“Distinguish between real needs and artificial wants and control the latter.” – Mahatma Gandhi

When clients come to us to design their spaces, they often have these ideas they have in their heads about how it should look and what it should be like. We love their enthusiasm but in the course of turning ideas into actual practice comes a time that owners have to do a reality check to balance their wants with the needs of the project. It grounds them into the process to produce doable strategies to deliver a practice that is intentional, high-performing, and ultimately one that they will be proud of. This blog poses questions on how the planning and design process must be examined. Think of it as a guide to refocus your steps into a successful medical practice.

1. Is it timeless?

More than being trendy, a timeless design will ride out trends and will look better for longer. Trends come and go and designing with this limited time horizon is the surest way to make your interiors look dated. A timeless design direction is all about celebrating the essentials, the values that you hold dearest, and a curated palette that emphasizes the honest use of materials. A timeless design can mean a lot of things to different people but ultimately it is about designing with quality and purpose and principle.

2. Does it improve the workflow?

At the heart of every successful design process is the focus on what matters most. It can be an overwhelming process to think of the wider picture to the small details, but the overriding intention to create a practice that your patients will appreciate and support your staff in delivering the service you envision should be made the top of your mind always. Are the traveling distances too long? Will it take ages for staff to walk from point A to point B? Whenever you want to scrutinize anything, start with their functionality and how it can make the experience better.

3. Is this a quality material?

When qualifying a material there are three considerations needed to determine its quality: strength, beauty, and cost. Is it durable? Does it fit in your design direction? Is it within our budget? The question of durability asks if the material will stand up to the high demands of a medical office, if it can sustain constant disinfection, and if it will last the test of time. As for beauty, the market is filled to the brim that any owner and their designer will be spoiled for choice. Tempering this with the design intent allows us to select the right fit for the job. And lastly, the cost is a function of the availability of funds and the willingness to spend it. While it’s not impossible to find a material that will satisfy all three considerations, finding compromises is part of the overall evaluation process. Each material will have its specific circumstances that need to be scrutinized further to make an informed choice. Remember that external factors like installation cost can sometimes inflate the final price of material hence the need to be more thorough in our analysis of each material to be appraised.

4. Is it medically rated?

Medical rating is especially needed for medical interiors to determine their suitability for the medical setting. It serves to determine that any material is durable enough to provide the support expected of it and to be made of materials that will not pose any threats to the well-being of the occupants. Being a medical facility demands this added layer of guarantee for safety during the material selection.

5. Do you have the right team behind you?

Lastly, a way to round off these considerations is a question of expertise. Design and construction are a process that can be overwhelming to the unfamiliar and a team that knows the intricacy of the problem at hand and who has your best interest at heart can go far in delivering a high-performing practice. A medical Interior designer, builder, and broker can make the process so much easier, not to mention empowering owners. The focus on the medical expertise of these professionals highlights that they are familiar and abreast with the intricacies of the industry and are well acquainted with the patient psychology so important for a positive patient experience. If anything, having the right team behind you saves you a lot of time rectifying errors and costs you more in doing repairs down the line. Save time, money, and headaches by getting the right people on the job the first time.

This reality check is meant to ask the necessary questions at the best possible time- right when you’re starting to form the medical practice you have set out to build. Refocusing the planning and design process to what are the essentials allow you to cover all the bases before leveling up to achieve the desired results and even exceeding them. Book a complimentary consultation with us by giving us a call now. We’d love to hear from you!