity area: «Objects and environment»
Offering: Services
Platform: Extended-Reality Simulation Area


Rethink during the design process
How should we design the hospitals of the future? This was the question addressed by the «Hospital design and care delivery» workshop. In her opening presentation, simulation expert and critical care medicine physician Nora Colman see «Simulation improves architecture», page 14 addressed the three most important considerations in hospital design: Patient safety, operational design and architectural design. Several times, discussions between participants brought country-specific differences to light as regards the planning and design challenges of hospital new-build and modernisation projects. However, constructing healthcare institutions, particularly hospitals, is a highly complex undertaking everywhere. Dealing with this complexity requires the involvement of all stakeholders, as well as a design approach driven by an ongoing dialogue and decision process. Hospital management also needs to be trained to better understand architectural design processes, while architects need a better comprehension of hospital operating processes. Following fascinating breakout sessions and full-group discussions, attendees used the second day to familiarise themselves with simulation techniques in the Extended-Reality Simulation Area and evaluate and optimise spaces and processes at 1:1 scale.

 

«Hospital design and care delivery», June 2024
Activity area: «Objects and environment»
Offering: Continuing education
Platform: Extended-Reality Simulation Area


Optimal extension
The Hasliberg rehabilitation clinic is known for the work it does in rehabilitating patients with general medical, oncological, psychosomatic and musculoskeletal issues. The clinic has around 80 beds and is planning various construction activities, including the renovation of two floors and an extension with 20 new rooms. The new infrastructure is scheduled to open in May 2028. In preparation for the renovation and new build, the people involved in the construction process joined a team from the SCDH on a visit to REHAB Basel. This clinic specialises in neurorehabilitation and paraplegiology, treating patients and helping them return to a worthwhile life. Despite the highly complex clinical environment, the clinic attaches great importance to ensuring patients feel at ease during their stay, which can often last several months. Designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron in 1999, the clinic is an example of good design practice for Swiss hospitals. The concept and philosophy behind the building have stood the test of time extremely well. Following their excursion to Basel, the representatives of the Hasliberg rehabilitation clinic visited the SCDH’s Living Lab for a training session in, and to raise their awareness of, health-promoting architecture.

 

Health-promoting architecture for Hasliberg rehabilitation clinic, December 2023
Activity area: «Objects and environment»
Offering: Consulting
Platform: Extended-Reality Simulation Area


Sitting better
The commune of Muri bei Bern wants to make its public spaces more appealing to its elderly citizens, who, among other things, would like circular walking routes and seating areas that are suited to their needs. In preparation for a public vote, the SCDH built a bench designed by the komform agency as both a mock-up and prototype. Development work factored in age-equitable properties, cross-generational use, low-cost production and the need for the commune’s engineers to be able to disassemble and maintain the bench. The SCDH’s prototype is being tested alongside an existing municipal bench and one designed by the senior citizens’ council and the public.

 

Age-sensitive seating, autumn to winter 2024
Activity area: «Objects and environment»
Offering: Services
Platform: Simulation and co-prototyping


2024 symposium
Members of the Scientific Board, International Advisory Board, SCDH team and invited guests came together in July 2024 for the third SCDH symposium. The event focused on developments in remote care and the integration of telemedicine technologies in hospitals and patients’ home environment. The presentations and subsequent discussions provided insights into the interaction between remote care technologies and the built environment and the effect on human experience. These were followed by live simulations of various remote care scenarios in the Extended-Reality Simulation Area and in the realistic testing spaces of the Living Lab. Various public presentations and a panel discussion rounded off the symposium. The SCDH’s aim is now to translate the findings of the symposium into recommendations and guidelines that will provide information for decision makers, healthcare managers, architects, designers, developers of new technologies and medical staff, and enable them to exploit the full potential of remote care models.

 

2024 symposium: Remote Care, July 2024
Activity area: «Objects and environment», «Systems and processes»
Offering: Continuing education, simulation
Platform: Extended-Reality Simulation Area, realistic testing spaces


New surgical centre
To safeguard Bülach hospital’s future, its operators are endeavouring to actively develop its offerings and expand its range of in-patient services. The key project is an out-patient surgical unit sited on the hospital campus. Planning for the surgical centre in the new treatment wing reached the detailed design stage in spring 2023. A simulation workshop, attended by the hospital’s surgical teams, the architects carrying out the design work and the SCDH’s experts, was held to evaluate the floor plans for the surgical centre. The simulation workshop identified the architectural challenges associated with the construction project in terms of patient safety, staff well-being and the establishment of frictionless operational procedures. The findings were incorporated into ongoing design activities for the surgical centre.

 

Surgical centre simulation workshop Bülach hospital, March 2023
Activity area: «Objects and environment»
Offering: Simulation and co-prototyping
Platform: Extended-Reality Simulation Area


Materials collection
The SCDH’s materials collection is a platform for curated materials that promote health. Choosing the right materials for any new-build or refurbishment project is a major challenge. The materials have to satisfy varying, sometimes very stringent and specific requirements. The SCDH’s materials collection is a tool that planners, designers and architects can use to simplify research, select suitable materials more easily and obtain an in-depth understanding of the materials and how they are used. All materials are validated against current research findings and experience, accompanied by detailed information and shown in their real-world setting. The collection offers digital and physical tools, a growing knowledge base, evidence-based planning aids and events.

 

Materials collection, January 2025
Activity area: «Visual communication», «Objects and environment»
Offering: Analysis, consulting, simulation and co-prototyping
Platform: Materials collection


Real-world website testing
What does a user-friendly website look like? This was the question asked by SCDH experts, the «Oncology Care» academic association, Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, Insel Gruppe hospital company and St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital when they reviewed Oncology Care Switzerland’s website. They looked at where it is difficult to find certain information and what could be done to improve the legibility and comprehensibility of the user interface on Onkologika.ch. In keeping with the SCDH’s participatory approach, users from various care settings and regions of Switzerland were involved. The first step was to conduct a design analysis. This found that a more contrasting typeface would improve the legibility of the landing page, «last updated» dates would improve the transparency of information sheets and navigation aids and filters would bring a clearer hierarchy to the user journey. The second step involved an online survey of 60 nurses to obtain information on what users expect from Onkologika.ch. The results of the design analysis and online survey were discussed in workshops with nurses and the team from Onkologika.ch. A final report for Oncology Care Switzerland summarised the results and provided specific recommendations for improving the website.

 

Usability analysis of Onkologika.ch, April 2023 to January 2024
Activity area: «Visual communication»
Offering: Analysis
Platform: At client premises

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