Washington, D.C. April 24, 2017– The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) today named three more schools of architecture and public health as members of the AIA Design & Health Research Consortium.  

The new members are Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the School of Architecture at Portland State University and the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning.  

These three teams join an existing network of 16-university teams dedicated to team-led research linking health outcomes and design interventions. The AIA-led consortium helps translate this research into architectural practice for design and public health professionals, policy makers and the general public.  

"These latest members of Design and Health Research Consortium will influence our thinking and help in policy development for the built environment and public health,"" said American Institute of Architects CEO Robert Ivy, FAIA.    

Here’s a look at each new consortium members research activities:  

·   Healthy Buildings program at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at the Harvard School of Graduate Design. For the first time in human history, more people live in dense urban environments than rural or suburban areas. As a result, the university's academic emphasis is to build sustainable urban environments that not only support basic human needs but also provide healthy spaces in which people can thrive. The school's focus begins by addressing individual buildings, where we spend 90% of our time, and then tackling clusters of buildings, neighborhoods, and districts. The project encompasses all the AIA’s Six Approaches to Achieving Health through the Built Environment & Design. Starting with the building unit, the team recently created the “ 9 Foundations of a Healthy Building” that distills the core elements for health in a building and provides practitioners with a curated, fully-cited summary of the scientific basis for these foundations.

·   School of Architecture, Portland State University. The School of Architecture takes an integrated approach to research, teaching, and dissemination of information focused on the connection between architecture and wellness. Coursework connects students with firms interested in understanding the health consequences of their designs, both during the design process and once occupied. Besides topic discussions, the seminars include activities that embed students in project teams to conduct research of relevance to a project currently under design in a firm. For the architectural firms involved, working with the university allows them to engage a deeper level of research expertise in the design process and to access resources not typically available in practice, enhancing their capacity to address health issues in their work. The School’s Center for Public Interest Design provides students opportunities to learn, challenge, and implement principles of public interest design. Recent work with the city of Sacramento explored how public interest design can be used to address the needs of some of Sacramento’s most disinvested and environmentally impacted neighborhoods in an urban area of culturally diverse communities.  

·   University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning. Low income communities in New Mexico experience some of the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in the nation, in both urban and rural settings. As a result, the school’s work includes identifying ways to create health-promoting, everyday environments that improve opportunities for active transportation and recreation and foster wellbeing—both qualitatively and quantitatively. The school initiated the MS Arch in Public Health and the Built Environment in 2013, in collaboration with the College of Population Health. Research includes a health-promoting master plan for a new Health/Community Commons in Bernalillo County, K-12 school design to support a farm-to-school curriculum, workplaces to reduce stress, and the intersection of art and transportation to promote safety and wellbeing, and healthy and equitable TOD. The school’s work emphasizes improving conditions in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, where social connectedness is critical to fostering wellbeing.  

"These new members add depth to the collective work of the consortium, particularly in areas of physical activity and workplace productivity," Michael Monti, ACSA Executive Director said. "Their work will translate findings for practice and add rigorous research that others can build on.”  

Over a three-year period, the AIA and its partners will provide institutional support and capacity building for the new consortium members, promoting collaboration through local and national partnerships and enable knowledge-sharing through conference calls and face-to-face events.  

About The American Institute of Architects

Founded in 1857, the American Institute of Architects consistently works to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities. Through nearly 300 state and local chapters, the AIA advocates for public policies that promote economic vitality and public wellbeing. Members adhere to a code of ethics and conduct to ensure the highest professional standards. The AIA provides members with tools and resources to assist them in their careers and business as well as engaging civic and government leaders and the public to find solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation and world. Visit www.aia.org.

About the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture

ACSA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, membership association founded in 1912 to advance the quality of architectural education. The school membership in ACSA has grown from 10 charter members to over 250 schools in several membership categories. These include full membership for all accredited programs in the United States and government-sanctioned schools in Canada, candidate membership for schools seeking accreditation, and affiliate membership for schools for two-year and international programs. Through these schools, over 5,000 architecture faculty members are represented. In addition, over 500 supporting members composed of architecture firms, product associations and individuals add to the breadth of interest and support of ACSA goals. Visit www.acsa-arch.org.