Sense Sensitive Design - IBI Group

Sense Sensitive 

Design 

THiNK

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Facilities | sense sensitive Design 

1 

ibi | NightiNgale THiNK 

sense sensitive design 

urban land facilities transportation intelligent systems urban land facilities transportation intelligent systems urban la 

transportation intelligent systems urban land facilities transportation intelligent systems urban land facilities transpo 

intelligent systems urban land facilities transportation intelligent systems urban land facilities transportation intellige 

urban land facilities transportation intelligent systems urban land facilities transportation intelligent systems urban la

ibi group 

IBI Group has expanded its practice through Nightingale 

Associates, a UK based firm, a global leader specializing in 

research and facilities for health care, education, and science. 

CalMiNg 

Mellow 

relaXeD 

traNQuil 

reStful 

reaSSuriNg 

CoNteNt 

happy 

euphoriC 

wellNeSS 

StiMulateD 

DiSCoMfort 

uNCertaiN 

CoNfiNeD 

appreheNSiVe 

agitateD 

fruStrateD 

boreD 

aNXiouS 

SaD 

fearful 

DiSpiriteD 

terrifieD 

Cover: from Thoughtful to Restful 

powerleSS 

VulNerable 

iSolateD 

loNely 

DepreSSeD 

Cool 

lifeleSS 

iNDiffereNt 

iNtroVerteD 

Spiritual 

MeDatatiVe 

thoughtful 

iNteNSe 

preoCCupieD 

aNgry 

hoStile 

iNtroSpeCtiVe

Facilities | sense sensitive Design 3 

our firm 

ibi | nightingale is a branch of ibi group, a multi-disciplinary 

consulting firm that offers comprehensive local service 

delivery and international design excellence for sustainable 

environments. Our firm is renowned for the highest professional 

standards with particular emphasis on creative design and 

planning. We are committed to working with clients to fulfill 

their needs while achieving excellence; it is a constant pursuit 

involving all disciplines at every level of our organization. 

A holistic approach that balances the functional, 

economic, aesthetic, and environmental. 

ibi | nightingale integrates the leading best practices in 

North American healthcare delivery with the largest European 

specialist in healthcare design. The firm’s commitments to 

innovation within the health field, contributions to ongoing 

learning, and the development of sustainable health facilities 

are demonstrated by an award-winning portfolio, dedicated 

research department, and successful relationships with clients, 

suppliers, contractors, and consultants worldwide. 

Collaboration is the key to our success. 

Our firm’s international offices and high quality support network 

unite to provide a flexible, specialist resource that ensures 

clients have accessible project leadership while benefiting 

from the firm’s embodied international expertise. Established, 

formalized systems for project management, delivery, cost, 

and quality control ensure that projects adhere to schedule 

and budget targets. Our firm commits the most appropriate 

specialists to every project, utilizing resources around the clock 

and around the world to deliver high quality healthcare facilities.

ibi group


contents 

design research and innovation | sense sensitive design | sense sensitive 

design and the optimal learning environment | architecture for schools 

and young people’s learning | hpod | sense sensitive design in the Workplace

ibi group 

NightiNgale 

THiNK 

design research and innovation 

Nightingale Associates is an award-winning architectural 

practice specialising in the design of healthcare, education 

and science buildings. Our international reputation for 

thought leadership is underpinned by a strong design 

research ethos supported by the work of Nightingale 

THiNK. 

We understand that collaboration and the sharing of ideas 

is an essential ingredient for innovation. As such we have 

a successful track record of assisting research institutions 

and universities. 

Nightingale THiNK is working with industry partners 

including Philips, Ecophon, British Gypsum, Forbo Nairn, 

Olympus and SAS International to develop new products 

and systems to benefit the users of our buildings. It also 

supports the work of key institutions focused on the 

importance and quality of the built environment, such as 

the King’s Fund, Architects for Health, Macmillan Cancer 

Relief, and The Welcome Trust. Nightingale THiNK has 

also worked with the Building Research Establishment 

(BRE) and the Department of Health to help improve 

environmental assessment tools. 

Initially inspired by the desire to create successful patientcentred 

environments in new and existing healthcare 

settings, it now focuses on many sectors, including 

places for learning and working. The work of Nightingale 

THiNK highlights the important link between research 

and practice. Its activities encompass innovations in 

clinical planning, product and furniture design, pushing 

for improvements in sustainability and environmental 

design as well as explaining, through gathered evidence 

and experience, the impact of the built environment on 

the human condition. Sharing this knowledge with our 

clients and partners through formal networks, advice and 

guidance is an essential element of the work of Nightingale 

THiNK. 

Nightingale THiNK initiates its own research, funding pilot 

studies to collate first-hand evidence to help improve 

the quality, efficiency and sustainability of the built 

environment. Post-occupancy evaluation is central to our 

activities.

Facilities | sense sensitive Design 7

ibi group 

innovation 

sense sensitive design 

The five senses are sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. 

It is through understanding the true dimensions and 

limitations of these senses and sensibilities that allow the 

designer to design with greater skill and enable him or her 

to create a truly responsive environment. The senses are 

tools by which we measure our environments. 

