Ask anyone in Atlanta who to talk to about healthcare design and they will tell you to speak to Alison Jones. She is an icon of this industry and has been practicing for 25 years. The LeVino.Jones team designs hospitals, health departments, laboratories and research facilities, medical offices and clinical suites, outpatient surgical centers, and medical spas. (www.levinojones.com)
www.asidga.org
As I interviewed Ms. Jones this morning, she stated, "One of the differences in healthcare design today is infection control." With the new penalties for hospital acquired infections (HAIs), there is a great demand for design, which is attentive to the eradication of harmful bacteria. LeVino Jones does a tremendous amount of work in oncology clinics. Since the patients in these environments have challenged immune systems, it is the firm's number one concern.
Another design aspect the firm's designers work on is collaboration in clinics and hospitals. They create "huddle spaces" in out-of-the-way places for doctors, nurses, and other caregivers to discuss the patients' care. When designing for teaching hospitals, these spaces have to be large enough for a group of doctors to converse, bearing in mind that the patient's privacy (HIPAA) is of the utmost concern.
Alison Jones is EDAC Certified. EDAC stands for Evidence-Based Design and Certification.
Evidence-Based Design, (EBD), is the process of basing decisions about the built environment on credible research to achieve the best possible outcomes. (www.castleworldwide.com)
"EBD is more scientific than traditional design." says Ms. Jones. "EBD gives us good data and research to share with clients about new design and new products. A good example of this would be the use of silver and copper surfaces for infection control.
Alison Jones is LEED AP Certified.
LEED stands for Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design.
www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com
I asked Ms. Jones how her firm addresses sustainability in their designs. One area of focus includes lighting design which will meet the energy codes and still provide adequate light for procedures and tasks. Designers usually have to push the lighting design to the limits of the energy code to provide adequate lighting in these important areas. She admits that this can be a bit frustrating.
Finally, I asked Ms. Jones what advice she could give to a student in interior design. What could she say to me that would guide me into the real world of design beyond the classroom?
She told me that designing and sharing a blog like this is a great idea (thank you, Dr. Chapin) and interviewing professional in the field can be very educational as well (thanks again, doc). Ms. Jones says that it is important to determine a specialty. Defining who you are as a designer starts with the super-important decision of deciding what your focus area will be.
She also gave me some advice on my capstone project. Whew! I've been sweating that one out! I think I have decided what my project will be and the location of it. Thank you, Ms. Jones.
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