Pandemic-level illness, a nation-wide mental health crisis, and healthcare worker burnout are fueling a reimagined future of America’s healthcare infrastructure. A movement made evident by the American Institute of Architects Consensus Construction Forecast,i which predicts a steady spending in healthcare facility construction and retrofitting through 2024. As the demand for innovative hospitals, behavioral health centers, and ambulatory clinics continues to rise, woven metal fabric is an attractive, resilient, and dynamic material that can be used to construct positive patient experiences and built environments that support both physical and mental healing.
Why Metal Fabric?
Many architectural materials have a place in healthcare design but must meet stringent performance standards before they are deemed appropriate for these demanding environments. Hospitals see round-the-clock, year-round use and experience some of the highest risks for damage.
Anyone who has spent time in an emergency room can attest to the number of gurneys, carts, and equipment being wheeled around and banged against walls. The need for clean, sterile environments that reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) therefore mandates rigorous cleaning regimens often using strong chemicals.
Aside from inherent durability characteristics, metal fabric offers a myriad of benefits once put in application. Whether it’s specified to enhance energy efficiency, support occupant safety and well-being, or expand the building footprint through enclosed mid-door and rooftop spaces, metal fabric is one material that can provide design and performance consistency in almost every area of a commercial building.
Beauty and Biophilia
Therapeutic environments that include access to, and views of, nature, daylight, and fresh air can reduce anxiety, ease depression, support cognitive function, and aid in healing. Woven metal fabric provides a flexible medium to bridge outdoor access with applications in interior design, mid-door creation, and rooftop activation.
Weave patterns with as little as a 30% transparency or open area are effective in providing sun shading over windows or glass façades without obstructing views. Within outdoor and mid-door spaces, metal fabric enables airflow while maintaining safety as railing in-fill or fall protection along rooftop perimeters. A wide array of metallic surfaces and color coatings, custom etching, and printing options provide unmatched design flexibility to elegantly incorporate branding, wayfinding, and design features within woven metal components.
Calming the Noise
Noise has long been documented as a hinderance to healing and a mental health disturbance.ii Metal mesh panels lined with acoustic fleece provide an effective solution for managing interior noise transfer when applied as ceiling panels, partitions, and interior wall cladding.
In outdoor environments, acoustic mesh protects areas of respite from exterior noise pollution without obstructing views or limiting airflow. The metal mesh and fiber-free honeycomb design are low-maintenance, durable, and easy to clean.
Safety and Privacy
Metal mesh is a durable and attractive option that can be used to define interior spaces and provide privacy with a modern aesthetic. This can be ideal for offering personal space to patients, establishing social distancing, or foot traffic protocols.
Metal mesh panels can also be used to safely restrict access or enclose a space. The material can be extended from the point of safety into other areas to create a consistent and welcoming design. The high durability of stainless steel makes these weaves ideal for high-trafficked areas and behavioral health settings where anti-climb and anti-impact features are essential.
Safe Materials for Safe Spaces
Rugged durability, biophilic properties and safety benefits are the main reasons metal fabric is increasingly being specified for behavioral health environments. The distinctive function of these settings–providing physically and mentally healthy spaces where people can process and heal while maintaining a high level of safety and security–poses an ideal specification for metal fabric.
Today, psychiatric healthcare facilities, whether new or existing, are required to meet comprehensive accreditation standards to ensure that the risks to patient safety are minimized. Principles that support patient safety strategies avoid systems, assemblies and materials that can be weaponized, yield sharp edges, or provide ligature points in all locations accessible to patients.
- The composition of highly durable stainless steel addresses the needs of behavioral health settings where design against impact loading is required. The strength of the material can be designed to resist the impact of furniture or other objects being thrown at it, or a fully grown person running into it at full speed.
- The weaves specified for behavioral health feature very small openings–too small for fingers to gain purchase. This gives the material anti-climb and anti-ligature defenses.
- Despite the strength of metal fabric when used as an enclosure, the material is still visually transparent so patients can still enjoy views to the outside.
- Patients can also enjoy sunlight and fresh air when in a space enclosed by metal fabric–biophilic elements that are important to stress relief and healing.
As the healthcare sector evolves to meet the challenges of a post-pandemic world, materials like woven metal fabric are at the forefront of creating environments that prioritize resilience, safety, and healing. With its versatility, durability, and aesthetic potential, metal fabric offers architects and designers a dynamic tool to support patient recovery, staff well-being, and sustainable facility design. By integrating advanced materials into the fabric of healthcare infrastructure, we can ensure that these spaces not only meet today’s needs but are prepared for the demands of tomorrow.
i American Institute of Architects (AIA), “Consensus Construction Forecast” (January 2023): https://www.aia.org/press-releases/6585318-nonresidential-construction-spending-expec
ii Harvard Medicine, “The Effects of Noise on Health” (2022): https://hms.harvard.edu/magazine/viral-world/effects-noise-health