The environment is perceived through the main sensory 

receptors. This data is relayed to the brain, which, in 

turn, will affect the patients physiological, emotional, 

psychological, and ultimately, physical condition. 

The effect of light on health is critical. Essentially we crave 

light. Light is life. With little or no natural light, melatonin 

tells the body to ‘log off’ and cause illnesses such as 

Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD). Sense Sensitive Design 

is about bringing light into our buildings by introducing 

more windows and reducing mechanical and electrical 

interstitial space. We can ‘duct’ light. We can manufacture 

it. We can even control its colour and intensity to influence 

our behaviour.


Colour is one of the most powerful healing tools. It is 

not an expensive medium and is extremely potent. 

Certain colours slow one’s perception of time and others 

accelerate it. Recent research has proven that the very 

colour of medication can Partially predetermine a patient’s 

outcome. Colours can have both positive and negative 

effects on patients and it is the understanding of these 

principles that allow us to create the most powerful 

healing environments. For example, a patient receiving 

chemotherapy will feel sicker receiving treatment in a green 

room, yet apple green can relieve depression. 

Touch is the ‘confirmatory’ sense. Touch gathers 

information confirming data received by the other senses. 

It is the haptic sense of living and acting in space. Textural 

surfaces form an integral part of a child’s world of learning. 

Touch can aid a partially sighted patient to navigate 

through space, forms blind person’s total environment, and 

assist a mental health patient’s transition from an ethereal 

world to reality. 

There are fundamental psychological and physiological 

responses to certain stimuli. Noise increases heart rate, 

blood pressure, respiration, and even blood cholesterol 

levels. It lowers pain thresholds, keeping the brain over 

stimulated and increasing the need for medication. 

Pleasant sounds create a sense of well being. They 

improve the function of the autonomic nervous system. 

Music can distract a patient from their pain and therefore 

has a painkilling effect. It can also reduce blood pressure, 

heart rates and respiration.

ibi group


Understanding of the sense of balance and this sensory 

receptor in the healthcare environment is vital. The 

sick, very young, the disabled, the elderly, the partially 

sighted and the blind will all rely heavily on their own 

sense of balance. It is crucial that the environment must 

be perpetually true and honest in terms of vertical and 

horizontal plains. A sudden change in floor finish from light 

to dark may feel like a chasm to certain patient groups. 

Variable height furniture, fittings and sanitary ware helps 

further support the patient. 

By working with the above set criteria in mind, it is possible 

to create environments that have the most positive effect 

on the patient’s well-being. 

Smells are retained more acutely in our memory than 

are visual images or sounds. Designers have a real 

opportunity to affect people’s moods, perceptions and 

motivation through smells and fragrances. Unpleasant 

odours increase heart rates. One forgets that some of the 

smells that inhabit hospitals are formaldehyde, formulin, 

iodine, glutaraldehyde, bone, dust, urine, burnt skin/ hair, 

testosterone, disease, body odour etc. Fear per se is 

communicated through smells. Good ventilation systems 

are sufficient to remove these smells. Smells can also relax 

muscles and aid concentrating. Kajima- a contracting 

firm - has coupled up with Shiseido - a perfume 

manufacturer - to produce a unique air conditioning 

system in the Kajima HQ in Tokyo. The system emits citrus 

smells that invigorate staff early in the morning followed 

by floral smells that aid concentration and then woodland 

smells at lunchtime to relax. The same cycle commences 

after lunch. In a healthcare environment ‘baby smells’ 

can reduce aggression in Accident and Emergency Units. 

Vanilla fragrances encourage per-term babies to feed in 

the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU’s). Pleasant smells 

help the body produce endorphins, the body’s natural 

‘feel good’ drug, which in itself may reduce the amount of 

anaesthetic administered during a surgical procedure.

ibi group 

sense sensitivity design and the optimal learning environment 

Within the education field, interest s growing in the 

relationship between the learning environment and its 

potential impact on learning, achievement, engagement, 

motivation, behaviour and sense of well-being for both the 

student and teacher. 

Over the last eight years, Nightingale Associates has been 

researching and developing design tools and guidance 

based on the way the body perceives and responds to 

sensory stimuli within our environment. These tools have 

enabled us to design spaces more skilfully and incisively, 

focusing on key design issues that include – but are not 

limited to – physiological and psychological effects of 

colour, light, sound, views, touch, smell and the passage 

of time.


active and alert – choreographing the learning environment 

We are now applying this knowledge to consideration 

of how children learn, in order to inform the design of 

optimal learning environments that can respond better 

to an individual’s needs – whether pupil, student or 

teacher. In conjunction with the British Council for School 

Environments (BCSE) and Higher Education partners, 

we are developing a robust pilot research project to 

test the emotional receptiveness of both learners and 

teachers within their learning environments. Following an 

in-depth literature review completed in 2008, the practical 

element of our research project will commence this year 

in a London primary school. Our intention is that the 

research project will help teachers to choreograph their 

environments in order to optimise learning and help direct 

the best use of capital investment in schools.

ibi group 

architecture for schools and 

young people’s learning 

At Nightingale Associates, our passion is to deliver creative 

educational environments that transform lives by inspiring 

children & young people to think, interact and succeed. 

design ethos 

From visual inspiration, identity and flexibility to efficiency in 

construction, enhanced operation and the ease and cost 

of maintenance and sustainability – our innovation can take 

many forms. 

