Thoughtfully designed parking structures have the potential to provide value well beyond utilitarian function. In many cases, they create the first impression for visitors. To properly curate the user experience, care must be taken to ensure that parking garages, just like any occupied space, support the well-being, safety, and comfort of their users.
This is particularly true of parking for healthcare facilities, where buildings must deliver on the highest standards of occupant safety and wellness. Since healthcare parking serves patients and family that may be going through times of stress, struggle, and grief while visiting that facility, providing a secure and comforting environment is vital.
Meeting the need for light and ventilation
Creating openness for light and ventilation provides users with better awareness of their surroundings, making them feel more at ease. However, adding large openings to the design requires fall protection. Traditional solutions like excessive railings can feel confining, leading designers to seek innovative alternatives that provide physical safety while allowing air and light to flow.
That’s where innovative solutions including metal fabrics and mesh are changing the face of today’s parking structures.
“Open areas can be sealed with treillage, grillage, metal screening, or stainless-steel cabling that permits air and light to circulate,” explains Gary Cudney, senior vice president of parking solutions at the engineering firm WGI, Inc.
The Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center parking structure demonstrates how metal mesh with the appropriate open area provides transparency and ventilation while reducing risks of stuck fingers, ligature points, and material damage. This balance between durability and elegance delivers security and comfort to people during difficult times.
Solutions for behavioral health
The Veteran’s Health Administration, America’s largest healthcare system, understands these details matter. A study by the International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) notes that more suicides occur at garages serving VAs than other hospitals. To address this, the VA employs façade screening for both aesthetics and safety, covering openings at parking levels and roofs.
Beyond physical deterrence, attractive materials like mesh provide psychological protection. In moments of crisis, beauty can positively impact people.
“People who attempt suicide are in pain, distress, and often feel isolated, but they are people first and foremost,” says Eduardo Vega, CEO of the Mental Health Association of San Francisco. “They can respond to compassion, openness, and hope even at a moment of intense crisis.”
A notable example of this is The Luminous Veil, a tensile screen structure installed on Toronto’s Prince Edward Viaduct, which had been second only to the Golden Gate Bridge in occurrences of suicide. In only five years from April 1998 to June 2003, there were 48 incidents of suicide. The installation now functions as both a suicide deterrent and a kinesthetic luminous art installation. The results have been dramatic. A study published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that in the 17 years after the structure was installed in July 2003, only two suicides occurred at the viaduct.
By understanding today’s innovative facade solutions, hospital parking facilities can provide comprehensive safety measures without sacrificing aesthetics or the user experience—significantly reducing risks while providing optimal functionality, aesthetics, lighting, and proper ventilation to the site.
To learn more, visit gkdmetalfabrics.com.