ABSTRACT
The fear of dying on a large public ward was one of the driving forces in the creation of the hospice movement, and the early adoption of the single patient room was one of its most distinctive features. However, even single rooms can lack character and can make their inhabitants feel isolated and cut off from life. Getting the shape and feel of a patient room, its orientation to the world outside as much as its connection to the life of the rest of the building, remains a crucial architectural challenge.
