It is great to witness the long overdue recognition of the role that art, design and architecture can play in forming positive spatial experiences in spaces that otherwise can be marked with trauma.
When Great Ormond Hospital in the UK ran a competition asking artists to transform a new hospital wing with an interactive artwork, the winner Jason Bruges Studio responded with the idea for a nature trail - a 50m long artwork displaying animated animals on 70 specially programmed LED panels.
The animal magic comes to life as the patient starts his or her journey to theatre by triggering sensors embedded in the ceiling. All of a sudden frogs, deer, hedgehogs, horses and birds appear on the wallpaper.
The result is an installation that captures the imagination, lighting up the faces of the children and improving the otherwise sometimes difficult experience of the hospital treatment.
Bruges was inspired by memories of his own childhood; "The idea came from remembering walks in my childhood...spotting and following things, those stolen glances and glimpses, the excitement of stopping at hides. I was trying to recreate this with the idea of digital lookout points along the corridor."
Via The Guardian.