We use architecture as a lever to improve motivation, 

behaviour and performance. Our design approach 

is informed by research into the physiological and 

psychological affects of colour, light, sound, sight, touch 

and smell which, when applied to a learning environment, 

allow the design solution to respond to sensory stimuli and 

positively engage learners and teachers. 

community and identity 

We are committed to developing designs that work in 

harmony with the community around them. 

Our buildings invoke pride and identity, resulting in an 

inclusive, safe and welcoming environment that makes 

every visitor feel special and involved.


ibi group 

sense sensitive design: health 

hpod 

Delivering the optimum environment to engage the senses 

and enhance well-being and performance 

Drawing on over a decade of research into sense-sensitive 

design and deploying that information to unique effect, 

the hPod will present the world with a groundbreaking 

development in wellbeing. 

the future 

The pods were originally designed for the healthcare 

market, to deliver the optimal healing environment for 

the patient through light, smell, sound and vision. What 

makes the pod unique is the manner in which it makes 

use of the latest medical findings, combines these with 

the possibilities offered by cutting edge technology and 

allows the creation of individually prescribed healing 

environments. Patients can be equipped with a smart card 

storing their hPod prescription. When they enter the pod, 

light settings, temperature, smell and audio and visual 

stimulus will adjust to create their ideal surroundings. 

Further work is being undertaken to investigate its use to 

influence the nature of the learning environment improving 

both staff and pupils wellbeing, development and learning 

experience. 

The pods also offer opportunities within the air travel 

sector providing soothing environments to calm travellers 

and combat the effects of jet lag. 

The hPod will feature up to 16 healing environments, within 

the following categories: 

• Calming 

• Energising 

• Headache/migraine 

• Seasonal Affective 

Disorder 

• Jetlag 

• Breastfeeding 

• Bipolar depression 

• Neonatal 

• Oncology 

• Labour 

• MRI/CAT 

• Cardiac 

• Intensive therapy 

• Phlebotomy 

• Burns 

As well as promising to revolutionise healthcare design, 

the hPod will have applications in a wide variety of sectors 

such as hospitality, retail, sport, leisure and work place.


ibi group 

sense sensitive design in the Workplace 

A perfect and inspiring work environment actively 

dialogues with all the senses. We are multi-sensory beings 

constantly being influenced by our surroundings. The total 

choreographed environment is a key source of motivation 

and drive as well as improving personal wellbeing, health, 

self-satisfaction, self-esteem and increasingly a sense 

of affinity with colleagues, work activity and the overall 

organisation. 

Good lighting can reduce stress and absenteeism as 

well as increase productivity. Significant improvements 

have been reported in the performance of both simple 

and complex tasks when acoustic conditions have been 

optimised. 

As stated earlier, essentially the environment is perceived 

through the main sensory receptors. This data is relayed 

to the brain which in turn affects our physiological, 

emotional, cognitive, psychological, and ultimately physical 

condition within the working environment.


Differences in productivity, as high as 25%, have been 

reported between comfortable and uncomfortable staff. 

People cannot work at their best if they are distracted 

by not being able to breathe, hear or see properly. 

Individuals react differently to different stimuli, some being 

hypersensitive or hypo sensitive to sound and others more 

gender sensitive to temperature. The most important 

factors in achieving health and comfort are air quality, 

temperature, overall comfort, noise and lighting. 

In this rapidly changing world of work, the implications of 

linking office design with business performance are so 

profound that innovation is as important in the conduct 

of research as in the ways that offices are developed, 

designed and managed.

ibi group 

a multi-disciplinary 

professional services firm 

urban land 

Land Use Planning; Urban Design; Landscape Architecture; 

Public Outreach; Real Estate Research / Economic / Financial 

Analysis; Municipal Engineering; Land Engineering; 

Surveying and Mapping; Water Resources Management. 

facilities 

Architecture; Mechanical and Electrical Engineering; 

Functional Programming; Interior Design. 

transportation 

Transportation Planning; Traffic Engineering; Transit Planning 

and Design; Highway Design; Bridge Engineering; Electrical 

Engineering; Environmental Assessment; Construction 

Administration. 

intelligent systems 

Systems Engineering; Software; Communications Systems 

Engineering; Program Management; Operations and 

Maintenance; Industrial / Process Engineering. 

www.ibigroup.com 

to-12-05-25 © 2012 ibi group

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ibi group 

www.ibigroup.com 

IBI Group is a multi-disciplinary organization offering professional services in 

four areas of practice Urban Land | Facilities | Transportation | Intelligent Systems 

May 2012

Sense Sensitive Design - IBI Group

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