Fortina In Healthcare
Gone are the days of dreary waiting rooms, overhead fluorescent lighting and uncomfortable chairs in a hospital or doctor’s office. Today, healthcare settings all over the country borrow heavily from the homey furnishings and lack of formality that typify hospitality and residential projects.
Biophilic design elements also play a large role in these new healthcare spaces. Scientific studies have shown that our cortisol levels lower with exposure to nature and natural materials, putting people at ease. But bringing the outdoors inside isn’t always easy. Luckily, designers have a plethora of innovative solutions that can make biophilia happen in any interior space.
B+N Industries’ Fortina is one such solution, and one of the best on the market. It’s an architectural system that is indistinguishable from natural wood slats and louvers, but it’s made with highly durable aluminum and a hyper-realistic, non-PVC surface. Fortina is a great choice for healthcare settings because it can be easily cleaned, maintaining infection protocols. It also is an easy choice for designers looking to go green, given that it is more durable than real wood and therefore creates less waste.
Product(s) in use
Info
Type
Healthcare
Client
Kaiser Permanente, One Medical, UVU Autism Center
Location
Multiple
Designer
CallisonRTKL, Curtis Miner Architecture, One Medical
One Medical
One Medical, a nationwide primary-care provider, uses neutral palettes in their waiting rooms to create a calming and inoffensive atmosphere. In order to stave off an antiseptic aesthetic, One Medical specified Fortina louvers on the ceiling and some perimeter walls in a warm wood finish. That small inclusion of a natural texture was just what was needed to make this room feel like somewhere a patient wouldn’t mind spending time in.
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente, the esteemed Californian healthcare system, specified a dark wood for the Fortina louvers used in one of their waiting rooms. The dark color grounds the otherwise bright palette of the space and brings in a feeling of warmth. Fortina comes in a large array of finishes, giving designers a seemingly endless toolkit to dramatically enhance any space with a biophilic, cleanable, and durable material.
Utah Valley University Autism Center
Of course, natural materials alone do not lead to reduced stress. Designers must also take into account natural elements, such as sunlight and depth of space, when designing biophilic spaces. Given Fortina’s ability to maintain its color and resist wear, it’s an optimal choice for areas with heavy sun exposure, like the UVU Autism Center designed by Curtis Miner Architecture.
