Ofuna Chuo Central Hospital

“Ofuna Chuo is a regional core hospital in the southeastern part of Kanagawa Prefecture that provides radiation treatment to more than 800 patients annually,” says Dr. Atsuya Takeda, Director of the Radiation Oncology Center at the Ofuna Central Hospital in Kamakura City.

In order to enhance the patient experience, the medical staff sought to restore a genuine sense of orientation and perceived bi-sensory connection to a natural environment. Interested in the inherent potential of architectural illusions, the team worked with Sky Factory designers to create a credible panorama where a panoramic landscape perspective would appear as the natural extension of an overhead view, right next to the patient.

Even when not looking at the scene, the patient’s peripheral vision is subconsciously aware of the color temperature of the window view and ceiling opening. As such, the Autonomic Nervous System interprets the sensory input from the daylight-quality light as a bone fide signal that the observer’s body is nearby natural, open space.
The Luminous Virtual Window array that complements the 6’ X 8’ (180cm X 240cm) Luminous SkyCeiling overheads evokes the ancient architectural practice of meaningfully connecting Heaven and Earth. In this case, the perceived union is achieved through perpendicular and properly scaled, biophilic illusions of nature.