With large-scale changes in technology and society, the narrative of architecture in the twentieth century is one of the birth of Modernism and the diverse responses to it. In essence, the term "modern" emphasizes a focus on the present, but this definition differs from that of the first half of the 20th century where it came to refer to a particular approach by a group of architects who had a pre-eminent approach to architecture . Modern architecture sought to reject ornamentation and historical precedent and instead embraced minimalism and brought uniformity to the field of architecture. American architect Louis Henry Sullivan's famous principle “form follows function” became the mantra of many modernist architects such as Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. It was only in the mid-1960s that the rejection of the simple, functional forms of Modernism and the lack of emphasis on history could be seen. This refusal appeared as the new era of postmodernism that was established on July 15, 1972, at approximately 3:32 pm, with the demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe housing development project in St. Louis, Missouri. These residential towers, intended to address the ills of poverty as a solution to low-income housing, were subject to two decades of turmoil before the apartment complex's final destruction. Architectural theorist Charles Jencks declared in his 1977 publication, The Language of Post-Modern Architecture, that demolition was the “death of modern architecture.” The modern movement as its pioneers understood it was now over with the onset of the postmodern era. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Although the definition of postmodernism has always been a subject of confusion, many critics believe that postmodernism was nothing more than a reaction against modernism. While modernists focused on simplicity, postmodernism embraced “complex and contradictory layers of meaning.” The development process of this movement can be seen in “Architecture Itself and Other Postmodernist Myths,” an exhibition at the Canadian Center for Architecture in Montreal curated by Sylvia Lavin, professor of architecture at Princeton University. The exhibition revolves around the idea of ​​the process of “post modernisation” focusing on the conditions that shaped architecture between 1965 and 1990 – from the emergence of technology to the growing power of architectural institutions. Lavin explores postmodernism returning to its humanistic glory after modernism has “abstracted the body into a machine” in gallery six, Bodies Return, of his exhibition at the Canadian Center for Architecture. The gallery not only explores the architectural elements of the era, but also expresses the new concerns that came with it, such as health, gender, race, sexuality and other issues. The presence of such problems was evident in architect Bertrand Goldberg's Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago in 1975. Goldberg's connection to the famous modernist art school Bauhaus and his commitment to healthcare architecture show his roots in modernism. On the opposite side of the spectrum, his interest in highly specialized forms of medicine and in particular meeting the needs of pregnant women, as in Prentice Women's Hospital, is not typical of modernist ideology. His design of the hospital was progressive with its centralized plan and emphasis on making the facility more suitable for its users. This article explores the impact of postmodernism on hospital design and how it has reshaped accommodationof people in hospitals. The essay not only focuses on how patients' families were housed in postmodern medical institutions, but also explores the connection of the postmodern era with social issues that can be seen with the inclusion of the abortion suite system. Prentice hospital. It essentially focuses on exploring the progressiveness of the hospital which can be seen from the bronze aluminum and glass panel window of the Prentice Women's Hospital, displayed in the Sylvia Lavin exhibition at the Canadian Center for Architecture in Montreal. The postmodern era has allowed hospital architecture to be considered a specialty. Architects moved from designing hospitals like other large institutions such as prisons and schools, where the floor plan and exterior were equally significant, to designing hospitals as they should have been, where the organization of the floor plan became the primary focus; improve the building user experience. American architect and industrial designer, Bertrand Goldberg emphasizes the importance of floor plan in a variety of his projects such as Marina City, Hilliard Homes and especially in the Prentice Women's Hospital and Maternity Center in downtown Chicago; underlining his idea of ​​creating "vertical communities" through careful organization of spaces. Designed in 1971, Prentice was a Brutalist design that featured a nine-story concrete quatrefoil tower with oval windows; one of which is exhibited at the CCA. The hospital's architecture framed an experience-focused space and therefore provided an interactive and open environment for patients and their families. The centralized tower was used as a maternity centre, with nursing stations located near the nucleus and hospital rooms set back in the corners of the "cloverleaf plan"; focusing on the reception of people within hospitals as he confirmed in a 1992 interview, "what I believe I have tried to translate in its many forms is the tendency of people to relate to each other". Essentially, Prentice Women's Hospital was a maternity center with pragmatic purposes. The tower was cantilevered on a five-story glazed rectangular structure, detaching it from being seen as a pure Brutalist building. At first glance, there are several elements of Prentice that scream the word “Modernism,” especially with Goldberg's connection to the Bauhaus and his description of the superstructure as influenced by its function. However, the influence of form on function is what distinguishes Prentice from other modernist buildings and classifies it as a postmodern hospital. In the absence of a clear definition of postmodern buildings, some elements of Prentice Hospital that can be considered postmodern should be addressed. Fundamentally, postmodernism aims to make a structure more suitable for its use; “have a greater meaning”. This can be seen in Goldberg's design of the four-leaf clover built around socialist principles, dividing the tower into four areas, fostering a sense of community among patients. Architectural historian and university professor Annmarie Adams, in her book Medicine by Design: The Architect and the Modern Hospital, confirms that “postmodern hospitals are built around patient-centered care.” This shows that postmodern hospital designs have enabled a better patient experience. The inclusion of curved shapes, decorative elements, bright colors and features often borrowed from previous periods are all characteristics of a postmodernist structure, some