Kids in the atrium: Comparing architectural intentions and children's experiences in a pediatric hospital lobby

The study reported here adopts an interdisciplinary focus to elicit children's views about hospital environments. Based at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto, the research explores the ways in which designers and patients understand and use the eight-storey lobby, The Atrium, a monumental addition constructed in 1993. It is a public place that never closes; hundreds of children pass through the namesake atrium every day....