More thoughts on sensory design

Sight and touch are the senses most obviously affected in a built environment, but patients often talk about what they hear and smell in a hospital setting. Masking these effects has been the most common way of dealing with adverse sounds and smells but another option is to be more active and enhance positive sounds and smells. This also helps to overcome the 'sterile' atmosphere present in many clinical interiors.

Examples of positively engaging the senses in a hospital (or other healthcare environment) may include:

• large graphics of nature scenes or motifs accompanied by associated scents via diffusers such as lemongrass which is associated with reducing mental tension (it's important to use natural essences rather than artificial scents otherwise it may end up smelling like a public toilet)
• place scent diffusers in strategic places such as near rubbish bins
• natural materials often have a scent, such as untreated wood (eg. cedar, pine), bamboo, 
• natural lighting that changes during the day - provide lots of skylights, windows, wherever possible. Ideally have light filtered through something that responds to the weather eg. trees moving in the wind etc.
• artwork - realistic images of nature that show a savannah-like image conducive to evolutionary wellbeing, and supported by Biophilic theory, can potentially lower patient agitation levels (Nanda U, Eisen S, Zadeh RS, Owen D. Effect of Visual Art on Patient Anxiety in a Mental Health Facility and Implications for the Business Case" Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing, 2011, Vol.18(5), pp.386-93)

Mid century psychiatric units were all about seclusion, security and safety. No artwork, no colour, often no interesting details.
However, on my second site visit to Kingseat, I was struck by the remaining traces in the original 1930's building details - the richness of these compared with the modern additions. The tiles, cornices, wood panelling.