Academy of Architecture for Health

2008 AIA National Healthcare Design Awards
Submission Deadline: 5 PM, ET, May 19, 2008

The AIA Academy of Architecture for Health is proud to announce the initiation of the AIA National Healthcare Design Awards program. This award program will showcase the best of healthcare building design and healthcare design-oriented research.

Click here for more information or to submit a project.

CleanMed 2008: Creating Healing Environments
May 20-22, 2008
Pittsburgh
This event's mission is to accelerate the development, use, and diffusion of environmentally preferable products and practices, and the construction of green buildings in health care, by disseminating examples of best practices and convening health care professionals, university researchers, designers of professional buildings, and vendors of cleaner and safer products and services.

HEALTHCARE DESIGN 08
Date: November 8–11, 2008
Location: Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, Washington, D.C.
Read more about this event.

Opportunity for young professionals! Apply for the Herman Miller Intern Scholarship, which will award $1,000 each to eight young professionals so that they may attend Healthcare Design.08. Watch this space for more details, including the due date for applications (August 2008). This scholarship program is part of Herman Miller’s continuing commitment to excellence in health-care architecture and support of young architects.

Coming Soon: the AAH Emerging Professionals Resources Page
The AIA/AAH is building a new page to serve as a resource for emerging professionals in healthcare architecture.
Watch this space for more information.

The Architecture for Health Spring Lecture Series at Texas A&M University
This lecture series meets Wednesdays at noon at Texas A&M - please click on the link above for more information!

Analysis of Departmental Area in Contemporary Hospitals
Authors: Professor David Allison, AIA, AC and Associate Professor D. Kirk Hamilton, FAIA, FACHA
This study documents and compares the relationship between departmental net and departmental gross square footages in five primary patient care, diagnostic, and treatment departments within contemporary hospitals, including Emergency, Radiology,
Surgery, Acute Care Inpatient Units, and Intensive Care Units .

Volume 10 of the Academy Journal Now Available
The Academy Journal is the official publication of the Academy. The Journal electronically publishes articles of particular interest to AIA members and the interested public involved in the fields of healthcare architecture, planning, design, research, and construction. Its goal is to promote awareness and educational exchange between architects and healthcare providers and to broaden our base of understanding about our clients. Volume 10 of the Academy Journal is now available. To submit articles for the 2008 edition, click here for the Call for Papers.

Graduate Programs in Healthcare
The number of architectural schools that offer postgraduate programs in healthcare is growing. See a list of these schools, with links to their programs.

National Survey on Critical Issues in Healthcare Environments
The Coalition for Health Environments Research, part of the Center for Health Design, is conducting a national survey to identify critical issues in healthcare environments (ambulatory, acute, and long-term care). The survey centers on issues that have a bearing on the physical environment. Its results will identify critical issues in the healthcare environment, with implications for facility planning, design, and construction. Your opinion is important. To thank you for your time, we offer a substantial discount on one downloadable research report from the center's Web site. Details follow the survey. Respond to the survey by clicking on this link.

Research Reports and Papers
Since 1993, The Center for Health Design has been actively engaged in initiating research to promote the use of evidence-based design to create healing environments in hospitals, clinics, physician offices, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities. Click here to find current, relevant information on pressing issues related to healthcare using evidence-based design. Browse through white papers, research reports and summaries, issue papers, and reports from The Coalition for Health Environments Research.

Upcoming Web Seminars on Climate Change and Health Care
A February 2, 2007, article in the New York Times reports the findings of the United Nations scientific panel studying climate change: "evidence of a warming trend is 'unequivocal,' and that human activity has 'very likely' been the driving force in that change over the last 50 years." This report not only reflects the mounting evidence that the release of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases has played a role in raising the average surface temperature of the earth but has "also added new momentum to a debate that now seems centered less over whether humans are warming the planet, but instead over what to do about it."

What is the healthcare sector's role in combating climate change?
As providers of care, the healthcare sector is called into action to demonstrate a collective commitment to public health, through instituting a multipronged approach to combating climate change.

Two Web seminars, presented by Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) and Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC), will explore answers to this question through presentations on emerging research and technologies:
Friday, April 4, 2008: Climate Change and Construction
Friday, April 11, 2008: Climate Change and Operations

All H2E and GGHC seminars run from 1 to 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time). For more information, visit http://www.h2e-online.org/.

The Fourth Factor Is Now Available!
The Fourth Factor: A Historical Perspective on Architecture and Medicine is now available through the AIA Bookstore. This detailed look at the history of healthcare architecture, written by John Michael Currie, AIA, FRSH and published by the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health in celebration of the AIA's 150th anniversary, was made possible through the financial support of member and allied individuals and firms.

The Fourth Factor is the Academy’s gift to the profession and to the greater healthcare community, as an extension of the AIA150 celebration. We plan to distribute this book to members of Congress and other legislators, healthcare institutions, medical schools, architecture schools, and other significant contributors to healthcare delivery in America.

A limited number of copies are available for a retail price of $39.99 (member price $34.99). If you are interested in purchasing ten or more copies at the special price of $29.99 each, call the AIA Bookstore at 800-AIA-3837 (800-242-3837) and choose option 4, or click here to order.

DVD on Designing Hospitals for Quality and Safety
HHS’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released a new DVD that provides evidence to help hospital officials, architects, and visionaries design safer, high quality hospitals. To learn more about Transforming Hospitals: Designing for Safety and Quality DVD and AHRQ’s research in evidence-based hospital design, visit the AHRQ Web site, www.ahrq.gov/qual/transform.htm

Memorial Fund Established in Memory of Donald C. Axon, FAIA, FACHA
The Academy of Architecture for Health Foundation has announced the founding of the Donald C. Axon, FAIA, Memorial Fund, to support healthcare architectural education and research activities, including support of participation in International Union of Architects (UIA) activities. Pledges and donations should be made payable to the AAH Foundation, designated for the Axon Fund, and sent to:

Kurt A. Rockstroh, AIA, ACHA
Steffian Bradley Architects
100 Summer Street, 9th Floor
Boston, MA 02110
617-305-7100

Any questions should be addressed to Georgeann Burns at gburns@rtkl.com.

AIA Featured Podcast: "Relationship between Design and Healthcare for Patient Healing"
From AIA PodNet: Gordon Chong, FAIA, presents findings from the research study, “Multi-cultural Influences on the Design of a Healthcare Setting.” Using integrated databases of information gathered from over 30,000 patients, they incorporated techniques from psychology, sociology and neuroscience to understand how spatial configurations, light, noise, and temperature can be designed to mitigate stress.
Read More | Bio

More AIA podcasts of possible interest to AAH members
Full AIA Architecture Knowledge Review podcast series

2008 Healthcare Conferences
For the dates and locations of major healthcare conferences nationwide, click here.