Redefining the intersection of design, research, and healthcare.
The Innovation Lab at the LUCA School of Arts operates at the very center of the Flemish care ecosystem. We bring transformative design practices directly into the healthcare sector, tackling "wicked problems"; the tough, systemic issues that lack simple answers, such as autonomy in dementia care, healthcare staff burnout, and accessible mental health care.
While the value of design in creative fields is self-evident, a recent mapping of the Flemish care landscape identified a critical gap: there is currently insufficient demand for 'caring' designers because the healthcare sector does not yet fully recognize the added value of design.
We are here to change that.
For more information, contact:
eveline.vanlooveren@luca-arts.be
or
fien.rebry@luca-arts.be
The Caring Innovation Lab bridges this gap through a hands-on, cross-disciplinary approach. Driven by the real-world needs of the care sector, we develop practical tools, methods, frameworks, products, and services that prove the undeniable value of design in health and wellness.
We create individual impact
Generating direct value for individual care recipients and providers by developing relevant products and services.
Project Example: Collaborating with a care software developer, a home care organization, the UCLL IT department, and LUCA interface designers to implement AI tools in the homes of elderly residents.
We create organisational impact
Transforming organizational structures and offering practical, reflective answers to institutional healthcare questions.
Project Example: Reconsidering how care assistants with migration backgrounds are integrated into residential care centers. This connects Thomas More teacher training, LUCA service designers, cultural mediators, care networks (e.g., ICURO), and a cultural design agency.
We create systemic impact
Questioning, supporting, and reshaping insitutional and national healthcare policy.
Project Example: Studio Wellbeing, a research initiative of the Interior Design programme, brings together research and practical experience to enhance the well-being of those who inhabit working and living spaces in long-term residential care. Through evidence-based choices in lighting, color, and form, Studio Wellbeing created a toolkit for care facilities to support them in making choices about interior spaces resulting in people feeling safe, comfortable, and secure.
Where We Operate & Who We Are
The Caring Innovation Lab collaborates closely with the existing Caring And Design Research Cluster within LUCA, operating across the Genk, Ghent, and Brussels campuses. Are you a healthcare provider, policy maker, industry leader, or researcher looking to solve complex care challenges? Let’s collaborate.