The Society of British and International Design declared Tinker imagineers from Utrecht the overall winner of the SBID International Design Excellence Awards 2015 on account of its experience design for the Juliana Children’s Hospital. The ‘overall winner of best achievement’ was picked at the Awards gala event in London from among 198 finalists from 41 countries. This award trumps the other 14 categories:

‘This project was awarded specifically on its ground-breaking ability to interact with the end user and changes the expectations of how interior design is received within this sector of design’, according to Vanessa Brady OBE (president SBID)

The animated experience designed for the Juliana Children’s Hospital had been nominated by an international jury of experts in the ‘healthcare design’ category, and was in the race to become category winner with the support of the voting public. In the end, Tinker made off with the ‘best of’ award: ‘A great surprise’, according to Tinker partner/director Stan Boshouwers. ‘International recognition on this scale for a meaningful and experimental project such as the Juliana Children’s Hospital feels very special. We hope to set a trend to improve healthcare design with creative technology and storytelling.’

The Society of British and International Design (SBID) is the professional accrediting organisation for the interior design industry in the UK with the objective to promote the profession at the highest level of competence. Since 2011, the SBID Awards are annually presented in ‘to celebrate the value to life that real design excellence adds’. 

Distraction and companionship

Five characters, Hugg, Happy, Fold, C-bot and Vizzle, play the main roles in the children’s experience. These little friends accompany the patients on their journey through the new Juliana Children’s Hospital and appear everywhere. In the most nerve-racking situations, such as the corridor to the OR, the treatment rooms and the elevators, these characters come to life in moving projections and interactive animations.

Fréderique Hofstede, paediatrician and medical manager of the Juliana Children’s Hospital, says: ‘The goal of the concept was to create a wondrous world that would provide distraction. Research shows that a child-friendly, distracting environment reduces stress and the perception of pain in sick children, which helps them to recover sooner.’