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Chaos doesn’t have to be the norm in medical offices. You can transform yours into an efficient one by first identifying where the bottlenecks are in its workflow. Do patients often have to wait for a long time before they get to see someone? Where is the holdup?

 

After you’ve pinpointed what the greatest causes for delays are, you can re-design your medical office accordingly:

 

Automation of information

One of the timeless and most efficient investments you can make is changing the way your office handles information. With the advent of so many cloud-based applications and databases, there’s no reason why patient records need to be processed via paper files. Encourage your patients to book their appointments online and fill out any forms you need before their appointments.

When they arrive, all the receptionist has to do is send the up-to-date patient record and appointment reason to the central electronic database queue of the day’s appointments. Nurses and medical practitioners will then have all the patient’s relevant information right on whichever workstation they happen to be at.

 

Waiting room comfort

A major cause of patient dissatisfaction is, naturally, having to wait in the first place. Even though it may not be possible to eliminate waiting times altogether, you can still make them as painless as possible. The key is to keep patients occupied. If they’re missing any forms or their records haven’t been updated in a while, give them a tablet to fill out electronically so your database gets updated right away with the current information.

Apart from that, the waiting room should be inviting with warm colours and finishes. Above all, put in comfortable furniture that matches your patients’ needs.

 

Double exam rooms

Instead of allotting one exam room for every doctor or medical practitioner, make sure they each have at least two exam rooms. That way, one patient can go through a pre-appointment checkup with a nurse in one room while the medical practitioner finishes up with the previous patient in the next room. This will decrease the amount of idle time for everyone, including the patients.

 

One-way loop

Think about the procedures needed as your patients go through a typical appointment in your office. Then, arrange the layout in a logical way that takes the patient on a single path that keeps moving forward until he or she loops back to the other side of the waiting room to check out with reception. No confused patients, no delays from miscommunications.

 

As you can see, the cure for medical office inefficiency really comes down to one concept: thorough and thoughtful design.

 

What defines modern design builds is the significant role that technology plays from concept to construction to innovative features. With increased technology though comes greater energy demands and that can add up to huge energy bills in the upkeep.

 

To save on energy costs and environmental impact in the long run, here are 3 sustainable technologies to consider for your energy needs:

 

Solar hot water tanks

The sun is the source of life for us and it has an immense amount of energy potential we’ve yet to tap into. Installing solar hot water tanks is one way to do so. Whether you use a flat-plate or an evacuated tube collector, you’re essentially taking advantage of hot sunlight on your roof to heat water for storage in your water tank at home. Some systems like evacuated tubes work efficiently even when the weather is overcast or freezing, which is great for Toronto’s climate.

 

Geothermal heating

Besides turning up to the sky for energy, we can also draw that from the ground. Geothermal heating is another sustainable technology like solar hot water tanks because no fuel has to be burned to create energy. Both vertical and horizontal closed-loop geothermal systems are really just transferring existing energy from outside your house to its interior or vice versa.

In the winter, geothermal heating brings natural underground heat into the house. During summers, the house is kept cool because the reverse happens where heat is taken out of the interior and into the ground. In short, it works like a giant refrigerator in both directions of heat transfer.

 

Green roofs

Although green roofs aren’t a technology per se, they’re an ingenious olden-day sustainable concept that’s been refurbished with modern techniques. Nowadays, durable waterproof membranes are laid down over roofs before putting in soil and vegetation. With this setup, green roofs naturally help with thermal insulation so that houses stay cool in the summer. In addition, they help decrease storm water runoff while increasing the longevity of the underlying roof structures.

 

Of course, all these sustainable technologies would be useless if the energy produced is not used efficiently. For that, you need smart home technology that often not only optimizes electricity use, but also saves you time by automating day-to-day tasks. With all these elements in place, your house would be the perfect platform to launch into the future.

 

It’s natural you want your luxury custom home to be as unique as possible. But rather than making it look too random, here are some architectural inspirations to draw from:

 

Colonial Revival

Everything is symmetrical with colonial revival houses, down to the placement of windows. It’s a geometry-filled style where a central hallway leads to all the rooms on each floor. The house’s two to three storeys are usually clad in clapboard siding or brick on rare occasions and topped off by a steep roof.

