The AIA Foundation, along with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), has announced the establishment of the AIA Design & Health Research Consortium to help fund basic research into the growing influence design has on public health.
The consortium will be comprised of like-minded university teams consisting of experts in architecture and public health. AIA Foundation and its partners will work with consortium members to identify and develop opportunities for funded research, publication, and other resources in design and public health, with the idea that coordination and collaboration will benefit the consortium, its partners and the design and health professions.
The AIA Foundation has set a deadline of October 15, at 11:59 pm PDT for receiving qualification proposals from interested academic institutions. Selection of the schools will be made by late November.
“In the last ten years, we have accepted that healthy places are sustainable places; that the optimal building of this century will be one that minimizes its ecological footprint while promoting human health and well-being,” said AIA Foundation Executive Director Sherry-Lea Bloodworth Botop. “This consortium will help lay the foundation for making this vision a reality.”
“Good design can improve our well-being, whether in our homes, schools, workplaces, or where we play,” said AIA CEO Robert Ivy, FAIA. “By careful consideration of the human condition and its surroundings, architectural design promotes well-being, mental health and performance.”
The launch of the consortium is the latest effort by the AIA Foundation and its partners to expand the growing body of research into the design and health nexus. In April, the AIA Foundation, AIA, and ACSA held a design and health-focused summit attended by more than 100 design and public health officials. In June, the AIA and McGraw-Hill Construction announced a ground-breaking survey on the attitudes of architects, public health officials and human resource professionals on whether design techniques can make a difference in improving the health of the American public.
The AIA has organized its design and health initiative around six evidence-based approaches that architects can influence through design practices and policies 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. The AIA’s Design & Health Leadership Group (DHLG) has convened a research working group to manage the review of qualifications submitted by member candidates. Following an open request for qualifications, the working group will recommend up to ten members working across these six research areas.
Over a three year period, the AIA Foundation and its partners will provide institutional support and capacity building for inaugural consortium members to promote collaboration through local and national partnerships; enable the sharing of knowledge through private listserv activity, conference calls, and face-to-face events; and provide a new portal on AIA.org for Members to share research activity. Whenever appropriate, the AIA Foundation and its partners will promote the activities of the consortium with potential funders.
The full Request for Qualifications, application form, and other resources are available here.
Related Stories
Modular Building | Feb 12, 2015
New shipping container complex begins construction in Albuquerque
The Green Jeans Farmery already has a hydroponic farm component courtesy of owner and entrepreneur Roy Solomon.
Transit Facilities | Feb 12, 2015
Gensler proposes network of cycle highways in London’s unused underground
Unused tube lines would host pedestrian paths, cycle routes, cultural spaces, and retail outlets.
Healthcare Facilities | Feb 11, 2015
Primer: Using 'parallel estimating' to pinpoint costs on healthcare construction projects
As pressure increases to understand capital cost prior to the first spade touching dirt, more healthcare owners are turning to advanced estimating processes, like parallel estimating, to improve understanding of exposure, writes CBRE Healthcare's Andrew Sumner.
Transportation & Parking Facilities | Feb 11, 2015
11 of the nation’s best ‘Complete Streets’ policies of 2014
Austin, Texas, and Troy, N.Y., are among the cities with the strongest safe streets policies, according to a new report.
Sponsored | Roofing | Feb 11, 2015
New school blends with local architecture using Petersen metal roof
Perkins Eastman in Stamford, Conn., designed the school to emphasize and integrate the International Baccalaureate curriculum throughout.
Mixed-Use | Feb 11, 2015
Developer plans to turn Eero Saarinen's Bell Labs HQ into New Urbanist town center
Designed by Eero Saarinen in the late 1950s, the two-million-sf, steel-and-glass building was one of the best-funded and successful corporate research laboratories in the world.
Architects | Feb 11, 2015
Shortlist for 2015 Mies van der Rohe Award announced
Copenhagen, Berlin, and Rotterdam are the cities where most of the shortlisted works have been built.
BIM and Information Technology | Feb 10, 2015
Google's 3D scanning camera leaves the lab
Google is said to be partnering with LG to create a version of the technology for public release sometime this year.
Steel Buildings | Feb 10, 2015
Korean researchers discover 'super steel'
The new alloy makes steel as strong as titanium.
Architects | Feb 9, 2015
The generalist architect vs. the specialist architect
The corporate world today quite often insists on hiring specialists, but the generalists have an intrinsic quality to adapt to new horizons or even cultural shifts in the market, writes SRG Partnership's Gary Harris.