With support from the Malcolm Hart Foundation, the Critical Care Unit at a North London hospital embarked on a project to revamp its family rooms and communal waiting areas outside Intensive Care. The aim was to create spaces that felt genuinely comforting for families during some of the most difficult moments they will ever face.
The Brief
Both the family rooms and waiting areas needed to provide comfort and support, encouraging a sense of relaxation during moments of real distress. The redesign also had to meet NHS standards throughout, incorporating safety, infection control, and durable, easy-to-maintain materials, while balancing comfort with practicality: the communal waiting area needed to accommodate multiple visitors while maintaining a sense of quiet, and the family rooms needed to offer privacy for sensitive conversations.
Design and Materials
Colour was introduced throughout, chosen to add brightness and warmth to a mix of very small private rooms and larger open-plan communal spaces. The palette was carefully considered to feel calm and human rather than clinical.
In the family rooms, we chose comfortable sofas large enough to lie down on, visits to ICU often mean long, late nights for close family and friends. Accent furniture was arranged to support quiet conversation, with side tables and a new kitchen area added for practical use. The communal waiting area was furnished with high-back sofas and armchairs arranged into informal pods, giving visitors a sense of semi-private space within the larger room.
All materials, furnishings and finishes were selected to meet NHS infection control standards, keeping the spaces hygienic and easy to maintain, with clear pathways and full accessibility preserved throughout.
The Result
The transformed spaces provided families with a genuinely comforting environment during one of the most stressful experiences of their lives. The new furniture arrangement improved both flexibility and functionality, allowing the rooms to serve different needs at different times of day. All work was completed fully within NHS guidelines, and the project was praised by hospital staff, families and the Foundation alike.
Closing
This project was made possible by the generous support of the Malcolm Hart Foundation, whose mission is to create a Malcolm Hart Quiet Room in every hospital that needs one, recognising how much the physical environment matters to families facing the hardest of times. It is a project we are genuinely proud to have been part of, and a reminder of how thoughtful design can make a real difference to people's lives.
Find out more about the charity at malcolmhartfoundation.com
