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Healthcare Interior Design 2.0Author: Porcelanosa
Healthcare design is undergoing a revolutionary transformation. How can we create healing environments that embrace innovation, celebrate human diversity, and serve everyone in our communities? From reimagining cancer care delivery to integrating infection-resistant materials and sustainable product solutions, how can thoughtful design enhance the experience of patients, families, caregivers and clinical staff? With compassion and curiosity, host Cheryl Janis interviews the world's top wellness leaders and healthcare design professionals who are challenging conventional thinking and creating spaces that heal, nurture, and welcome all. Join us as we explore groundbreaking innovations and human-centered approaches that are reshaping the future of healthcare design. Tune in and be part of the conversation that's transforming how we experience healthcare. #DesignHeals #InclusiveHealthcare Language: aa Genres: Arts, Design, Health & Fitness, Medicine Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Episode 80, Dr. Philip Hopkins, PhD, MD | Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine, King's College Hospital | Reader in Intensive Care Medicine, King's College London | Hon. Visiting Professor, University of Warwick
Episode 77
Tuesday, 27 October, 2026
"Why limit ourselves? Why not actually have an ICU that is an ICU in all respects other than it doesn't have a ceiling?"-Dr. Philip Hopkins on HID2.0 THE WORLD'S FIRST FULLY FUNCTIONING OUTDOOR ICU — ON A ROOFTOP. 🤯 At first glance, the King's Critical Care Roof Garden at King's College Hospital in London might sound like another beautiful rooftop garden. It isn't. On the roof of the hospital's Critical Care Centre are six actual intensive care bed spaces surrounded by plants, flowers, fresh air and natural light. Built directly into the garden are medical gases, power and data — the infrastructure needed to care for even very sick ICU patients outside, beneath the sky. And getting it there was anything but simple. Over more than a decade, the project had countless opportunities to be derailed by the very things healthcare architects, designers and clinicians know so well: budgets, board meetings, changing leadership, evolving technology, infection control, fundraising, construction challenges and major changes to fire regulations. Today on Healthcare Interior Design 2.0, Cheryl Janis sits down virtually with Dr. Philip Hopkins, one of the three intensive care consultants on the original design board for the Critical Care Centre, who remained closely involved as the project moved from a radical idea to a functioning clinical environment. Together, Cheryl and Dr. Hopkins go behind the scenes of how this extraordinary project actually happened — how the team kept the idea alive through more than a decade of complexity, uncertainty and change. Along the way, former patients and families became vocal supporters. King's College Hospital Charity helped fund key elements of the project. A major donor with a personal connection to critical illness stepped forward. And the late Nigel Dunnett, one of Britain's most influential landscape designers, donated his services to help shape the vision of "a ward in a meadow." Dunnett described what they ultimately created as "the world's first functioning ward space in an external garden setting," offering full life support to patients. This episode is the story of how an idea as radical as a fully functioning ICU unit in a rooftop garden — the first of its kind in the world — was born, and how it survived more than a decade of obstacles to finally come to life. In this episode, Cheryl and Dr. Hopkins discuss: How the idea for an outdoor ICU began around 2012 — and the deceptively simple question that helped inspire it: Why recreate the sky inside when patients could experience the actual sky? The original design team and the role Dr. Hopkins, Dr. Thomas Best and Dr. Andre Verke played in shaping the new Critical Care Centre. Why the team had to install medical gases, power and data on the roof years before the garden itself was funded — taking a calculated risk because they knew it would be nearly impossible to retrofit later. What it takes to move a radical healthcare idea through a large institution when there is no established blueprint telling you exactly how to do it. How staying involved with the project for more than a decade gave the clinical team an extraordinary amount of institutional and project knowledge, even as leadership around them changed. The moment the project reached what Dr. Hopkins calls the "point of no return" — when so much time, money, human effort and belief had been invested that everyone agreed it simply had to be finished. The essential role of King's College Hospital Charity, former patients and families, and a major donor with a personal connection to critical illness. How the Grenfell Tower fire changed fire regulations in the UK, delayed the project, and ultimately led to a close working relationship with the London Fire Brigade that helped the team solve some of the roof garden's most difficult safety challenges. Why infection-prevention specialists were involved early in the process and what Kings is learning as patients begin using the outdoor ICU. How the team is starting cautiously with lower levels of organ support, while working toward a future in which even very sick patients receiving multiple forms of life support may be able to experience the outdoors. The emerging idea of "fresh air therapy" — including plans to formally order and track it through the electronic health record and study what happens to heart rate, respiratory rate, pain, shortness of breath and other measures when critically ill patients move outside. The remarkable design connection between the Critical Care Centre and neighboring Ruskin Park, including seasonal color palettes drawn from the park and carried throughout the four new ICUs. Why even the medical pendants inside the ICU were produced in color instead of the traditional white or gray — simply because someone finally asked. The late Nigel Dunnett's role in creating the rooftop landscape, his expertise in resilient urban planting, and the vision of "a ward in a meadow." The historical connection between King's College Hospital and outdoor recovery, including soldiers recuperating in and around Ruskin Park after World War I. The influence of John Ruskin and Florence Nightingale on the larger philosophy of light, nature, environment and recovery. Dr. Hopkins' advice to