An Investigation into How the Design of Health Centres can Promote Psychological Healing

Physical environment design plays an important role in psychological healing value. So the research focus on Analysis and design colour, daylight, art, sound, and natural view in a range of key areas: the lobby, reception, waiting area, and children consulting room in a type-B health-care building. During the last three decades, the Iraqi health system radically deteriorated as a result of major wars, economic recession, disastrous military adventures, and political factors. As well as, Kurdistan is a part of Iraq which still suffers from a continuous neglect of the health system. In fact, the environmental psychology is not taken into consideration in the designs of healthcare buildings. Therefore, Kurdistan needs a new design of healthcare to continue raising the level of the health-care system. Painting art alongside some parts of walls in waiting area psychologically help patients not to feel the long waiting time. It could help patients to interact with artistic environment positively through imagining and thinking which helps to divert them from focusing on their distress. Colours have influence on people’s cognition, emotions, and behaviour. Also, psychosomatic medicine affirms that psychological factors may cause physical disorders such as stress causing headaches, anger affecting the stomach, anxiety may increase heartbeat and so on (Mahnke 2012). Environmental colour design for each space has a positive physiological effect to users. It has been shown that the use of colour therapy could improve the wellbeing of the occupants.

Parween Karim is a consultant architect in Ministry of Health / DOH–Erbil in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. She is working as a designer and project supervisor. She has achieved an MSc in technical architecture from Sheffield Hallam University.