Healing Architecture book

Outlines architectural factors that characterize our projects, and their importance in terms of creating healing environments

EGM architecten has a diverse practice in the health care market. We always work from the end-user perspective and search for “the question behind the question” during in-depth conversations with our clients.

Because we have the ambition to stay ahead as designers in health care, we follow the developments closely: social, medical, technological, demographic, sociocultural and economic. Within the new market, buildings are becoming increasingly important for health care institutions in uniting patients and staff. Planetree and experience, customer focus and healing environments are currently the key concepts. For all these developments, we constantly look for answers as to how we can facilitate our clients the best. Human beings are always the main focus: patients, family and staff. Utility, logic, representative value and perception are the core concepts we use at EGM architecten. In recent years it has become increasingly evident that the environment has a great effect on human wellbeing. In relation to health care and hospital design it has a vital effect on the health care outcomes of patients, the involvement of relatives, and the health and efficiency of the staff.


In the architectural projects of EGM architecten, we strive to create well structured, comfortable, light and open healing environments. Together with our in house EGM adviseurs we consider the lifecycle of the buildings, creating sustainable, flexible solutions to suit the changing demands within health care. And we integrate efficient solutions to ensure an optimal comfort for the users.


This booklet presents an outline of the architectural factors that characterize our projects, and their importance in terms of creating healing environments; flow and structure, light, comfort, art and interiors, relation to nature, as well as personal and social space.


We furthermore present a couple of our projects, some in the design phase and some already built, ranging from large scale hospitals to small scale health care centres, psychiatric clinics and nursing homes.

Expertise in Evidence Based Design

In the Netherlands various colleagues of EGM are involved in education and research within the healing environment and Evidence Based Design. Close bonds and exchange of knowledge exist with TNO, BNA-Research, Technical University Delft, Technical University Eindhoven and Academies of Architecture. Partner (and former professor of architectural design & health care at the Technical University Eindhoven) Bas Molenaar is a member of the editorial board of the leading American HERD journal* (Health Environments Research & Design Journal). A journal directed on spreading knowledge about evidence-based design in health care.

EDAC Accreditation and Certification

We wish to stay ahead and to integrate the latest knowledge in the building design of the future. Currently, we participate in the EDAC-programme, obtaining the Evidence Based Design Accreditation and Certification. Here we will become part of a worldwide network of health care design professionals, and specialize ourselves further in obtaining the latest findings and evidence from the academic world, and integrating it in the design of future health care projects. *The Health Environments Research and Design Journal (HERD) is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal whose mission is to enhance the knowledge and practice of evidence-based healthcare design by disseminating research findings, discussing issues and trends, and translating research to practice.