December 2024
Adaptive environments for nightshift healthcare workers
A collaboration with Anya Nath, Freni Shah and Pei-Ching Lin
A collaboration with Anya Nath, Freni Shah and Pei-Ching Lin
This is a project that reimagines building design with a focused approach, centering on night shift healthcare workers as the primary users. Our interest in this group stems from their inverted schedules and the unique rhythms they navigate compared to the rest of the world. The site’s location—just a 10-minute walk from Jamaica Hospital—further reinforced our decision to tailor the design to their needs.
Understanding the high-stress, fast-paced environments these workers operate in, we set out to create a space that adapts to them, fostering recovery and rest. Our design treats the building as an adaptive system, gradually adjusting color temperature and light intensity to ease the transition from work to rest after a demanding shift.
The core of our concept focuses on the return from work period, specifically between 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM, when lighting shifts subtly to support a smooth transition from alertness to relaxation. While this phase prioritizes healthcare workers, we recognize the diverse needs of other users and envision future refinements through scene and zoning configurations.
By honing in on this specific group and timeframe, Light as Rhythm explores the potential of lighting as a powerful, dynamic tool for enhancing well-being—especially for those with unconventional routines.
A light lock condition ensures adequate daylight control to help entrain users into a restful state as well as physically elongating the experience of walking through the lobby.
Vertical surfaces are washed with a cooler toned LED coming from above and a warmer toned LED coming from below, mimicking the phenomenological aspects of daylight as time progresses and creating a mixing condition in the middle of the surface.
Stark contrast ratios allow for effective navigation while also reinforcing the design intent of signalling a wind down phase to our users.