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If you were a kid and you were sick, what would you want?

02:25 / 13.09.03

This is not as broad a question as it seems. Or maybe it is. I'm developing my undergraduate thesis in architecture, and I've decided to design a pediatric cancer centre - both a clinic, and an in-patient facility. So, you're a creative lot; if you were little and not feeling very good, what would you want in your surroundings to make the experience less unpleasant? I have a fair number of ideas of my own - I picked my topic based on my own experience (I was treated for cancer 11 years ago), but, like anyone else, I have my own biases that might prevent me from seeing all the possibilities. Any and all ideas/suggestions/remarks are welcome and appreciated. This is a huge undertaking for me, so I'm soliciting input wherever I can find it. Thanks.

02:35 / 13.09.03

Well, as a child who spent alot of his early years in the hospitals I can give you this advice:NO FUCKING CLOWNS!!!!. Give me lots of windows so that Im still aware of the fact the there's a world out there beyond the cancer waiting for me. Lots of sunlight. Movies on large projectors. A place where being in a ward didnt mean being confined.
And you know what would be could....a petting zoo.

Hope these ideas are of some service, to you and to whomever you end up desingin for.

02:45 / 13.09.03

A comic book library, with lots of graphic novels. And walls made of that fry-erase board stuff so they could draw all over the place. And costumes, so they could dress up. And little music instruments so they could learn to play guitar and stuff. And try to make it more warm and less sterile so their friends can visit without feeling creeped out.

unheimlich manoeuvre

12:08 / 13.09.03

i'd imagine that if i was a child being treated for cancer i'd want to be with people i knew and loved.
so could you design living space for relatives and loved ones in the ward.

ball pools and computers would be wicked. And as Kegboy said, lots of windows.

12:48 / 13.09.03

for any kids I like the idea of built in everything - bookshelves, storage, tons of closet space. and really good lighting. with less furniture and lamps and stuff they have maximum playspace and less restrictions with what they can do with it. especially if you're talking kids who maybe can't get out and play - they should be able to bounce a ball, run, jump around and dance, if they'd like.

I'd definitely consider, depending on space restrictions, a gymnasium sort of thing with a varied selection of activities that don't depend on a lot of extraneous equipment or elaborate setup to enjoy, and that don't require more than one or two kids to play properly.

and for decorative stuff, I don't know any kid who doesn't really enjoy rooms that have a theme. mural painted/paper walls, little details like shaped knobs, kids love that stuff. it makes the room feel more like THEIR room, rather than a grownup place that they just inherited.

Whisky Priestess

22:50 / 13.09.03

I was in hospital for a couple of weeks when I had just turned 18 and though I was officially no longer a kid, it was pretty awful to be stuck on a ward where all the other people were a) over 60 and b) basically dying. Oh, and coughing all bloody night so that nobody could get to sleep. Maybe keep the less ill kids away from the death's door wards?

Lifesavers back then were a) telly and b) books, but had it been more than a glint in Al Gore's eye, the internet and a laptop would have been a lifeline to the world outside. Plus bedridden kids + a powerful computer = evil world-dominators in waiting. Excellent.

08:45 / 14.09.03

it was pretty awful to be stuck on a ward where all the other people were a) over 60 and b) basically dying. Oh, and coughing all bloody night so that nobody could get to sleep.

Whisky, you really are all sympathy aren't you?

14:25 / 14.09.03

she's right, tho - it's damn near impossible to sleep in the hospital, even all pumped up with demerol. between them checking on you every couple of hours and the hall lights and sick insomniacs shuffling through the halls and people crying or moaning or hacking whatever. sick people need some SLEEP! perhaps a very clever person could design hospitals to cater a bit more to this need.

16:57 / 14.09.03

I think that one of the worst problems with being long-term in hospital is feeling bored, or feeling ill with nothing else to concentrate on. Most hospitals have a permanent school for the paediatric wards, and often something like an arts dept for the rest of the hospital. They need extra spaces for fun activities, for a library, for a room to teach in. Just like the ball-room idea, I think that you need somewhere kids can go and make a lot of noise and mess and not disturb anybody else.

For those too sick to move, I definitely agree with the windows, but I think they need to look onto something, like trees or a waterfall or a garden. You forget how wonderful fresh air smells, but if you could find a way to take patients outside they might not feel so couped up. The best kids hospital I ever went to was in the middle of the countryside.

Personally, I didn't give a damn about themed rooms, but I did appreciate the wards that looked friendly. I liked little things, like the way to the exit being marked with coloured bear's feet, or a play area that has soft things to sit on and boxes of stuff to investigate.

I strongly agree about good lighting. So often you'd have strip lights down the middle of the room and they make *anything* look drab and miserable. Soft-furnishings to deaden the sound level are also a good idea. Wards are not peaceful places. A quiet room like a conservatory with a lovely view would be just right.

A 'parent's room' which was visible from the ward and had real beds (was sound-proofed) and a good cafe in it. Bad food / coffee = irate parents.

17:19 / 14.09.03

Good point harmony. Take care of the parents too!

Tryphena Absent

18:00 / 14.09.03

I think coloured bear feet for the adults too... and Barbie Dolls, adults need toys (you think I'm joking but I mean it, betcha the old folk would have a better time in hospital if they had children's wards too).

18:37 / 14.09.03

Comfy window seats, like low couches.

Video games. Moreso than television, I'd think, but tough call -- sometimes you need passive entertainment when sick.

Comic book libraries, yes!

Some kind of art-making facilities -- especially if you could make things for your room, especially especially if you could make something that goes on the ceiling of your room, like when you're pre-op and then bedridden as a post-op and have to look at something, it might as well be like a ceiling tile or fluorescent light panel you made, or your family made.

19:31 / 14.09.03

Loads and loads of stuff to make collages with; card, little pom-poms, straws, coloured paper, glue, beads, glitter, sequins, magazines to cut, foil, celophane ... Oh my god, i almost want to be ill.

20:06 / 14.09.03

A train you can ride through nearly the enitre hospital.

01:01 / 15.09.03

Ya know whats cool when you're little? Funky little hiding spaces that are just big enough to fit in. Little 1ft. gaps between the bookcase and the wall, stuff like that. Weird nooks and crannies to put stuff in, hide things and generally nusiance adults.

14:43 / 15.09.03

All terriffic ideas. I'll start compiling a list. Any suggestions on colour? What appealed to you when you were kids? What appeals to you now that you're adults? And how about texture?

15:24 / 15.09.03

Blue, purple, and smooth with bumpy bits. Or moleskin- or best of all, the texture of newly buzzed hair- like when you get about a number 2... oh my god, i'd be the kid hiding behind the bookcase, stroking the wall all day. Hmm, i wanna shave my head again.

17:31 / 16.09.03

Lots of plants, lampshades with patterns cut out so they cast nice shadows, bright blue sky with clouds painted on the ceiling, lots of books, real clothes. Anything to get rid of the smell of disinfectant.