Abstract

COVID19 pandemic acted as the icebreaker by jolting the healthcare infrastructure of Pakistan towards its capacity to cope with transformation challenges for healthcare facilities, raising concerns for future epidemics as well as highlighting how cultural influences can hinder or facilitate transformation challenges. Hence there existed a need to explore how transformative healthcare architectural design with integration of cultural values may contribute to the future challenges. Based on the previous exploration from medical teams in COVID19 centers, Virtual Reality (VR) based design interventions were modeled and later evaluated using endusers participation from diversified cultural perspectives for better design evolution to meet transformation endeavors during future epidemics while keeping the existing physical infrastructure operational for allied usages in non-epidemic times. Hence it lead to adaptable, resilient and sustainable healthcare design interventions. Using VR models, VR headsets and animations, endusers feedback was gathered and proposed design interventions were developed for two explored sites. Results showed positive responses as well as future directions based on integrating cultural prospects into the design of healthcare facilities and transformation strategies to meet the future epidemic challenges in Pakistan.