On April 29, 2014, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) affiliate Kingwood Medical Center celebrated the grand opening of the South Tower and the three-story Women and Children’s Center.

This $80 million, 155,400 square-foot expansion, included 4 custom 18-foot Luminous SkyCeiling circles on the first floor. These biophilic illusions of nature were incorporated into the architectural design to create a palpable feeling of openness in the enclosed hallways that connect 8 high-risk antepartum suites, 12 spacious labor and delivery suites, and a 24-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, among other specialty rooms.

The color temperature of the daylight-quality artificial light uses to illuminate the high-resolution digital photography (high CRI 6500K) and the patented elevators that recess the SkyTiles away from the rest of the ceiling create a palpable illusion of overhead skies while altering our perception of depth in enclosed interiors.

This is  custom Luminous SkyCeiling design is a useful case study illustrating how this creative adaptation of healthcare lighting using illusory skies can deliver positive clinical and therapeutic outcomes.

Sky Factory is the only designer of evidence-based, virtual skylights that also provides continuing education courses on the benefits of biophilic design. Our family of Luminous SkyCeilings, Windows, and Digital Cinema applications are biophilic designed products that provide research-verified, architectural solutions for a range of healthcare and commercial spaces. To find out how Sky Factory can bring the healing presence of nature to your organization, contact us today.