Have you ever been in one of Apple's iconic city center stores designed by Foster+Partners? They are truly spectacular, delivering a retail experience like no other.

And the architecture and design of these buildings is what drives that experience. Even more important, these stores are an embodiment of the Apple brand.

The notion of experience design is pretty common in the retail and entertainment industries, but nobody does it better than Apple. So, I wondered what those of you who are planning and designing healthcare facilities could learn from Apple.

Human-Centered Design Approach

Apple's design approach is human-centered, with the goal to promote customer engagement, create a community around their products, and embody the Apple lifestyle.

Healthcare providers could do this by designing facilities to better engage patients, create a community around quality care, and embody a healthy lifestyle.

Common design features of Apple stores include:

• Light-filled spaces
• Glass staircases
• Access to the outdoor steps and plazas
• Brushed metallic surfaces
• Green walls and indoor trees

Many of you are already including some of these elements in the buildings and interiors you design. In fact, Foster+Partner's design for health pavilion at the Cleveland Clinic could be considered a distant cousin to an Apple store -- at a much different scale and without all the design sizzle.

Can that feeling of joy and awe that you get when you walk into one of those iconic Apple stores be replicated in healthcare? Should it? I'm not sure, but I'd like to see someone try.

Bonus: Reimagining Parking Garages

The other thing I came across recently was an article by CannonDesign on turning parking garages into social hotspots by "emphasizing placemaking -- and carving out significant space for pedestrian and recreational use."

Again, I ask, why can't this be done in healthcare?

I'm envisioning a hospital parking garage with a courtyard and pickleball courts. The cars won't mind the noise and the ER would be right there when all those middle-aged people and seniors who haven't played a racquet sport since they were kids (or ever) sprain their ankles.

Sound weird? Maybe. But challenging your project team to rethink the design and purpose of hospital parking garages is an intriguing idea. Let me know what you come up with.

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