User-Centered design in healthcare facilities. The case of Maggie’s Centres

In recent decades, research and the design relating to healthcare facilities have been changing as a result of a direction that is defined as ‘humanism in healthcare’, i.e., a new approach to care that takes into account a broader framework of human needs. In fact, healthcare facilities are no longer considered solely in terms of their primary function of treating illness, but also in terms of improving users’ psychological and physical well-being, to which the quality of the built and natural environment in which recovery takes place also contributes. The principles of Human(User)-Centered Design applied to the healthcare environment contribute to this design evolution by broadening the technological culture of the project from a specialised to a holistic vision. In fact, they make it possible to place at the center of the design process the interaction between the human being, with their capabilities and limitations, and the environmental context, where spaces play an active role in contributing to the user’s quality of life and the healing process. Since 1996, the Maggie’s Centres have been taking shape in Great Britain, following the initiative of the writer and landscape architect Maggie Keswick. Maggie’s Centres are a network of care facilities for cancer patients, that recognise landscape, building and interior design as fundamental tools for the physical and mental care of their users. The Architectural Brief which guides their design, has been developed by focusing on the person and their physical, mental, and emotional characteristics, such as empathy, in an approach that can be seen as a forerunner of the more recent User-Centered Design. The paper is the result of research that aims to provide an interpretation of the Architectural Brief of Maggie’s Centres to demonstrate, also through the most recent realisations, how these care spaces constitute a virtuous example of User-Centered Design.