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Stiliyana Minkovska
Architect | Artist | Designer | Maker | Researcher
Sensoled
SensOLED Pod is a human-centric design concept targeted towards the healthcare and education sectors. It aims to empower people in a disadvantaged situation due to a pandemic, illness, progressive health condition, a temporary hospital admission or unable to access education or work physically. It is designed to improve mental health conditions through the powerful recreations of real environments through the OLED self light emissive display. It works in relation to the health and well-being of the user by providing an immersive, yet secure and private cocoon where one can explore their own journey of recovery.
The design functions as a sensory pod, where children with autism are helped to feel calm, supported and focused. By default, the design provides physical and mental stimulus for people with physical disabilities, developmental delays and sensory impairments. Due to the incredible technology behind the OLED display, people with physical and mental disabilities can benefit from the interaction with the display, whilst being in a relaxing bodily situation. The reciprocity with the sensory stimuli will help them develop their sight, touch, sound and hearing, as well as encourage their independence.
The circular design characteristics of the product allows a group of people to be linked together in an endless cylindrical impressive experience, whether in a hospital, at school or at a learning centre.
The product doesn't detach the user from real-life experiences. It uses the advancements of digital language to recreate real imagery, inducing feelings of biophilia (through projection of different forms of life such as forests, oceans and mountains) and tranquillity (through projection of space images and stargazing). The flexibility, portability and lightness of the product provides a perfect opportunity for an educational and healthcare evolution that will make sure full inclusiveness for all people regardless their age, race, abilities or gender.
The role environment plays on our mental health, and the quality of our healing process, has been long well known. For many, thoughts of hospital or healthcare and healing settings are not associated with calming places of recuperation, but rather hostile experiences. Research has shown that art, in particular nature scenes, can have a vital and often unappreciated contribution to aiding both mental and physical rehabilitation for patients suffering from different conditions. Projection of nature can actively reduce recovery times, pain and medication requirements. Being surrounded by natural landscapes and wildlife triggers a positive emotional association process in the brain, which can have a profoundly beneficial effect on our state of mind, our rest and anxiety levels.
Taking the above into account, we have created a recovery pod, which is targeted for people, who have to undergo a healing process. People, who belong to the marginalised group of people, having to be isolated from their everyday routine such as play, education and work. SensOLED Pod functions as a cocoon, which could be distributed to hospitals, learning centres, schools and even at a person’s own home environment. It helps people with various underlying conditions recover faster by giving them the sensory stimuli, required for speeding the process up.
SensOLED Pod can have a transformational effect on both patients and their carers’ well-being as it will provide a ‘zen den’ habitat for connecting, cultivating and learning through harmony and restoration.
It is designed for an inclusive recovery process for everyone and it could be applied to any healing environment such as the postnatal ward, rehabilitation centre, neurology department or even to cancer centres such as Maggie’s. People in recuperation are vulnerable and could require additional support, therefore the pod is designed in a way to accommodate for a second supporting partner.
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COLLABORATION WITH ZARYA VRABCHEVA