How the University Helped Bring Immersive Art and Neurodiverse-Friendly Seating to the Honickman Center

When Jefferson’s Honickman Center in Philadelphia opens this spring, the state-of-the-art ambulatory care facility designed by patients, for patients, will continue to define the future of health care by bringing an incredibly diverse range of specialties into one location.

In addition to leading-edge technology, a pair of projects with ties to the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce and the Sidney Kimmel Medical College will help to transform the patient experience in Center City.

As we shared with you in a 2022 episode of the Nexus Podcast, a group of Kanbar industrial-design undergrads teamed up with the Jefferson Center for Autism and Neurodiversity (JeffCAN) to research, conceptualize and create forward-thinking, neurodiverse-friendly seating.

The students—Isaac Savinese, Rachael Hannah, Nick Galie and Elijah Jones—spent seven weeks embedded within what’s been termed the “neurodiverse furniture” project. Some 60 chairs, which will be situated at various places throughout the building, were designed to provide comfort for neurodiverse and other anxious patients, while helping those with autism engage with the world.

Their work stands as a testament to Jefferson’s signature Nexus Learning approach—which combines engaged, active learning with multidisciplinary collaboration to solve real world problems. It also illustrates Jefferson’s commitment to its mission of improving lives with a  multi-year effort that addresses the specific needs of this vulnerable and under-represented population.

“When people look for a sensory space, they think of a room,” says Dr. Wendy Ross, associate professor and director of JeffCAN, who guided that class with adjunct professor Rob Melville. “Sensory rooms are a great idea. The problem is that they are the only idea. Sensory seating provides a non-segregated option.”

Another exciting project with University ties is the brainchild of Lyn Godley, industrial-design professor and director of the Jefferson Center of Immersive Arts for Health.

The Center – a design, research and academic initiative dedicated to studying the impact of dynamic and interactive art and design on healing – has already helmed research initiatives like “Waiting Room” and “Immersive Art for Wellbeing at Ravenhill Chapel.”

For the Ravenhill effort and buoyed by scientific research demonstrating that  art lowers stress, students in Godley’s "Lighting as Public Experience" designed a fully immersive environment with the intention of creating a calming experience for fellow students and staff through digital projection mapping software.

There’s a direct link between that effort and the “Liquid Horizons” project, which will include nine pieces of immersive art – based on original watercolors – brought to life at the Honickman Center with animation overlays through projection. It’s another way the team creates immersive art experiences for use in healthcare environments to promote well-being.

“Research shows that art can have a positive impact on human health, specifically in healthcare environments,” says Godley, noting that most existing research focuses on static art or virtual reality. “We believe similar outcomes could be achieved with dynamic or interactive art that could immerse the patient in such a way as to deeply engage them and enhance the overall healthcare experience, resulting in an improved physiological and psychological impact.”

The work will be installed in nine different waiting rooms at the Honickman Center.

“It's Jefferson designed, Jefferson installed, Jefferson printed, and Jefferson researched so it acts as a really nice model of what we do here. We take ideas from design through research and – after being able to justify or verify the results – take that back to design again to continue to iterate and improve. That's just not happening anyplace else.”

Also important to Godley is the involvement of students, who can then take the lessons they learned back into the classroom.

After working on the Ravenhill installation, student Abby Spraker worked with Godley on Liquid Horizons. Spraker described the process as “insanely cool” to see 9-by-12 watercolor paintings transferred to a more expansive medium through projection mapping.

“This really inspired me,” says Spraker. “As soon as I met Lyn, I saw that industrial design doesn't just have to be a backpack, a shoe, or the next drill. It could be something more visual and more encapsulating, something you can experience. The idea of an immersive place is really powerful to me. I don't know, something about that is different."

Godley says it’s important to have students involved in these efforts.

“Pretty early on, Abby was talking about wanting her work to have an impact, about wanting to create products that had some impact on changing things for the better for people,” she shares.

Godley notes that these nine installations will also be incorporated into research efforts.

“This will be our third install, and each time we’re getting closer to the demographic that needs it,” she shares. “We’ll start the research once we get them installed and when the Honickman Center is up and running for three to six months, we’ll collect feedback on people’s reactions to these installations. I think this will lead us to great results.”