Richard L. Miller, AIA President Earl Swensson Associates, Inc. Nashville Sam W. Burnette, AIA Senior Design Architect Earl Swensson Associates, Inc. Nashville

The environment can play an integral, positive role in the healing process. Whether a stand-alone facility or integrated with a hospital, a cancer treatment center's design can incorporate such elements as natural light, plants, water, color, and texture to lessen the stress patients feel during the treatment experience. Light is, of course, a therapeutic fundamental in healing. The sound of water in a fountain is calming.

Equally important as these organically visual elements of healing design is the aspect of functionality, both from the point of view of the patient and the professional staff. The issues of dignity, privacy, visual cues for wayfinding, and compactness of design to lessen travel distance are integral to establishing a comfort level for the patient and an efficient work pattern for the staff.

Dignity can be ensured through such measures as dedicated entrances for patients transported by ambulance apart from public entries, easy navigation, interior pathways that eliminate cross traffic, and plantscapes that provide acoustic benefits and visual privacy.

Holistic design, in essence, provides the environment that perpetuates successful results in cancer treatment.

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