By HFT Staff

Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona treats about 70,000 kids annually. When the hospital’s advisory board began discussing what improvements could be made to make the building more welcoming for children, they thought it was important to ask their young patients for input.  

One piece of feedback was about a particular hallway that David Lenhardt, chairman of the hospital’s advisory board, describes as “the main artery of this hospital.” Almost every patient in the hospital travels through this corridor at some point during their stay, and originally it was long, windowless, and plain beige. For kids on their way to surgery and other procedures, being wheeled on a gurney down this bleak hall tended to increase their anxiety instead of easing it. The hallway needed a makeover. And so, the project became, as Lenhardt defines it, “all about the transformative power of art to heal children.” 

While the hospital desired the hallway to have an aesthetic makeover, they couldn’t set aside the practical aspect of the facility. The walls needed to be durable, protected against bumps, scratches, and daily wear and tear. Acrovyn by Design wall protection was the answer for both. “[The hospital] went with Acrovyn so that it could be cleaned, and it was extremely durable,” says Liz Watzlavik, project manager at DPR Construction.  

To brighten the hallway, the hospital tapped contemporary artist Shara Hughes, who created drawings on more than 60 sheets of paper to tell the story embedded in the mural. Hughes used crayons, markers, and watercolors because those are the mediums kids would use, and it helps the artwork feel more accessible to children. The mural is truly accessible because with Acrovyn, images are embedded behind a protective sheet and cannot be damaged, so kids are able to touch the surface, putting their hands on the images.  

The corridor is now vibrant and full of color, bearing almost no resemblance to its dreary former self. The finished installation, titled “Wonder and Wander,” is comprised of 140 panels that display more than 1,000 feet of floor-to-ceiling, interactive artwork for visitors to touch. The nature of Acrovyn sheeting allows the mural to appear as one continuous drawing, flowing down the hallway around doors and elevators.