The Intersection of Evidence-based Design and Sustainability
Bill Rostenberg, FAIA, FACHA
Principal and Director of Research
Anshen+Allen, USA
(Click to download full paper)
Sustainable design and evidence-based design are two powerful trends shaping healthcare architecture. Sustainable design addresses the design and operation of buildings to support improved ecological health and indoor environmental quality. Evidence-based design addresses the design and operation of buildings to support positive health outcomes in hospitals through a growing collection of solutions informed by research and practical knowledge (Hamilton, 2003). Although both trends have had a significant impact on recent healthcare architecture, they are generally executed separately and are considered by many be at odds with one another (Teske & Mann, 2007). This study bridges the gap between both goals by proposing a structure through which design teams can effectively integrate them into the design process.
Methods
The researchers identify 15 “centers of excellence” for both evidence-based design and sustainable design; compile case study information on each; and survey one or two administrators of each, including person(s) knowledgeable about physical, clinical and operational drivers and the facility’s environmental impacts. Researchers follow up with additional surveys and telephone interviews of administrators and project design teams.
In parallel, the researchers analyse individual design criteria in the Green Guide for Healthcare (GGHC) against the Center for Health Design’s Pebble Project best practices to analyse and tabulate conflicts and synergies between specific strategies and practices.
Goals, Outcomes, Results and Conclusions
This study considers the relationships between sustainable design and evidence-based design, from both a broad, conceptual perspective and at detailed, functional levels. The following questions are addressed:
1. What are the conflicts / synergies between eco design and evidence-based design?
2. What are the successes and challenges of these two design goals in built projects, both individually and in relation to one another?
3. How can design teams effectively and simultaneously address the human and environmental health intentions of both criteria?
4. How can design teams overcome challenges to effectively and simultaneously integrating sustainable design goals with potentially conflicting typology-specific criteria?
The findings will be used to create design guidelines that identify real and perceived challenges faced by teams, address how to overcome them, highlight best practices that achieve both design goals, and suggest how to best approach the design process.
Keywords: Evidence-based design; sustainability, environmental quality
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