Global Hospitals in 2050—A review of the historical development of hospital building studies from a global perspective

Abstract

AbstractThis paper aims to discuss the problems in the field of architectural planning and design and possible solutions to these problems by studying hospital buildings that have been developing in the latter half of the 20th century to meet the changing needs of healthcare provision for the super aging society in these days. The methodology used in this study involves reviewing the historical development of hospital building studies from a global perspective. This is followed by an explanation of the need underlying the search for a healing environment through the author's study of hospital ward planning for over 30 years. This study analyzed the author's personal global experience and engaged with an exchange of ideas emanating from discussions with several colleagues and friends in the field of healthcare from all over the world. The key focus of this study is the Global University Programs in Healthcare Architecture (GUPHA). This study discusses potential global perspectives on hospital architectural planning and design that will manifest in 2050. It aims at breaking the lack of access to Japanese researches on hospital architectural planning and design, since most such researches were published in Japanese and were thus inaccessible to the English‐speaking world.