Room for Play: An Evaluation of the Lost [Healing] Spaces in Pediatric Healthcare Facilities

The essence of space within pediatric healthcare has been governed through a catalyst of distinct criteria. Although these criteria are functional for medical and research practice requirements associated with hygiene and health, they should also reflect healing therapeutics. The built environment provides a place for people to live, work, and partake in their day-to-day activities. However, the built environment of the spaces for pediatric healthcare lacks the "room for play" in their built fabric, to such a degree as lost spaces. These spaces have the potential to supplement the designated functions of the built healthcare environment of which they are a part. This thesis evaluates the possibility to integrate the spaces of healthcare that are conducive to an integral human perceptual response enhancing our overall sense of well-being and restorative healing. Case studies and literary research will support a design proposal for The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario.