"Children's City" Creates Cheerful and Relaxed Atmosphere for Sick Children

Kinderstad (which means "children's city" in Dutch) is an addition to the old VU Medical Centre in Amsterdam, designed by Sponge Architects & Rupali Gupta in cooperation with IOU Architecture.

This was the winning entry of the Young Architects Competition of the Dutch National Board of Architects (BNA) and the penthouse now serves as a visiting area and offers a great space for the parents and their sick children to spend their visiting hours in. Roland Pouw of IOU Architecture says


"I hoped to create a space where young patients can forget for one moment their sickness and where they are in their own dreamland...".

Doggie Dens and Cat Condos

The Washington Animal Rescue League's newly renovated facility incorporates the best design concepts from shelters around the world and takes them a step further to set a new global standard for the humane care of homeless and abused animals. In a recent $4 million renovation, designers created a more nurturing place to better prepare abused and abandoned animals for adoption. Architecture firm Stoiber and Associates created the design that swapps out steel-cage holding tanks for glass-walled play and living areas and adding space for increased human contact and interaction.

In addition to creating a more comfortable and healthy setting for the animals, the new design can now house close to 400 animals, which is a 66% increase.

Interior Design has greatly affected the healthcare business in recent years. The concept is that the right design can help in the healing process of the patients. That same concept is now obviously moving over to the animal world...and I say it's about time!