Virtual Reality is a valuable tool for better hospital design, say Nick Ainscough, Regional Design Technology Lead, and Nick Clarke, 3D Visualiser, at Arcadis IBI Group
Virtual reality (VR) has been around in some form since the 1950s, later revolutionising gaming and entertainment. Now having matured considerably, VR and Augmented Reality (AR) innovation has ushered in tremendous opportunities across many sectors. When applied to architecture, VR has the potential to transform the way we design, plan and deliver new buildings. Crucially, it can be applied to deliver future-proof healthcare facilities that better meet the evolving needs of the sector.
In 2021, the healthcare and medical devices sector was highlighted by 34% of experts surveyed as being the most disrupted by immersive technologies. That’s more than advertising, education or retail. Looking ahead, estimates suggest that VR in the healthcare market will reach around USD $2.8 billion by 2028, at a compound annual growth rate of 36.50% compared with 2022.
Adoption of VR headsets accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic as practitioners raced to find ways around social distancing requirements to ensure the continuity of critical services. Apart from the growth of virtual communications platforms and telemedicine, VR emerged as capable of solving serious challenges. For instance, training doctors and nurses in additional medical skills in a hyper-realistic virtual hospital environment is one way to address widespread staff shortages and overcrowded hospitals. Beyond that, we have seen first-hand how VR headsets can be used to optimise the design stage of hospital projects.
Hospital buildings are highly complex and subject to tight regulation (i.e. to prevent infections) and therefore physical models are often used when building new facilities, to enable vital testing of emergency or operating rooms. However, the process of testing these mock-ups also takes place later in the design stages, meaning that any changes can be difficult and costly to make. VR technology, on the other hand, can support a more efficient approach to testing, with greater flexibility to explore various layout options, identify issues and make corrections easily before construction even begins. It also opens the door for closer engagement with stakeholders and end users who can feed in their inputs while visualising spaces in a simulated environment.
Bringing complex designs to life
Many people are involved in hospital design, from architects and planners to engineers and contractors, and it is also important to involve those who will be using the space every day – nurses, doctors, clinicians and other hospital staff – as early in the process as possible. This is something we focused on when delivering a new hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) building in the UK. The project began pre-COVID-19, and the intention was to develop 3D VR models of the external building and interior spaces to demonstrate to the client what the finished building would look and feel like. The client was able to give immediate feedback and help us to better understand their needs.
The interactive VR environment made it possible to check every detail, including the layout of furniture in a specific clinical room, the view from a nurse base to ensure patients are in sight, and much more. Clinical staff from every department were also able to experience their own unique departments and guide the Arcadis IBI Group team to develop these individual spaces in the most effective way.
While we used Revit models for the departmental layout, connections and adjacencies, a more detailed and considered 3D model was generated to progress the materiality of the building façade and internal spaces such as waiting rooms, reception and patient wards. The furniture, fittings and equipment (FF&E) library, for example, has been custom-produced by Arcadis IBI with myriad options for a coordinated 1:50 loading process and enhanced visualisations.
It’s important to note that project teams can sometimes number hundreds of people spread across multiple locations. With a model with such a high degree of detail in plan and elevation, the interiors team could work simultaneously and collaboratively with the architects, landscape architects, 3D visualisers and all the other project teams. When the onset of the pandemic meant that visiting the hospital was impossible, we created a series of 360-degree panoramic renders that were linked together in a virtual walkthrough and hosted online for ease of access.
Virtual walkthroughs of buildings can be developed using the Building Information Model (BIM) and other software, which centres around the management of data-rich models to generate a digital representation of designs prior to them being realised in the real world. It can be challenging to read two-dimensional plans and imagine the end result, but an immersive virtual experience can help clients and clinicians visualise and understand proposed plans.
Another UK healthcare project involves delivery of landscape architecture and interior design for a major hospital modernisation programme. Commencing in 2022 and due to be completed in 2027, it is being undertaken in three phases, with upgrades including everything from a critical care unit, staff facilities, a three-storey extension, a new main entrance, paediatrics ward and outpatient facilities, to a neonatal intensive care unit, new operating theatres, as well as private ward and outpatient facilities. Before construction started, and in the midst of pandemic lockdowns, clinicians were able to fully visualise all of these intricate plans with the help of a 360 walkthrough virtual tour. This enabled them to experience how the various new facilities would function in practice and provide valuable feedback to inform the entire process.
Overall, the promise of VR is a compelling one when it comes to hospital design. It can drive much quicker project timeframes, better consistency and accuracy, cost efficiencies and productivity. Moreover, it can cut down on the number of design meetings, site visits and waste, which renders it a sustainable option compared to more traditional methods.
Arcadis IBI’s integrated and technology-led approach to design enables us to provide quality advice, tailored solutions and significant process efficiencies while successfully involving key stakeholders and users from the earliest stages of design to ensure the highest standards and alignment with the hospital’s requirements. For us, it is a key component in the future design of hospitals and healthcare facilities worldwide.