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Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH), located in Nedlands, Western Australia, was designed with a child-centred approach to reduce anxiety and create a comforting, playful environment for young patients and their families. The hospital uses colour, nature-inspired design, and environmental graphics throughout its spaces—including the lift interiors—to transform what can be a stressful hospital experience into one that feels approachable, safe, and visually engaging. While much attention is given to PCH’s overall architecture and healing-focused interiors, the lift system plays a critical role in the patient, visitor, and staff journey. Given that lifts are one of the first interior spaces encountered inside the hospital, their design directly contributes to the hospital’s commitment to reducing stress and fostering delight.
The hospital’s lift interiors were intentionally designed to be:
1. Child-Friendly & Anxiety-Reducing
The design emphasises friendly, non-institutional visual elements. Each lift bay features playful graphics, bright colours, and nature-inspired motifs tailored for young users. This aligns with the hospital’s overarching design philosophy of transforming functional spaces into therapeutic ones.
2. Simple, Intuitive Wayfinding Through Colour
PCH uses four colour-coded lift bays—Green, Yellow, Pink, and Blue—each with matching interior graphics. This system helps children and families navigate the hospital more easily by associating destinations with colours rather than text-heavy signage.
3. A Visual “Wonderland” That Fits the Hospital’s Identity
The lift interiors are part of the hospital-wide aesthetic strategy that includes pops of vibrant colour, playful imagery, and child-level discoveries that turn mundane transitions into moments of interest
Solutions
Dewhurst supplied IP54-rated pushbuttons, specifically selected to withstand the environmental conditions affecting the external-facing lift installations at Dawson HDB.
Key elements of the solution included:
Designed to protect against dust ingress and water splashes, significantly improving reliability compared to previously installed competitor products.
Higher IP-rated pushbuttons (IP54)
Direct replacement of existing indicators:
Standard indicators were replaced as part of a planned cyclical replacement programme, ensuring consistency, reliability, and minimal disruption
On-site measurement and analysis:
Dewhurst conducted detailed on-site measurements and assessments to ensure accurate specification, correct fitment, and smooth installation.
Proven performance advantage:
While competitor products had failed under the same environmental conditions, Dewhurst’s higher IP-rated solution remained fully operational, reinforcing the value of correct specification over lowest-cost alternatives.
Lift Bay Themes & Usage
Green Lift Bay
• Features decorative walls depicting lawn and ladybirds, creating a whimsical garden-like environment. • Services the Basement to Car Park levels, making it one of the most frequently used public lifts. • Acts as an early touchpoint for families arriving onsite, setting a positive visual tone for the visit.
Pink Lift Bays
• Features decorative walls depicting pink bubbles, creating a dreamy vibrant feel. • Services publicly accessible floor levels. • Use the same colour-coordinated interior graphics to reinforce consistency and wayfinding.
Lift Bay Themes & Usage
Yellow Lift Bays
• Features decorative walls depicting pencils, creating a playful & creative environment. • Services publicly accessible floor levels. • Use the same colour-coordinated interior graphics to reinforce consistency and wayfinding.
Blue Lift Bay
• Provides back-of-house, controlled access only, ensuring clinical and operational flows remain separate from public circulation. • Sleek linished stainless-steel wall panels are complimented by backlit illuminated cloud ceilings, ensuring patients are relaxed when being transported. • Although not publicly accessible, it maintains the same cohesive graphic system.
