Overview
The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) redefined healthcare wayfinding by prioritizing patient engagement and healing over clinical norms. Büro North seized the opportunity to revolutionize the traditional approach, using an evidence-based strategy informed by staff and patient surveys, interviews, and observations.
Our research revealed key wayfinding challenges, including accommodating non-English speakers and simplifying clinical jargon. We designed a system integrating landmarks at critical decision points, enabling journeys that can be easily communicated in simple sentences. The hospital’s layout guides patients from underground levels to the sky, with each floor associated with an animal name, such as the Koala Ward on the Tree Tops level.
The wayfinding strategy had to cater to a broad age range, from newborns to teenagers, requiring illustrations that provide both calming distractions and clear navigation. The design incorporated a child-friendly typeface, modular signage, and a durable system, all within the hospital’s strict requirements.
Thorough testing ensured the solution was effective before the hospital opened, resulting in a system that significantly enhances user experience and places RCH at the forefront of international healthcare design.
“Our mission was to deliver a hospital that was iconic, incorporated international best practice and focused on the needs of children and families. Büro North’s innovative approach produced an outcome that was attractive to children, and makes the hospital experience as easy as possible”.
Alex CampbellOur evidence-based design approach ensured optimal wayfinding outcomes. We engaged with clinical staff, doctors, and patients through stakeholder workshops to refine language and terminology, tested full-scale mock-ups on-site during construction for sight-lines and legibility, and conducted hundreds of task analysis customer tests with patients and families. This rigorous process ensured the wayfinding system exceeded best practice standards, enhanced the patient experience and set new global benchmarks for healthcare wayfinding.
Büro North commenced work on the RCH in 2008, through to 2011 in collaboration with ID-Lab. Since 2011, Büro North have worked independantly with the RCH in an ongoing capacity refining the hospital user experience. We are currently working with the RCH developing several expansion spaces, including new emergency facilities.