 

Craftsman

Drawn from the Arts and Craft movement, the craftsman style displays a love for nature and solid workmanship through the use of wood and stone as construction materials. It features a wide porch covered with a roof that’s supported by sturdy square columns that often flare out to wider bases. You can also see exposed rafters and beams beneath the deep, gradually sloping gable roof.

 

Modern

The sky is the limit when it comes to the look of modern design builds. The only focus is on function and clean, minimalistic lines. Despite the expansive windows and odd shapes often found on modern-style homes, they’re designed with energy efficiency in mind. Modern homes also don’t shy away from experimenting with unique construction materials as long as they serve a purpose.

 

Neoclassical

Think back to Ancient Greece and Rome. Neoclassical design goes back to the roots of their architecture with massive columns done in Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian styles. The predominately smooth, white exterior surfaces make the carved details of decorative mouldings and cornices stand out with refined purity.

 

Ranch

If you have a large plot of land, a ranch house may be just the style for you. Rather than building up, all the rooms are sprawled out on ground level. This is the kind of house that will help you stay down-to-earth through its use of strong, natural materials with rugged finishes. The simple wide-open layout is usually enclosed by a generous porch and back deck as well as a low-pitched gable roof.

 

Tudor Revival

Want to bring back the medieval days of yore? With solid construction from brick, stone, and stucco fitted with decorative timbers, you’ll feel like the lord or lady of a manor house. Many architectural details like the chimneys and casement windows are tall and narrow. These details along with a steep roof pitch all give height to the impressiveness of a Tudor Revival house.

 

Victorian

While symmetry is paramount in Colonial Revival houses, the Victorian style is the complete opposite. Asymmetry is a noble attribute and eclectic is the name of the game. Victorian houses distinguish themselves with steeply pitched gable roofs broken up by turrets, patterned shingles, and decorative trim. The exteriors are always brightly painted in pastel shades of various colours and finished with lace-like woodwork.

 

Now your dream house can serve as a firm bridge between architectural traditions and personal tastes!

 

Getting customers to walk into your restaurant is already a great achievement. Now how do you get them to stay and enjoy the experience at your restaurant? It all comes down to comfort.

 

These are the key ingredients that will set your customers at ease:

 

HVAC comfort

You want your customers to feel warm when they come in from the winter cold or stay cool from the summer heat. For that, you need an efficient HVAC system.

Proper ventilation is also important to get rid of lingering smells and make room for the fresh meal preparation scents wafting out from the kitchen.

 

Noise level

There should always be some background noise in the restaurant, whether that’s in the form of music or amplifying the existing restaurant din.

You can approach acoustic design in several ways. The obvious one is hooking up a good speaker system around the whole dining area so you can directly control the background music. Another subtle way to control sound is through the choice of materials during your restaurant’s renovation. Wood and other hard materials will bounce sound around while softer materials like carpet and drapes will absorb sound.

 

Privacy options

Every customer is unique and the same goes for their preferred restaurant experience. Some like to be right in the middle of a restaurant’s hustle and bustle; others like to dine in privacy with ample personal space. So be sure to cater to these two different types of clientele. Besides arranging your tables in the dining area’s open space, put in some booths or dividers for privacy.

 

Adequate lighting

As a general rule, warm lighting is ideal in a restaurant. Don’t mistake that with low lighting though! You should use a mix of both functional and ambience lighting so that your dishes are presented in the best light and still stay true to the mood you want.

 

Ideal window treatments

Sun glare at high noon and during sunsets is always a challenge because it’s distracting to both customers and staff. Think about what the ideal window treatments are to reduce sun glare in your restaurant. Do you want to adjust as needed throughout the day or just twice a day? What window covering style fits with your restaurant’s décor?

 

Above all, remember that every design choice should contribute to a noticeable theme. That’s going to be what makes your restaurant dining area attractive and Instagrammable!

 

As a company grows, the more it must adapt to a multi-generational office. It also depends on the industry you’re in, of course, and the makeup of its workforce.

