The interdisciplinary conceptualization of future proofing in the context of hospital buildings

Due to constantly changing requirements, future proofing is increasingly seen as an urgent need in hospital building design. However, as knowledge on future proofing hospital building design is yet to be consolidated, this study reviews the literature to clarify understanding of the concept in hospital building contexts. A scoping review methodology was considered appropriate to elucidate concepts in the literature. As future proofing has been developed in multiple industries, an interdisciplinary approach is taken to investigate the concept across three contexts: design (in general), the built environment and hospital buildings. Findings reveal that most studies adopted a crisis-driven approach to conceptualize future proofing–largely limited to consideration of adaptability and resilience. By synthesizing the data, the research provides a comprehensive definition of future proofing by answering the WHY, WHAT and HOW of its application to hospital building design. A future proofing model is proposed that is composed of passive–active and reactive–proactive dichotomies that identify four future proofing objectives. These objectives are addressed via six future proofing capabilities: maintainability, resilience, changeability, mitigation, improvement and transition. The study clarifies future proofing objectives in hospital building design and informs directions for further research and dialogue in policy, research, education and practice.