of which are seen in Prentice Women's Hospital. We often tend to break down large buildings into different forms, sometimes representingdifferent functions of those parts of the building. This can be seen in the placement of the tower containing the patient care rooms, set on a rectangular podium containing the various other functions of the hospital. Goldberg's desire to express a more organic way of doing architecture through his floor plan moves away from the grid formations favored in modern architecture. Essentially, through the use of interlocking Roman arches beneath the Brutalist tower and a combination of architectural influences such as Brutalism and the Metabolist movement of Japanese architects such as Kenzo Tange and Fumihiko Maki, Prentice Hospital can be classified as a postmodern structure; contrary to modern hospital design which had begun to realize the need for flexible spaces and adaptability to the changing needs of medical technology. Known as “complex, high-tech bodies,” modern hospitals focused on disease even as they consistently neglected the emotional dimension of patients. and spiritual needs. “The terrible moments of patients' suffering were hidden behind facades of steel and frosted glass,” says American historian Guenter B. Risse in “Humanizing Hospital Space.” Such medical institutions were considered intimidating, stressful, and impersonal by many patients due to the dimly lit spaces, noise, and lack of windows; contributing to the patient's sensory deprivation problem, exacerbating the patient's suffering and thus making the hospital inhospitable. An official from San Diego Children's Hospital declared that "design is now an essential strategic element for our future." Problems with patient experience are evident in modernist structures, however, postmodernism is one response that provides solutions to all these problems, reshaping the accommodation of people in hospitals. Prentice Women's Hospital places great emphasis on “humanism,” considered by Risse to be a “trendy postmodern code word.” It focuses on meeting human needs, one of the main ideas that postmodernism brought to hospital design. The McGill University Health Center maintains that “the built environment is a tool in the healing process that can complement and enhance the skills, experience, scale of care and high-tech support of healthcare workers.” Goldberg and other postmodernist architects called for a move away from the idea of ​​designing a "super-hospital" and toward creating smaller, residential-type rooms that were spacious, painted in light colors, furnished with tables and chairs, equipped of telephones and natural lighting, creating a more comfortable environment not only for patients, but also for their families. It was during this period that patients began to be increasingly regarded as “valued guests” in a community. Prentice Hospital's floor plan essentially divided the inpatient departments into four communities, creating a homelike environment for patients as they interact with their neighbors. Guenter B. Risse also states that “patients become partners in their care” and that this sense of community improves patient satisfaction. Another hospital space located within this community is the centralized nursing area. Because hospitalized people require human contact to catalyze the healing process, postmodern plans like Prentice's allowed for frequent communication with patients and their caregivers. One of the most impressive features of the hospital, according to Prentice's promotional brochure, would be the inclusion of “Family Centered Maternity Care.” Inspired by the idea that the wholefamily should participate in the birth, instead of mothers working alone with doctors and nurses, this new idea meant that fathers could be present during labor and birth. This has certainly improved the patient experience, unlike previous hospitals where fathers were segregated in waiting rooms during delivery and babies were kept in glass-walled nurseries until it was time to be taken home. In “Designing for 'little convalescents',” says Professor Annemarie Adams, “the postmodern hospital marks a curious return to the earlier attitude that children's health is a family matter.” Similarly, Prentice Women's Hospital classifies the birth process as a "family affair." The McGill University Health Center states that the patient and family are critical to participation in the healing process. Risse supports this statement, classifying patients as “carents” and family members as “carers”. Prentice's centralization plan was designed to allow for comfort by creating a home-like environment that would reduce patient stress and encourage family participation. It is without a doubt that with the advent of postmodernism the “humanized” approach and the quality of hospital space were considered significant. In 1984, a study declared that placing patients in contact with nature was extremely beneficial to them. The oval-shaped window at Prentice Hospital not only symbolized contact with life, but also increased the quality of patient care by improving the lighting within the facility. The study also states that the windows “record diurnal and seasonal changes that are essential to prevent sensory deprivation and ensure proper functioning of biorhythms.” The inclusion of windows within the departments was a step towards a more user-friendly patient experience. Prentice Women's Hospital took a more humane approach to women's healthcare and is considered an important milestone in the development of 20th century medicine. During the 1970s, American life was undergoing seismic changes, as was American medicine. Changing attitudes about women's roles in society, family planning, and doctor-patient relationships were all enacted in Prentice's program. Revolving around the same idea of ​​having a “humanized” environment, the inclusion of an abortion room connected to a psychological center was present in the Prentice hospital as Goldberg believed that abortion was both a physical and psychological event. This occurred around the same time as the legalization of abortion rights and the inclusion of women in the architecture profession, with women representing approximately 50% of the student population at many major schools. Postmodernism brought healthcare facilities into a community and signaled that hospitals are not only spaces of high stress and trauma, but are also places to build relationships. As time passed, however, postmodernist hospital designs tended to shift towards consumerism. The contribution of postmodernism to hospital projects is not limited only to the physical accommodation of people. It introduced intense competition among patients and more demanding consumerism that became the drivers leading to further changes in hospital architecture. Hospitalized people were identified as valuable “marketing targets” and the main objective was “customer safety”. The very design of the hospital together with its staff has created positive experiences for the..