A User-Oriented Hospital Space

For more information please visit the project website at:

http://hospitool.vtt.fi/

VTT, Stakes, Finpro, several companies and Tekes have jointly funded a two-year project to develop a ‘User-Oriented Hospital Space’. The HospiTool project is a part of the Tekes FinnWell programme within the ‘Development of the operational processes of healthcare’ topic area.

The HospiTool project introduces an interactive useroriented approach to health facility planning, construction and renovation. Tools were developed that enable end user participation in the planning and evaluation of hospital spaces in order to match the spaces with user needs and requirements. This was done by a HospiTool version of VTT’s EcoProP© User Requirements Management Tool and by making use of new visualisation technologies. A 3D model was used both in the Computer Aided Virtual Environment (CAVE) and in VTT’s Lumeviewer.

Making use of virtual environments gives the opportunity to provide planners and designers with increased understanding of user experiences. Systematic requirements management is enhanced by true dialogue and it is relatively easy to produce and compare various options in an early planning phase.

The HospiTool process was successful in creating a platform for development of user-driven innovations in the operating environment: process innovations for healthcare and product innovations for industry. Ultimately, the main objective is to develop a generic concept for inclusive design: to make spaces support processes within the spaces.