DWELL: Design for wellbeing in healthcare environments

How can architecture contribute to the well-being of long-term patients, especially in hospital environments? And how can healthcare institutions (re)integrate the well-being of their employees and caregivers, be they formal (doctors, nurses, ...) or informal (close family, relatives, volunteers, ...), when planning and designing environments dedicated to care?
The project involves the universities of Liège and Hasselt (Belgium), as well as the hospitals CHU and ZOL and re-questions the architectural
typologies in hospital environments (from “beds”, “rooms” and “services” to a more systemic level) and to develop innovative architectural solutions prone to answer these challenges. Thanks to the active participation of patients, caregivers and hospital staff, the research project, nourished by the epistemological and methodological approach of “Research by Design”, will hopefully contribute to enhanced living conditions and well-being in care environments, in better alignment with various stakeholders’ preferences, values and needs.