Healing Architecture: Daylight in Hospital Design

Recently, the move by the Malaysian government to reduce the energy consumption in public buildings including hospitals is seenas the call for sustainability in the built environment. On the other hand, designing a hospital building is generally accepted as acomplex task both: functional and psychological. At this juncture, creating a healing environment with appropriate physicalaspects (i.e. daylighting) to achieve sustainable hospital design seems relevant and in tandem with sustainability. Much literaturesuggest that adequate and appropriate exposure to natural light provides a positive impact on human health and well being of patients and medical staff in a hospital environment.The paper reviews the role of daylighting design as one of the physical aspects in hospital design to create a healingenvironment. The effects of physical aspects on patients’ outcomes are highlighted. Pilot studies on Malaysian public hospitalbuildings are carried out to investigate the design and implementation of lighting (i.e. artificial and natural light) and itsrelationship to other environmental factors. Key findings on the physical aspects affecting daylighting design in 4-bed wardenvironments are explicitly noted. The paper calls for a comprehensive consideration on the physical aspects (i.e. daylightingdesign) in a healing environment as a strategy for implementation on a sustainable hospital design. Beyond this, good daylightingwill obviate the need for artificial lighting, thus also lead for energy conservation, contributing to sustainability