The New Test

March 23, 2012 in design for health

Architecture is now a matter of public health.

We have reached a point in civilization where nearly anyone can understand the health consequences of building stressful, ugly and bleak (SUB) environments.

Over the years, designers have led an uphill campaign for quality of life issues when using style, aesthetics, or even a business case approach as their foundation.

To propel our efforts forward, there’s a growing body of articulate leaders from the medical profession and neuroscience who are making connections between health and the built environment. Here’s a hyperlinked, tip-of-the-iceberg introductory list:

–  Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH

–  Norman Doidge, MD

–  Esther M. Sternberg, MD

–  Stephen Kaplan, PhD and Rachel Kaplan, PhD

–  Dr. Elizabeth Gould

The current panic-inducing, unsustainable cost of medical services is fueling a movement to look upstream for the causes of health. Influential non-designers are accelerating awareness for health-promoting design, as well as the consequences of SUB environments.

We believe that one day soon every citizen is going to be asking “The New Test” question: Will the design CAUSE HEALTH or cause illness?

– Sharon VanderKaay