Each year, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) experiences an alarming increase in the number of military personnel being discharged for medical reasons including orthopedic injuries, operational stress injuries, and mental health disorders such as depression and PTSD. Due to their operational duties, veterans experience higher rates of physical and mental health illnesses. As a result, veterans require more access to healthcare services such as occupational therapists, audiologists, speech pathologists, and therapy counsellors. Complex care requirements create challenges in navigating the healthcare system to receive treatment and successfully transition back into civilian life. These challenges have sometimes discouraged individuals from seeking healthcare and receiving proper medical treatment.

The primary purpose of this practicum project is to consider a new approach to interior design that focuses on reducing patient and staff stress in community-based healthcare environments for veterans. It reimagines the traditional institutional feel of healthcare facilities to prioritize patient physical and psychological well-being. It builds upon existing literature and theoretical frameworks for healthcare design. The design investigation includes identifying the barriers to accessing healthcare faced by veterans, analysis of the architectural and spatial guidelines of existing veteran-centered healthcare facilities and determining the potential impact of integrating nature-based features on stress reduction (Nuamah et al., 2021; Totaforti, 2018; Jencks et al., 2015). Interior design strategies informed by Roger Ulrich’s theory of supportive design and Stephen Kellert’s biophilic design are applied to create a veterans' healthcare setting. The resulting redesign of the North Pavilion located on the Deer Lodge Campus in Winnipeg, Manitoba, into a rehabilitation center for military veterans experiencing physical or psychological trauma represents a new approach to providing an accessible, supportive and safe healing environment.