other healthcare organizations considering something similar: don't treat the garden as a separate amenity. Build it into the heart of the clinical project from the beginning. Memorable Guest Quotes "Why limit ourselves? Why not actually have an ICU that is an ICU in all respects other than it doesn't have a ceiling?" "The actual idea itself, the concept itself is reasonable." "We got the build beyond the point of no return." "We shouldn't see a limit to who we can take outside. We want to be able to deliver fresh air therapy to patients even when they're receiving multi-organ support." "What actually happens to critically ill patients when you remove the ceiling?" "There's not this magical end point where the patients are either inside or outside. They just move from the inside to the outside." "Don't treat it as a separate thing. Treat it as a mandated heart of delivering… critical care." Resources Mentioned King's Critical Care Roof Garden Learn more about the outdoor Critical Care Roof Garden at King's College Hospital, including its six intensive care bed spaces, clinical infrastructure, design and charitable support. King's College Hospital Charity Learn more about the charity that played such an important role in supporting the Critical Care Centre and making the Roof Garden possible. Nigel Dunnett — King's College Hospital Critical Care Roof Garden Nigel Dunnett's project page describes the original vision as "a ward in a meadow" and the finished project as the "world's first functioning ward space in an external garden setting," offering full life support to patients. Ruskin Park The neighboring London park that inspired the seasonal colors, landscape language and broader connection to nature carried throughout the Critical Care Centre and onto the roof. Acrylicize The creative studio Dr. Hopkins credits with helping the team develop the seasonal color palette drawn from Ruskin Park and carried throughout the four new intensive care units. RHS Chelsea Flower Show Dr. Hopkins discusses the Chelsea Flower Show while sharing more about Nigel Dunnett's influence and extraordinary work in landscape design. About Dr. Philip Hopkins Dr. Philip Hopkins is a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine at King's College Hospital in London and a clinical academic at King's College London. He was one of the three intensive care consultants on the original design board for the new Critical Care Centre and remained involved throughout its more-than-decade-long development. His clinical and academic interests include critical illness, rehabilitation and recovery, and he continues to be involved in the evolving clinical and research work surrounding the Critical Care Roof Garden. Connect with Dr. Philip Hopkins King's College London — Dr. Philip Hopkins Profile & Research Dr. Philip Hopkins on LinkedIn Dr. Hopkins also shares in the episode that he welcomes professional contact by email and LinkedIn. OUR SPONSOR This podcast is sponsored by Porcelanosa. Download the latest issue of Lifestyle magazine to see award winning architecture, interior design and wellness projects worldwide. Just go to Porcelanosa.com and search Lifestyle magazine to access the complete library…. and be inspired. OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS The world is changing quickly. The Center for Health Design is committed to providing the healthcare design and senior living design industries with the latest research, best practices and innovations. The Center can help you solve today's biggest healthcare challenges and make a difference in care, safety, medical outcomes, and the bottom line. Find out more at healthdesign.org. Additional support for this podcast comes from our industry partners: The American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design Learn more about how to become a Certified Healthcare Interior Designer® by visiting the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers at: https://aahid.org/. Connect to a community interested in supporting clinician involvement in design and construction of the built environment by visiting The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design at https://www.nursingihd.com/ ------------ FEATURED PRODUCT Porcelanosa are at the forefront of sustainable manufacturing – clients not only expect this of their suppliers but are increasingly asking to see the receipts. Let's unpack this, did you know that hundreds of preeminent members of The American Institute of Architects – The AIA – have signed the AIA Materials Pledge? The Pledge is aligned with the Mindful Materials Common Materials Framework – the CMF. This is just one, very impressive example of how the movement to support decision making for building product selection has reached new highs. We can see these explained as 5 pillars of sustainability: (The first) - Human Health: Focusing on avoiding hazardous substances and promoting well-being. (Then) - Social Health & Equity: Addressing human rights and fair labor practices throughout the supply chain. (The third) is Ecosystem Health: Supporting the regeneration of natural resources and habitats. (This is followed by) Climate Health: Reducing and sequestering carbon emissions. (And the fifth pillar) is The Circular Economy: Promoting a zero-waste future through design for resilience, adaptability, and reuse. I mentioned the receipts -How do we track the progress of these principles and values? Without measurement, there's no clear path to improvement or accountability. The Mindful Materials CMF maps a framework of over 650 sustainability factors across those five key areas. A cornerstone of material health transparency is an Environmental Product Declaration EPD report. The best are independently verified for accuracy by third party certification bodies – a company cannot mark their own report cards. EPDs are highly technical documents containing scientific information on the embodied carbon used to manufacture products. I have just read and included here an EPD for a Porcelanosa Tile – there are upwards of 1000 data inputs to quantify its climate impact. Porcelanosa offer the confidence and certainty of knowing that every tile, every slab of XTONE porcelain or KRION solid surface has a Product Specific EPD – when architects and designers work with these materials they are making a robust decision to meet their sustainable design goals. To learn more about how Porcelanosa help their customers design for resiliency, here is a link to their comprehensive Corporate Social Responsibility Report: https://www.porcelanosa.com/en/corporate-social-responsibility/
