CW+ Sensory Rooms

Many children visiting hospital have autism or additional needs. We were commissioned by CW+ charity to design m mobile sensory trolleys and a sensory room to make visiting the dental ward at Chelsea and Westminster a calmer and more colourful experience.

The site for the sensory room was a small out of use dental lab. We optimised the limited space by designing built in furniture, including a padded bench and storage cupboard with integrated curved seat. LED lighting was set behind bespoke curved wall pads to create a gentle undulating glow across the room.

The room was brought to life with specialist sensory equipment including an LED colour changing tube, fibreoptic cables, water projector and bluetooth speakers. Controls and hardware were securely stored within the built in joinery items, which were purpose designed to accommodate them.

A concurrent project saw the design of bespoke sensory trolleys for use in other clinical environments that can otherwise be distressing for children - such as recovery rooms. The trolleys provide sensory equipment such as infinity tunnels and fibre optic cables in a safe, compact and easily transportable unit. 

A palette of calming blues and greens was applied across both the trolleys and interiors. Space and budget was limited, but by working closely with the hospital charity, clinical staff and specialist manufacturers, we created a fully accessible, user-controlled sensory environments to distract and calm children - allowing them to more easily access hospital treatment.