Latest News from DesignandHealth.com

Award winners set new international benchmarks

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:15:11 GMT

The legendary Eb Zeidler (pictured right) has been awarded the Lifetime Leadership Award by the International Academy for Design & Health at a prestigious ceremony held at the University of Toronto in Canada.

Awarded for the first time to a visionary individual who has demonstrated an ongoing, lifelong commitment to enhancing the health, wellbeing and quality of people’s lives through their dedication to healthcare design, the award recognizes Eb Zeidler’s inspirational career, which has influenced many of today’s architects who are shaping the next generation of hospitals.

The award led the celebrations at the 2010 Design & Health International Academy Awards, which revealed a diverse set of winners from across the globe, including an arts, culture and heritage centre in South Africa, a children’s rehabilitation unit in Mexico, a mixed gender inpatient facility for adults with acute mental illness in the UK, a digital arts programme and a Commode.

Health providers, clinicians, architects, designers and contractors were joined by Ministry of Health representatives during a prestigious ceremony and Gala dinner held at the University of Toronto in Canada to celebrate and reward international excellence in the field of design and health.

Presented by Dr Ray Pentecost, president of the American Institute of Architects, Academy of Architecture for Health (pictured left) on the final evening of the Design & Health Canada 2010 International Symposium, twenty-two awards were made across 12 categories to winning projects and teams.

Chaired by John Wells-Thorpe, an architectural writer and historian and former chair of an NHS Trust, the awards are judged by some of the leading researchers and practitioners in the field. Each of the twelve categories are led by a senior judge, supported by panels of up to three international experts from multi-disciplinary backgrounds.

Each panel agrees and establishes the criteria for their award, as they endeavour to meet the overall objectives of the programme to:

· Establish a global design benchmark for the psychosocially-supportive design and the development of healthy environments.

· Establish a global research benchmark for studies into issues relating to the field of design and health.

· Reward and recognise the achievements of design and health professionals, including architects, designers, researchers, health professionals, facility managers and contractors in the successful delivery of leading edge research and innovative health-centric projects and buildings.

Prof Alan Dilani, director of the International Academy for Design & Health, commented: “We have been honoured this year with a remarkable set of winners that yet again are setting new benchmarks for healthcare design around the world, providing inspiration to future generations and demonstrating the importance of design as a tool for improving human health, wellbeing and quality of life.”

To see full details of the award winning schemes, click here

Academies partner for World Congress

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:56:28 GMT

The International Academy for Design & Health will partner with the American Institute of Architects, Academy of Architecture for Heath in the organization of the 7th Design and Health World Congress & Exhibition in Boston in 2011, exciting researchers and practitioners across the US and around the world.

Following the success of the 6th Design & Health World Congress in Singapore, preparations for the next World Congress, to be held in the city of Boston from 6-10 July, 2011, have received a timely boost after an agreement was reached with the American Institute of Architects, Academy of Architecture for Health to
partner and jointly organise the event.

The agreement, which firmly establishes the congress as the leading global forum promoting the interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge and research in the field, was signed last month by Dr Ray Pentecost, president of The American Institute of Architects, Academy of Architecture for Health (AIA-AAH), and Prof Alan Dilani, director-general and founder of the International Academy for Design & Health.

The US is reported to spend twice as much as other industrialised nations on healthcare, yet its system arguably performs poorly by comparison, leaving more than 45.7 million people without health coverage, while 29 other countries achieve a higher life expectancy and 38 other countries have lower infant mortality.

Prof Alan Dilani said: “As healthcare costs in the western world continue to rise, the impact of the global economic downturn has forced governments and public institutions to face up to a new economic reality that is demanding investment in sustainable social architecture and the design of healthy environments that improve human well-being and quality of life.

“The opportunity to organise the congress in Boston together with the AIA-AAH will provide a platform in the USA, which remains a benchmark for the world, to engage at this important time of change for health systems, which across the world are faced with the challenge of ever-rising costs and demand.”

The International Academy for Design and Health believes that human health is significantly related to the designed environment. Its mission is to spread awareness of this important message through its education, research, events, media and advocacy work and to improve and underpin future professional practice in health promotion by design.

Prof Dilani added: “The design and architecture of health services, technologies and buildings play a critical role in reshaping health systems which require a far greater focus on preventative medicine and care than current systems.

“Using the environment as a strategic tool is one of the most cost-effective and enduring approaches to improving public health, but it is one that requires salutogenic perspectives that consider wellness factors to inspire innovative design solutions.” Published this month and inserted in this issue of World Health Design, the Call for Papers for the 7th Design & Health World Congress in Boston seeks submissions that address a range of issues related to health promotion by design – and its economic impact.

In Picture above: (From left) Dr Ray Pentecost and Terri Stewart of the American Institute of Architects, Academy of Architecture for Health after signing the agreement with Prof Alan Dilani of the International Academy for Design & Health .

Global gathering in Singapore

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:39:59 GMT

Researchers and practitioners from 30 different countries came together in Singapore last month to hear world experts present leading edge research papers and case studies of benchmark healthcare facilities at the 6th Design & Health World Congress.

Held at the Ritz Carlton Millenia, the congress is the foremost event in the world promoting interdisciplinary research and practice in the development of healthcare environments. Despite the impact of the global economic recession and fears over the spread of the H1N1 virus, delegate numbers improved by 20% on previous congresses, as they heard global figures from the healthcare sector, such as Singapore Minister for Health, Mr Khaw Boon Wan and Lord Nigel Crisp, former chief executive of the NHS speak about the role of design and architecture in shaping global health systems.

The congress also hosted this year’s Design & Health International Academy Awards, which recognised and rewarded winning projects from Australia, Italy, Finland, Canada, the US and the UK in a prestigious ceremony and gala dinner on the final evening of the event.

For a review of the congress, click here

Click here for the award finalists and winners

Click here for a slideshow with pictures from the event