by Brianna Crandall — December 30, 2015—The nonprofit Architects Foundation, along with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), recently issued its first progress report of the AIA’s Design and Health Research Consortium. The consortium helps translate research on the major trend of the influence of design on public health into architectural practice for policymakers, design and public health professionals and the general public.
The 2015 Progress Report covers consortium activities across a spectrum of research issues where design contributes to public health, from the effects of indoor temperatures on sleep deprivation and depression (University of Florida) to a “best design” competition for a mobile isolation treatment unit to combat the Ebola epidemic (Texas A&M University’s Center for Health Systems and Design.)
The major 2015 accomplishments of the eleven charter members of the AIA Design and Health Research Consortium, who ACSA says are influencing and fostering true change in both architectural education and practice, include:
- Garnering almost $12 million for research connecting design and health;
- Development and offering of more than 90 university courses on design and health, preparing the next generation of leaders for the design-health movement;
- Holding 140 public events, including at AIA chapters nationwide, connecting almost 2,000 design professionals and community members with design solutions to foster public health.
The AIA has organized its design and health initiative around six evidence-based approaches that architects can use at the building and urban scale. These six approaches — environmental quality, natural systems, physical activity, safety, sensory environments, and social connectedness — recognize that the physical environment creates health opportunities and facilitates positive health behaviors.
