Academy's global message goes local
Sunday 15 August 2010 11:55 AM
The delivery of the International Academy for Design & Health’s global message, that environmental design needs to be given wider recognition as a context for human health, wellbeing and quality of life, has this year successfully gone local.
 The network’s global reach has extended rapidly in 2010 as a new series of international symposiums, designed to promote understanding of the global issues of design and health within the local context of health infrastructure planning, finance, design, construction and management, have been launched to great acclaim all around the world.
In late April, the Academy’s network came together in Sydney at Design & Health Australasia 2010. And in early June, in Toronto, speakers and delegates gathered at Design & Health Canada 2010, which also hosted the 2010 Academy Awards and Gala Dinner.
At both events, speakers all over the world blended with experts from the local region, to debate a range of topics that examined new health perspectives and theories, such as salutogenesis, health planning models, patient environments and ward design, research and evidence-based design, as well as demonstrating case studies of some of the most influential healthcare projects recently completed.
 Nicola Bertrand (pictured left), an architect with BVN in Australia, who attended the event in Sydney, commented: ”The conference clarified for me the importance for all stakeholders to work closely together right from the beginning of a project.
"There is a need for us as architects to work more closely with hospital administrators and health professionals both at a bureaucratic and a clinical level in order to achieve design excellence.”
One of the highlights of the Sydney symposium was a pro-con debate on single versus multi-bed rooms. Mike Nightingale (pictured above right), who chaired the debate, said that patient needs were evolving so fast that ways needed to be found to design new and refurbished environments that were able to change from between 50% and 100% single rooms, or create the advantages of single rooms in other ways.
Later in the year, the Academy will launch Design & Health Europe in Brussels, from 7-8 October (see p11), to be followed by Design & Health Middle East 2010 in Abu Dhabi in December.
Click here to read more about past and future international symposiums organised by the International Academy for Design & Health.
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