Optical illusion

Designing for the medical care industry is always fraught with logistical practicalities and when the renowned British eye hospital, Moorfields, planned to open a branch in Dubai expectations were high. Creating a clinic that befitted the British institution but yet incorporated the very latest technology within a stylish environment, suitable for the region, was paramount. Dr Chris Canning, chief executive and medical director, Moorfields Dubai, was entrusted with supervising the launch. He explains: "It is really important to have trust in the design firm you appoint. Hamilton Design was chosen as the interior designer because the chemistry was really good between us. We outlined the brief to make it clear but very broad. Mohamed [Kafel, design team leader, Hamilton Design] understands a lot about healthcare, which was very important."

Kafel is no stranger to the intricacies of designing for the care industry, with a host of previous medical centres in his portfolio and a hospital project in Fujairah lined up to start imminently. He says: "I have found that what differentiates clinics in this region to elsewhere in the world, is that here the clients don't like to project a medical sterile image, they want to give the feeling and service of a five star hotel, to put patients at ease, which in turn aids recuperation and makes the patients feel better. I always aim to create a warm and friendly environment. Moorfields is a very specialised part of healthcare design as people are often quite squeamish about eyes and so these patients needed settling and soothing more than with just a general medical clinic."

The principal criteria for the design was that the facility was planned with people with sight problems always in mind. The patients visiting Moorfields may have every type of eye condition from short sightedness to clients that are registered blind.

Kafel explains: "All the circulation and patterns and traffic flow had to be very easy and operate with the least amount of complexity. The space plans and the matrices of the entire space were done collaboratively with the client. We worked incredibly closely together during the planning stages. The brief was technical in terms of layout but then very open regarding the design, I was very free to create the concept and colour schemes myself."

Kafel took the Moorfields crest as the basis of his inspiration for the overall design concept. "The crest has two peacocks in it, with their fantastic tails spread out, and as the ‘eye' is the symbol of the peacock's tail, I thought this an apt theme to centre on for the design of Moorfields in Dubai." Kafel then manipulated the motif, integrating it into the custom-designed carpet; projecting it onto the columns; the illuminated ceiling in the main waiting room and the reception desk in the entrance foyer. "I took the geometrics of the image and played with it," he adds.

He had to be particularly careful with the perimeters of the surfaces in the hospital. It is very important people with sight problems can distinguish between the edges of walls, doors and tabletops. To understand the depths of a space, perspectives have to be very solidly established as well. Kafel put a plinth of different coloured wood along the edges of the doors and the door surrounds. He says: "We had to play with a lot of contrast in terms of colours, textures, materials and lighting, where light can be manipulated according to the time of day and type of room and situation. Certain areas are different, colours are warmer, to distinguish between waiting room, consultant rooms and the clinics."

Canning adds: "Lighting is vitally important. Too dim and too bright are equally as unsuitable for the visually impaired, the balance has to be just right. We needed a lot of flexibility with the lighting controls so that we could adapt the brightness depending on the patient's requirements."

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