Hospitals, though, have been working hard to reverse that image. They have become much more welcoming in recent years by paying attention to all the things that “humanize” a building \u2014 colors and surfaces, warmer lighting, less confusing building layout, better signage, and more.<\/p>\n The newly opened Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, for example, partnered with Wisconsin-based architectural firm Kahler Slater to design a new 540,000-square- foot hospital building within sight of Thomas Jefferson\u2019s Monticello. Hospital planners and designers incorporated an approach known as evidence-based design, based on a large and growing body of research that demonstrates how the physical environment can impact patient stress, patient and staff safety, the effectiveness of hospital staff, and the quality of care that is provided in a hospital.<\/p>\n Important elements of the overall visual appeal of the new building are more than 700 pieces of art, specially selected over a two-year period by a hospital committee intent on finding pieces, largely by Charlottesville area artists, that would essentially become part of the healing environment.<\/p>\n Martha Hunter, Martha Jefferson\u2019s director of outpatient care centers and guest services, was the art committee facilitator. She notes that the display of art throughout the building was incorporated in the early stages of building design. “Instead of adding art as something of an afterthought at the end of the process, we identified the specific spaces where art would be displayed early on,” she says. “That allowed us to provide for appropriate lighting, for the best backing on the walls for the art that would be displayed there, and it helped us avoid conflicts with utility fixtures, way-finding signage, and things of that nature. So art is part of the fabric of the building, part of the architecture.”<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ffinearts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/MJH_OctNov_untitled01.png\" "\\"MJH_OctNov_untitled01\\"")
<\/a>For most people, hospitals can be pretty scary places. As a patient or a patient\u2019s family, you seldom feel in control. Most of the time, you are there because something is wrong. Hospital buildings are big, and many of them are confusing and easy to get lost in. Fluorescent lighting, monochromatic hallways and sterile exam and treatment rooms do not inspire relaxation or comfort.<\/p>\n<\/a>Hospital planners, for example, capitalized on the rolling hills that surround Charlottesville by building the hospital into a hill, rather than on the hill. This preserves the natural environment and prevents the building from appearing overwhelmingly large as patients and visitors arrive. In addition, the surface treatments of the new building are materials familiar to Central Virginians, and large windows bring in natural light and views of the familiar countryside. It\u2019s all designed to put people at ease and help them heal.<\/p>\n