 

To design your office to bring out the best in everyone, first take a look at what layout suits your company best. From there, you can tweak the design to suit each generation’s needs in your office:

 

Baby boomers

After the end of World War II began a new age of optimism. From 1946 to 1964, the babies born then grew up to lead the charge on the expansion of capitalism. Many have led a successful career and expect the recognition for their decades of hard work.

Having their own private office is important to them as is its size. The higher their position, the larger their office should be. Their desk and work chair should also be ergonomic. To support their working style, a desktop computer and a work landline phone should be provided.

 

Generation X

Born between 1965 and 1980, this is a highly independent generation with a penchant for entrepreneurship. They’re go-getters who require very little supervision. They believe that promotions should be earned by competent people and not handed out based on years put in.

Office size may not be as important to Generation X, but they definitely prefer private offices as well – complete with ergonomic furniture, desktop computer, and a work landline phone. They’re also open to the idea of telecommuting.

 

Millennials

They’re the first generation to grow up with digital technology as a part of their normal everyday lives. With birth years from 1981 to 1996, their affinity with tech means that it’s their preference for both collaboration and communication. They’re also more likely to seek out the next company that will reward them for their skills.

Most often prefer working from home, but they also thrive in open-concept office environments with spaces for breaks. They’re comfortable working with both desktop computers and laptops, though their workstations should be at stand-up desks.

 

Generation Z

Their lives began after 1997 and the dot-com crash. Although they’re just starting to enter the workforce now, they will be a generation to be reckoned with. Even more at home with tech than Millennials, recognition is not only valued from their leaders, but also among their peers. They will lead the way in the gamification of the workplace.

Open-concept offices are again preferred, but the idea of a workstation will be much looser. Laptops, smart phones, and tablets will reign supreme with most company applications and records accessed through the cloud.

 

Designing with your employees in mind means you value their contribution to the company. This all may seem like a lot of work, but remember that it’s always worth it to invest in renovating your office.

 

Already have the ultimate party backyard? Now let’s turn to the front. Although we’ve talked about making a grand entrance before, we haven’t covered how to draw people in through elegant front yard landscaping that’s also low-maintenance.

 

Here are some great ideas:

 

Get rid of the grass lawn

Or at least make it a small part of your front yard. Grass lawns are notoriously high-maintenance with all the mowing that’s needed. Plus, their constant watering and fertilizing schedule wastes a ridiculous amount of resources.

The smaller your lawn, the more space it’ll open up for more creative landscaping ideas in your front yard.

 

Hardscape the yard

Hardscaping sculpts the land with non-plant-based elements. This includes a combination of paved stones, rocks, gravel, landscape fabric, wood boxes, and even brick borders or walls.

This is where you can use your imagination to plan the layout of your front yard and how you want guests to travel through it. The walkway doesn’t always have to be in a straight line towards the front door! It’ll also make you think outside the box beyond the typical giant postage-stamp grass lawn. Hardscaping is what allows you to strike the balance between a sculpted look and a natural feel to your front yard.

 

Go native

One of the easiest ways to guarantee low maintenance is to get native plants that are well-suited to the climate you’re in. After all, they’ve already adapted to your home’s environment so you don’t have to do much to keep them healthy.

 

Plant with purpose

Rather than planting something just for looks, choose plants that are useful to both you and the environment.

For example, consider adding clover to your now smaller lawn. Clover helps maintain the greenness of lawns and even regulates the nitrogen in the soil. As a bonus, clover encourages enough biodiversity on your lawn to naturally control insect populations. Their flowers also serve as a much-needed nectar source for bees so that we can help them flourish again.

Another fantastic way to add easy-to-maintain function is through edible plants and herbs that are perennial. Rhubarb, asparagus, thyme, and sage will come every year even after our Canadian winters. The same goes for wild strawberries, some berry bushes as well as apple or hazelnut trees. Do your research and make sure that the plants are compatible with one another. It’s also nice if you plan it out so that their harvest seasons don’t arrive all at once.

 

We’ll leave you with a final note about tree-planting in particular. Whatever tree you decide to go with, make sure it doesn’t block direct view of the front door. That’s for both practical and feng shui purposes!