We have responded to the project’s research findings by developing a number of project prototypes.
Some of these were bought ‘off the shelf’ as a solution to a problem that we identified, including a noise-cancelling chair for Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Others were developed by the project team, in collaboration with our project partners. For example, at Southmead Hospital in Bristol we worked with Fresh Arts, Quantock and Percy Phillips staff, Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire Maternity Voices Partnership, and the local company Stand + Stare to develop an activity ‘vending machine’ for the Maternity Unit family room. This prototype responded to the theme of ‘connection’. It was a response particularly to research with inpatients who wanted activity and permission to move around the hospital. The vending machine is called ‘Mindful Moments’. If you work in a hospital and want to commission your own ‘Mindful Moments’, or get access to the design document for this, please email sensing-spaces-project@bristol.ac.uk.
Mindful Moments has been stocked initially by bespoke activity packs from four artists who work with Fresh Arts: Ali Brown, Esme Hodes, Jennifer Mills, and Claire Williamson. Pictures of the packs are below – again, if you want to make versions of these packs, please just get in touch and we will be happy to share printable files and resource lists.
For other prototypes, we worked with Inclusively to design and run ideation workshops for design briefs.
From our workshop with Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire Maternity Voices Partnership, we developed a design brief for a storage solution for maternity spaces, in order to help to provide a sense of control and order. We awarded the commission to Ellie Shipman, Amy Rose, and Jack Stiling who developed a wonderful storage unit called STICC (Some Things I Can Control).
(c) Victoria Bates and Ellie Shipman.
In 2025, we updated this design, with the support of an AHRC Impact Accelerator Award, into a small-batch product and there are now eight STICCs in use across 2 wards. The new design was developed by Kevin Jenkins, who used his expertise in product design to turn STICC from a bespoke handmade object into a small batch product.
(c) Dan Weill photography.
From our workshop with the GOSH Young Person’s Advisory Group, and in collaboration with GOSH Arts, we developed a brief for an interactive artwork aimed specifically at the sensory needs of adolescents and young people. This commission was awarded to Gawain Hewitt, who has worked with the GOSH Young People’s Forum to develop an interactive artwork with tactile elements, close looking, and an online music-maker. The online music element is available for anyone to use or integrate into their hospital artworks, as part of our goal to share outputs as widely as possible. You can email us to request a high-res version of the bird below, or can find the link here: https://murmuration.london. We would love to hear from you if you use this!
We had such a wonderful response to our exhibition, that Southmead hospital have decided to keep Jon Van Beek’s ‘Hospital Reimagined’ in their Maternity Unit family waiting area. Jon responded to feedback to develop a prototype version of this object for use elsewhere, and it has recently been installed at Dorset County Hospital. We have a CAD file for this item if you would like to get your own made, just drop us a line!
(c) Dan Weill photography.
We have also developed a project toolkit. A full guide for sensory design in healthcare settings is now available HERE, from years of work with a multi-disciplinary working group, including collaborations from Architects for Health and the National Arts in Hospitals Network.