Creating Engaging Experiences for Rehabilitation

Abstract

The traditional model of rehabilitation center design based on usability and function falls short of addressing the aspirations of those who use them. To better serve the motivational needs of both patients and therapists, we need to reconsider the gymnasium-inspired designs of current rehabilitation centers. Designers Patricia Moore and David Guynes have drawn inspiration from the everyday to create more engaging rehabilitation experiences with their Easy Street®, Independence Square®, Rehab 1-2-3®, Our Town®, and WorkSyms® rehabilitation environments. Their designs simulate real-life situations to motivate patients by helping them connect their therapy to the life in which they aspire to return. Utilizing an empathic research process, Moore and Guynes build a deeper understanding of both patients’ and therapists’ values and apply that understanding to designs that are more directly connected to patients’ aspirational goals while still meeting their functional rehabilitation needs. This same research-based design approach is utilized in all of their design work that has included, most recently, the design of the Phoenix Valley Transit Authority’s Metro Light Rail Train. The train and stations have won awards for accessibility and will begin public operation in late 2008.