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Art in Hospital Spaces: the Role of Hospitals in an Aestheticised Society

Macnaughton, RJ

Authors



Abstract

There is a keen interest in hospital design in the UK fuelled by the largest hospital building programme ever undertaken within the NHS. Architects and NHS planners are gaining advice and inspiration from the growing evidence-based design movement. Part of this movement is interested in the role of artworks in creating soothing, therapeutic environments. This paper draws on the experience of a research project on the role of art in a new hospital in the North East of England to suggest that there might be an additional cultural role for art in hospitals, and for hospital buildings. The paper examines the wider evidence for this and the history behind it, and places the idea within an aesthetic framework with reference to research results from the study.

Citation

Macnaughton, R. (2007). Art in Hospital Spaces: the Role of Hospitals in an Aestheticised Society. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 13(1), 85-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286630701201962

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Feb 1, 2007
Deposit Date Jan 17, 2008
Journal International Journal of Cultural Policy
Print ISSN 1028-6632
Electronic ISSN 1477-2833
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 13
Issue 1
Pages 85-101
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/10286630701201962
Keywords Art in hospitals, Cultural resource, Evidence-based design, Interdisciplinary, Social aesthetics, Therapeutic environments.