.jpg)
Architects are constantly improving our medical community through design and service. This is no easy task in the health care field as we are continuously asked to reinvent ourselves; weathering the storms of change and trends. This is not only a matter of doing more with less, it’s incorporating flexibility and change in our buildings by understanding new technologies and updated processes and procedures which change the patterns of healthcare. Our clients are constantly required to drive down the costs of healthcare while maximizing the quality of healthcare delivered. We need to be informed to respond.
The architecture of change starts with defining the right problem. Responding correctly to surprising and potentially disrupting innovations in medicine can ultimately represent a competitive advantage and provide differentiation between health care providers. A leadership team needs to balance institutional memory, a positive value system, along with being innovation champions in order to succeed. Leaders will embrace change and adapt when problems arise. The ability to adapt to change quickly and effectively by providing changes “speed to market” will represent the leadership of success.
Climate adaption is another complex issue thrown into the mix that will be acknowledged in our new medical facilities. In South Florida, it’s more than just hurricane protection, it’s having a global environmental understanding of change and responding accordingly. You can be passionate about the environment without understanding what to design to adapt to changes. An example of lessons learned which will never be repeated was New Orleans, where Hurricane Katrina’s problems did not stop at the city’s borders and the lack of flood planning nearly doomed a city. Sea levels rise, extreme weather, and salt water intrusion require our facilities to be constructed in excess of current code requirements and respond to new environmental criteria.
Technology in and of itself will not provide the answers. Technology is a double edged sword since a tool without knowledge and comprehension will not necessarily achieve the right design solutions. What this means to the medical facilities and their design professionals is that a strategic partnership must be formed between the client and architect. Our projects will less and less be isolated commissions void of a big picture narrative for a design solution. Codes provide the boundaries, but knowledgeable professionals will make the difference that will lead the next generation of responsive medical facilities in the future.
Environmental problems for tomorrow are not the next generation’s problem. Designers must respond to all of the critical issues today. These important values must become project considerations as part of a total comprehensive building strategy.
