Fun Connection Design Turns to Sunny Hues for a Children’s Hospital in China

2021 Best of Year winner for Clinic

For any children’s hospital, employing cheery color is nearly obligatory. For this renovation of the project type, located approximately a three-hour flight west of Shanghai, founder and design director of Fun Connection Design Yaotian Zhang chose a sophisticated, residential-esque palette of pale blues and sunrise oranges for furnishings and built-ins but also for the chips in the terrazzo flooring that runs throughout the 2,152-square-foot facility. There are also abundant clean white surfaces, homey rounded archways, and surprise peek-a-boo tunnels and cutouts for kids to explore. “The goal is to provide a visually warm environment that makes patients and visitors feel comfortable,” Zhang says. Of course, maintaining and promoting health is paramount, too. Ample biophilia populates the hospital, whether it’s the live plants at the entrance with which people entering interact or on the terrace. Further, the firm installed smart air-conditioning and thermal glass and lighting systems.

Fun Connection Design: Yaotian Zhang; Yanzhou Chen; Anna Tao; Dawei Xu; Yinwen Huang; Haiyan Xiang; Miao Zhang; Congyi Luo; Wei Mao; Chao Liu; Xiaowei Hu