Retail and Healthcare Architecture: The commonalities and differences in design approach
Retail centres and hospitals appear vastly different, yet their design principles share many commonalities. At Graceland Architects, we apply our specialised healthcare design expertise to retail developments, improving efficiency, safety, and overall user experience. Learn how strategic planning, robust material selection, and service coordination can enhance retail investment and customer satisfaction.
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Date Posted:
March 18, 2025
Retail and Healthcare Architecture: The commonalities and differences in design approach
Introduction
Retail centres and healthcare facilities, at first glance, appear to be very different from one another. Functionally, operationally and aesthetically these two architectural typologies are poles apart. Or are they?
In this article we explore the similarities and differences between these two typologies and how we, at Graceland Architects, apply our specialist healthcare design expertise to a retail development.
We highlight how we aim to improve our retail clients’ return on investment by looking at things differently.
Definition of Retail and Healthcare buildings
What is a Retail Building?
Ancient markets were the shopping centres of their time and more recently, the high street was where most retail activity took place. In the 1950s the shopping mall as we have come to know it appeared. The self-contained, climate controlled shopping centre was a response to suburbanisation and the rise of car culture. Architecturally, the mall resulted in large blank edifices that contributed very little to the urban context, carried bright signage and incorporated farmland size parking areas.
With changing market demands, customer needs and broader economic influences like the advent of e-commerce, the shopping mall had to reinvent itself and by the late 2010s, retail centres had become steadily more multi-functional, offering not only shopping, but offices, health-and-wellness, hospitality and residential. The live, work, play notion – or experiential retail – took root as a way to attract customers and provide them with an environment where a broad set of retail needs could be met, thus differentiating the brick-and-mortar mall from its online competitors.
What is a Hospital?
Perhaps a silly question but hospitals nowadays are buildings that offer a variety of healthcare functions within self-contained, climate controlled environments. In private hospitals, a shop, kiosk and a restaurant along with consulting suites, a retail pharmacy and a privately operated radiology department all provide auxiliary services needed for a hospital to achieve its primary function: healthcare provision to admitted patients.
Telehealth (Utilising electronic information and telecommunications technologies to deliver healthcare services remotely, enabling patients to connect with healthcare providers from a distance) has altered the face of healthcare provision: how and where we access healthcare advice and treatment has changed dramatically. The advent of remote consulting and, indeed, remote surgical operating permits hospitals to be smaller and more compact. Advances in medical procedures encourages same-day patient discharges either to their homes or to smaller step-down facilities, freeing up critically needed acute beds.
Globalisation has given rise to the possibilities of worldwide pandemics: how do hospitals contend with a drastic short-term increase in patient numbers during an outbreak while being able to shrink back to general occupancy levels?
“Both share a requirement for constant evolution to remain relevant to the services and products they offer.”
Architectural and Functional Similarities
Wait, part of the private hospital description sounds awfully similar to the retail centre definition. It’s true there are distinct, critical differences that should be taken into account, but the similarities are remarkable.
Both share a requirement for constant evolution to remain relevant to the services and products they offer. Each building is carefully planned to ensure the most effective use of space and optimised operational workflows.
As urban space constraints increase and costs continue to rise, both have to accommodate tighter budgets and a more responsible development approach.
Conventionally, there are other similarities that require consideration for the benefit of the users. Elements like access to natural light and universal accessibility.
Cultural requirements are important: a hospital and shopping centre in Accra would differ from those constructed in Nairobi for example.
Material selection: both typologies are high use facilities and require robust, durable materials to maintain a functional building.
“Each one of these steps provides a specific service backed up by the auxiliary functions within the hospital and each step needs the other in order to conclude”
What are Some of the Differences Between Hospitals and Retail Centres?
Parallel and Sequential Service Provision Methodologies
A core difference between the two typologies is that as retail centres concentrate on the sale of goods and services; the provision of these are often done in parallel as certain retailers sell different products and use various methods to do so. It is the retail centre’s responsibility to help create an environment that actively engages consumers and enhances their shopping experience by providing entertainment and shopping options in the correct tenant mix for the economic benefit of all retailers.
