Inside Out
 Light-filled geodesic domes – more commonly used as conservatories, spa-pool covers or artist’s studios – have found a new use in the healthcare sector.
Mental health patients using rehabilitation services at Mandalay House in Aylesbury are using a Solardome as a sociable garden social space that can be used year-round: Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust was awarded £35,000 by the King’s Fund as part of their ‘Enhancing the Healing Environment’ programme for the dome, which acts as a striking focal point in the garden.
“The design, with its ability to be outdoors yet indoors, with access to natural light and transparency, was a real selling point for us,” says David Stalker, who led the project for the NHS Trust. “Therapeutically, there is researched and anecdotal evidence about the positive effects of solar light on melanin levels, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and overall wellbeing.
It also encourages those who are potentially vulnerable and isolated to the immediate confines of the existing building to go outside throughout the year. This means they have much needed calming, warm and safe social and recreational space.”
Creating the perfect balance between science and nature, Solardomes provide optimum light transmission, heat retention and ventilation, making them ideal for a range of applications in the modern world. The glass and aluminium structures create an inviting, tranquil, ‘back to nature’ environment that in turn, stimulates a feeling of wellbeing. This makes them appealing for the health sector – because they address the need for an innovative approach to rehabilitation and therapeutic activities.
www.solardome.co.uk
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