Welcome to the International Academy for Design and Health
The International Academy for Design & Health is a global, interdisciplinary knowledge community dedicated to the stimulation and application of research concerning the interaction between design, health, science & culture.

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Click on the image to download the Call for Papers
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Providing a highly visible global forum for an ongoing exchange of research findings among scientists, designers and industry, we work in close partnership with our international network of governments, universities and commercial organisations to promote human health, wellbeing and quality of life through environmental design.
The centrepiece of our activities is the Design & Health World Congress & Exhibition, held recently in Boston, USA from 6-10 July and organised in partnership with the American Institute of Architects, Academy of Architecture for Health. Click here to download the congress presentations. For a slideshow of images of the congress, click here.
The 8th Design & Health World Congress will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 27 June-1 July 2012. Click on the image or here to download the Call for Papers. In 2013, the 9th Design & Health World Congress will be held in Brisbane, Australia. Bidding for the 2014 World Congress opens in January 2012.
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| The winning design, Protea Health |
The winners of a new international competition to design a ‘Health Promoting Lifestyle Centre’ for South Africa, have been announced by the International Academy for Design & Health in partnership with the Ministry of Health in South Africa.
Providing an open design brief, the competition, which was the first of its kind in Africa, asked entrants to design a new kind of health centre – one with a preventative, rather than a curative vision.
Focusing mainly on primary care, with an emphasis on health promotion, the design brief called for a friendly and welcoming facility that empowered the community towards self-care. Entrants were required to show an understanding of salutogenic health principles and how the physical environment can be a valuable tool for preventative medicine, as well as demonstrating environmentally-supportive design.
The winning design, Protea Health, submitted in a joint venture by Farrow Partnership Architects, Clark Nexsen and Ngonyama Okpanum & Associates, received a prize of €40,000, while the two highly commended designs, Triple Embrace by Nightingale Associates and Phila Kahle (‘Live Well’) by HLM Architects both received €20,000 each.
For more information on the competition, the international jury and the winning designs, click here
The 8th Design & Health World Congress will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 27 June-1 July 2012, as the globe's leading event in the field moves to an annual schedule for the first time.
Announced at the same time during the Gala Awards Dinner evening at this year's successful congress in Boston, USA, the 9th Design & Health World Congress will be held in Brisbane, Australia in July 2013.
For more information, click here to download the Call for Papers for the 8th Design & Health World Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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International speakers from Europe and North America joined together recently at Design & Health Africa 2011, an international symposium held from 25-26 October 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The symposium explored global salutogenic perspectives on the planning, procurement, design and operation of healthy facilities within the context of healthcare infrastructure development on the African sub-Saharan continent.
Click here to learn more about the event, see who the speakers and sponsors were, and to download the conference presentations
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Dr Julio Frenk, dean of the Harvard University School of Public Health |
The increasing costs and impact on human health of the rising incidence of chronic diseases across the Western world needs to be addressed by rethinking the way we design our environments to help people make healthier choices, agreed researchers at the 7th Design & Health World Congress in Boston, USA in July.
Organised by the International Academy for Design & Health in partnership with the American Institute of Architects, Academy of Architecture for Health (AIA-AAH), the event brought together leading researchers and practitioners from 35 different countries to explore how design can support human health, wellbeing and quality of life.
With the cost of healthcare in the USA forecast to rise to 19.5% of GDP by 2017, whilst male life expectancy levels has seen the country drop to 49th in the world, researchers agreed that increasing investment in medical interventions and disease-based approaches to healthcare are not addressing the problem, with more attention needed on environmental issues.
Dr Richard J Jackson, professor and chair of environmental sciences in the School of Public Health, UCLA said: “Even under the most optimistic estimates, of the 30 years of increased life expectancy achieved between the 1890s and 1990s, only 5 years can be attributed to medical care.”
Click here to download the Congress Presentations
Pentecost appointed President
Dr Ray Pentecost FAIA, FACHA, LEED AP has been appointed the new President of the International Academy for Design & Health (IADH).
Announced during the Gala Awards Dinner evening at the 7th Design & Health World Congress & Exhibition in Boston in July, Pentecost takes on the role following a successful term as president of the American Institute of Architects Academy of Architecture for Health.
Appointed by Dr Alan Dilani, founder and director-general of the IADH, Pentecost’s role will be to work closely with the IADH leadership to establish a platform for international growth in areas where the IADH is uniquely well-suited to have an impact.
The appointment of President is for a two year term with an option to extend by a further two years, with the agreement of the board.
Pentecost, who is a director of healthcare architecture for Clark Nexsen, will take on the role in a voluntary capacity.
Click here to read more about this story |
Academy recognises Parker
The revered architect and industry leader Derek Parker has been awarded the Lifetime Leadership Award by the International Academy for Design & Health.
The award, which recognises Derek Parker’s visionary career and an ongoing, lifelong commitment to enhancing the health, wellbeing and quality of people’s lives through his dedication to healthcare design, was presented at a prestigious ceremony during the 7th Design & Health World Congress & Exhibition in Boston, USA in July.
Eb Zeidler, winner of the inaugural 2010 Lifetime Leadership award made the presentation.
As well as leading Anshen + Allen to become one of the foremost global architects, Parker also co-founded the Center for Healthcare Design, and co-created the 'Fable Hospital', as a model for estimating the value of design impacts on healthcare operations and outcomes.
Click here to read more about this story
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| Dr Ray Pentecost, new president of the International Academy of Design & Health presenting the Academy's International Awards |
In a challenge to Europe and North America's pre-eminence in healthcare design, health facility projects from Singapore and Australia have proved that they can be the new standard bearers for health facility design.
Whilst the new Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Singapore were awarded a double prize, winning the Health Project (over 40,000 sqm) and the Sustainable Design Award, with the Ballarat Acute Mental Health Facility in Australia winning the Mental Health Design Award, high commendations were also awarded to the National Heart Centre in Singapore and the Brain and Mind Research Institute - Youth Mental Health Building in Sydney.
Announced at the prestigious Design & Health International Academy Awards in Boston on 9 July, the awards were presented by Dr Ray Pentecost (pictured), the newly appointed President of the International Academy for Design & Health on the final evening of the Design & Health World Congress in Boston. Twenty-six awards were made across 10 categories. Click here for details on the awards programme or to go direct to the winning schemes. |
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