Hospitals provide a sequential service: patients consult their physician, a decision is taken on whether to admit the patient; the patient undergoes required treatment and is discharged. Each one of these steps provides a specific service backed up by the auxiliary functions within the hospital. Each step needs the other in order to conclude.
It this sense, hospital design focusses on the core requirements of clinicians, nursing staff, back-of-house staff, administrative and technical staff in support of one another in the pursuit of positive patient outcomes, whereas retail centres provide a one-stop destination that cater to the needs of the retailers and consumers without the necessity for sequential service delivery.
Back of House
Both retail facilities and hospitals rely on efficient behind-the-scenes operations: retailers emphasise inventory management and merchandising, whereas hospitals prioritise supply chain logistics, waste management, and support services like food and laundry handling. Each sector tailors its service operations to meet its specific needs to ensure smooth, efficient functioning.
Hospitals are a more homogenous ecosystem where centralised BOH services distribute to satellite units within the hospital. Examples include central kitchens with delivery to ward kitchens. Central laundries that dispatch and receive linen from depots throughout the facility.
Shopping centres are made up of several tenants, each with their own operational requirements: delivery and dispatch; inventory management and waste disposal. With shopping centres, several BOH functions may be duplicated to accommodate these differing management and operational structures.
Separation of Flow
Hospitals rely on a separation of flow to maintain high levels of infection control and enhance patient safety. For example, the flow of staff, instruments and patients within the theatre complex is a finely choreographed routine which is subject to approval by regulatory bodies.
Retail centres also provide a separation of flow, although this is mainly to ensure safety and security of stock and inventory management. Some requirements may be controlled by regulatory requirements – specifically in food and beverage offerings.
“In order to Adhere to regulatory and legislative requirements in terms of facility functionality, we prepare custom room data sheets that may be typically applied to various room types.”
How do We Bring Hospital Design to Retail Centres
User Safety
Hospitals require keen knowledge of safety regulations, none more so than that of fire safety. Our knowledge of standardised fire regulations and the application thereof in sensitive healthcare environments means we are able to work closely with the fire consultants to ensure optimum space usage and safe zone compartmentalisation when designing for buildings with high occupancy levels.
Our knowledge of materials and layouts which efficiently manage patient fall risk may be applied directly to the retail environment: slip resistant floor specifications, specialised lighting layouts and stringent ablution facility planning ensures we are able to provide consumers with a comfortable and safe shopping environment.
Fitting and Fixtures
Hospitals are high traffic, high wear-and-tear environments. Our expertise in developing robust specifications for the healthcare sector is readily suited to retail centres, themselves high use environments. Where ongoing repair work can prove costly, we help our clients minimise unnecessary facility maintenance costs by incorporating durable product choices.
Standardised Specification Management
In order to adhere to regulatory and legislative requirements in terms of facility functionality, we prepare custom room data sheets that may be typically applied to various room types. This approach is easily used in the retail sector ensuring continuity of function, level of finish and equipment specification. As our client’s budgets and specification requirements change, we assist them to develop and evolve their specifications ensuring they always receive the best value for money through improved purchasing power as well as enhanced aftersales service by the approved suppliers.
Services Co-ordination
Hospitals have specific building services needs and these are often housed in tight ceiling void spaces or confined vertical ducting.
Where lettable space is at a premium, providing our retail clients with carefully co-ordinated services reticulation options means they can maximise their lettable area while optimising access to their services for maintenance purposes.
Working with trusted building services engineers means we can assist in developing the most economical service reticulation design that is well co-ordinated, preventing unnecessary services clashing and optimum service runs.
Conclusion
Hospitals provide an environment where, as a destination, patients receive treatment in a sequential and methodical fashion. It requires understanding all of the background tasks and services required to deliver treatment to patients.
Although the technicalities of hospital design are varied and complex, these may be effectively applied to a retail environment to ensure a simple, efficient layout. The incorporation of robust finishes will enhance customer experience and improve safety. The knowledge of efficient back-of-house services helps to provide an economically sound retail investment.
Applying careful planning strategies assists in minimising non-lettable area that subsequently lowers building costs and improves a return on investment.
Speak to us about your next retail centre for a fresh perspective and positive results.
References
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