ladan vojdanzadeh

In line with the evolution of human needs, the impact of environment on human health and safety has gained more significance. This is particularly important in case of medical spaces, where the patient is subject to serious stress caused by illness, medication, restrictions, feeling of isolation and concerns for medical expenses. The hospital environment can aggravate the situation with poor interior design. This requires that medical spaces create an atmosphere of joy, friendliness, delight and trust. As such, a ‘healing environment’ can be described as an environment created to assist the recovery process. By definition, ‘healing’ concerns psychological and spiritual aspects of recovery, in contrast with ‘curing’ which is a primarily physical concept. This research demonstrates that changes in certain design properties of healthcare facilities can reduce stress and in consequence, its adverse impacts on the recovery process. This can also help increase staff confidence and efficiency leading to a reduction in prescription errors and unwanted spread of infections. Such changes include increased day lighting, adequate ventilation, reduction of noise, and access to natural features such as vistas looking towards sky and vegetation. The increased ‘affordance’ of the healing environment can thus alleviate stress and help the recovery process.

The purpose of this article is to explore whether the physical environmental of medical space can affect the patients’ stress and anxiety. (Numerous studies have suggested that anxiety is found in most clinical/medical settings. Stress occurs when there is an imbalance of environmental demands and human resources. The environment may add to this stress, with overcrowding, noise, lack of privacy, and glare, especially when coupled with poor interior color schemes. All of these stress factors can negatively affect the process of healing). The particular definition in this research was the relationship between environmental factors (brightness, peaceful, noisy, color, privacy and crowding) and stress. A dental office is considered as an effective environment which changed decoration and interior design during the time according to dentists and staffs demands. To research this, a study was carried out between two groups: peoples who referred to dental office before interior design changes and peoples who referred to dental office after interior design changes. The attitudes and perceptions of the two groups of patients (through questionnaires distributed) compared. Before the results of the analysis were determined, the reliability of the dependent and independent variables was tested with Cronbach’s test. The Cronbach alpha for variables was more than 0.70. Results from 80 patients showed that environmental factors such as brightness, peaceful, noisy, color, privacy and crowding could effect on patients and reduce their stress and anxiety. It is obvious; changing the interior design of dental office could increase quality-in-perception by: ● Promoting the content of mental with increasing legibility and image ability of environment and changing the location of activities and territorial behavior. ● Reducing stress and anxiety and avoiding spatial ambiguity by defining the territorial behavior and personal space or user activity. ● Optimizing the quality of space with changing light, color furniture, television, music, artworks and etc. ● Eliminating the negative impact of the stress known by physical design of a waiting area (waiting area indeed buffer). Also it was found that according to patient’s position during treatment, design of ceiling which located in the field of patients’ view is important to reduced stress significantly. Utilizing color, light and especially picture of nature is more effective. In the other words, an important part of curing relates to the quality of care that patients receive. Studies on perceived quality of care suggest that patient-perceived quality of care is heavily defined by the amount of empathy, warmth, and friendliness that the patient experiences. The environment plays an important role in conveying empathy, warmth, and friendliness even before the patient interacts with staff. In this research, data analysis indicated that the purpose of medical environmental design should not be focused on curing people physically or in the limited sense of bricks and mortar. In addition to providing medical services, it should prepare appropriate mental and physical spatial for users (patients and staff). The design of health-care facilities should be human-centered and functionally efficient, to benefit patients, their families, and staff alike. In other words, interior design of medical space is necessity not luxury.

At the beginning of the third millennium, Nano-technology causes another industrial revolution. Nanotechnology, the science of manufacturing materials at a tiny scale, creates new possibilities to make dramatic improvements in our lives. Nanotechnology is an exciting area of scientific development which promises “more for less”. It offers ways to create smaller, cheaper, lighter and faster devices that can do more and cleverer functions, use less raw materials and consume less energy. It represents a whole new method of manufacturing, which achieves control at the atomic scale. It is better described as a collection of technologies which are genuinely “disruptive” – that is, they will render many existing technologies and processes obsolete and create entirely new types of products. Today, there are more than 450 manufacturer-identified nanotechnology-enabled products in the commercial market and “over 600 raw materials, intermediate components and industrial equipment items” used by Nano manufacturers and many more are sure to be followed, given the large investments in research, development, and commercialization. Many researchers believe that over the coming years and decades, nanotechnologies are set to make an enormous impact on manufacturing and service industries, on electronics, information technology, and on many other areas of life, from medicine to energy conservation. All objects are going to make on base of Nano scale and their properties form in this scale in future. Construction materials and manufacturing technology change soon, so we have to examine its impact on architecture. Applications of nanotechnology: - Environmental Protection - Sea Industries - Medicine - Electronics and Computer - Biotechnology Nano architecture combines Nano technology with architecture and its versatile effects. For the architecture profession, nanotechnology will greatly impact construction materials and their properties. Materials will behave in many different ways as we are able to precisely control their properties at the Nano-scale. The biggest ideas in today architecture are coming out of the science of the small. Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter at the molecular scale, promises to transform architecture in ways we can hardly imagine today. The nanotech revolution can bring dramatic improvements in building performance, energy efficiency and sustainability to building projects. By building construction and operation estimated to be a trillion dollar per year for a worldwide industry, it is to be expected that Nano material and nanotechnology will play an increasing role in the construction industry. According to Nanowerk “dozens of building materials incorporate nanotechnology, from self-cleaning windows to flexible solar panels to Wi-Fi blocking paint,” and “many more are in development, including self-healing concrete, materials to block ultraviolet and infrared radiation, smog-eating coatings and light-emitting walls and ceilings.” Nanotechnology and Architecture/Functions and Applications: - Self-cleaning/ Easy-to-clean - Air-purifying - Anti-fogging - Thermal Insulation - Temperature Regulation - UV Protection - Solar Protection - Fire-proof - Anti-graffiti - Anti-reflective - Antibacterial - Anti-fingerprints - Scratchproof and Abrasion Resistant However, if the researchers in this field put together with an ethical set of guidelines, then we can develop nanotechnology safely while still reaping its promised benefits. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of this technology in architecture. In this essay, descriptive method has chosen as a research method. So we present a definition of nanotechnology and its scientific aspects, study of nanotechnology materials applications in construction industry and case study, and also natural structures in architecture. Also, we emphasise on the advantage and side effect of this technology to use it carefully. It would be difficult to deny the potential benefits of nanotechnology and stop development of research related to it, since it has already begun to penetrate many different fields of research. Thus, Nano materials should replace with traditional materials as they will cause huge changes in construction. The architectural design based on Nano contracture offers an antidote to today’s form-driven practice. However, nanotechnology can be developed using guidelines to insure that the technology does not become too potentially harmful. As any new technology, it is impossible to stop every well-funded organization which may seek to develop the technology for harmful purposes. Effects of Nano architecture application: - Reducing Construction Waste (in Comparison with Traditional System) - Reducing Buildings Materials - Improving the Quality of Materials - Reduce the Consumption of Fossil Energy - Reduce Maintenance Costs - Preservation and Conservation - Economical - Design Ideally Space - Compatibility with Nature - Create Stable Structures.