“Waking up to the sun” — office excursion to UCP Groningen

What better way to do on International Day of Light than an office trip to a project where light plays an essential role? That's why on May 16, we visited the UCP, our recently completed, new psychiatric hospital at the UMCG in Groningen - a building where daylight consciously contributes to the recovery of patients.

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One of the central principles behind the design for the UCP is “Waking up to the sun”. The patient rooms in the UCP all have morning light, so that when they wake up, people can sit on their window sill, with the sun on their faces. However, light is not only important in the morning, but throughout the day, because it influences the human biorhythm throughout the day; that's why the light “follows” UCP patients, with afternoon and evening light in the living rooms and plenty of daylight in the corridors.