The Front Door Effect: Why Entry Design Matters in Pediatric Healing

For kids, even routine clinic visits can feel intimidating. Bright lights. Strange sounds. Unfamiliar faces. For pediatric patients with more serious conditions, hospital visits can be a major stressor, with up to 30% of them experiencing PTSD. First impressions—of people or places—play an outsized role in either pushing kids towards anxiety and negative feelings or towards trust. Yet too often the design of critical “first impression” spaces like pediatric entry and waiting areas is centered on distraction. The best-designed pediatric care environments do more than entertain—they invite curiosity, promote agency and enable kids to explore.

First impressions matter most in healthcare—and for children, the entry experience can be pivotal. The entry and common areas are the first thing kids see and the place they spend time trying to acclimate to their new surroundings. Waiting and wondering what comes next. Design that creates a sense of calm but also lets kids be kids—engaging their imagination, moving their bodies and providing a sense of new possibility— is critical to reducing stress in these moments.

Below, we explore four ideas on how entry and waiting area design can help kids be kids by looking at the UCSF Stad Center, a pediatric center for pain, palliative care and integrative medicine, Loma Land, an interactive environment at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, The Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone and the Montage Health Ohana Center for Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health.

Make the Common Uncommon

Anyone who remembers playing "the floor is lava" knows that kids’ imaginations can turn an ordinary setting into something extraordinary. So why can’t design do the same and repurpose common elements to transport kids to an accessible, yet magical place?

At the UCSF Stad Center, corridors, walls and seating in common areas double as spaces for art and interaction rather than merely functional spaces.

A sea of fish and coral backdrop a seating area, and forest-themed relief artwork wraps around the waiting room.

Within the Loma Linda University Medical Center lobby, Loma Land makes a big impact in a small footprint.

Designed by NBBJ’s experience design studio, ESI, the installation transforms a long, nondescript corridor into an interactive forest that invites curiosity and play.

Cultivate Curiosity

Attention is a superpower, and if focused in a positive direction it can dramatically reduce stress. Pediatric welcome and entrance spaces can be designed to draw kids in—make them curious about what they’re seeing and how they can interact with it.

At the Stad Center, the calming sound of falling water engages as kids approach a seemingly magical digital waterfall.

The water moves when kids touch the wall, revealing local wildlife.

As kids enter Loma Linda Children’s, their first encounter is with the large-scale, game-like world known as Loma Land.

They are immediately invited to create a forest avatar—an animal companion that comes to life—inspired by the local landscape and adorned with whimsical accessories, from acorn hats to rainbow fur.

Reward Exploration

Kids love to explore—and exploration thrives when things unfold over time. By embedding "Easter eggs" within an environment, creating changing interactive experiences, and rewarding kids’ curiosity with new experiences, pediatric settings can be more immersive and calming.

After they’ve created their forest avatar, kids at Loma Land can interact with the animal one-on-one or join animals created by other children, following them as they roam through the landscape.

Loma Land can also be updated with seasonal landscapes and themed content, making each visit a unique experience.

At the Stad Center, Bay Area-inspired natural environments come to life with interactive “bread crumbs” that provide surprising moments for all ages. A crab hides in the kelp, a fox slides from behind trees, a bunny springs into motion when pushed.

Empower Agency

A visit to the doctor can be intimidating—for kids in particular—in part because of lost agency: patients are told where to sit and left to wait until a caregiver can see them. Conversely, providing a sense of control over one’s environment can reduce stress and set kids’ minds at ease by providing interactive elements and a range of diverse settings to choose from.

At Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital, entry and common areas for the hospital-within-a-hospital incorporate a range of play areas and child-friendly artworks that allow kids to climb, hide and explore—depending on how they feel—rather than just wait.

The Ohana Center’s curving, transparent design showcases the diverse range of indoor and outdoor healing spaces—including gardens for therapy and use in cooking—where patients can choose to spend time.

These spaces are visible from the common and entry areas that overlook the campus.

Guided by neuroscience research, Ohana also provides spaces to promote patients’ sense of safety by allowing them to observe the surrounding environment while feeling protected, a concept known as "prospect and refuge."

The experience of care begins at the front door. When entry spaces spark curiosity and give kids a sense of choice, they turn fear into trust. Thoughtful design can transform uncertainty into wonder—opening the door to healing before care even begins.

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