× You are not currently logged in. To receive all the benefits our site has to offer, we encourage you to log in now.

Insights & Solutions

    Project Brief
    February 2018 Project Brief

    Learn about how a county directive to relocate different behavioral health programs into one location led to a unique design for serving low to high-risk populations in an integrated facility, and how collaboration among the architect, interior designer, landscape architect, owner, staff, and clients played an integral role in shaping the programming and design.

    Issue Brief
    February 2018 Issue Brief

    As part of the Behavioral & Mental Health toolbox, in this issue brief you will learn about the prevalence of behavioral and mental health conditions as comorbidities; design strategies for promoting psychological wellness; and a systematic benefit analysis approach to meet the psychological needs of all.

    Webinar
    January 2018 Webinar

    This webinar introduces the new, easier to use, online interface for The Center’s Safety Risk Assessment (SRA) toolkit, a proactive and systematic approach to designing and renovating healthcare facilities for safety. Originally developed through research and consensus to support the requirements of the FGI Guidelines, The Center's research team will walk you through the why, what, and how of each part of the online SRA toolkit illustrating features with vignettes gathered from the testing process.  

    EBD Journal Club
    October 2017 EBD Journal Club

    Toward a Framework for Designing Person-Centered Mental Health Interiors for Veterans, Journal of Interior Design, DOI: 10.1111/joid.12095

    Interview
    February 2018 Interview

    Inside you will learn about: why behavioral health facilities have very different design requirements than general hospitals; how different areas of a behavioral health unit have different safety needs that influence design choices; and which types of safety measures and products should be incorporated into behavioral health units.

    EBD Journal Club
    August 2017 EBD Journal Club

    Trzpuc, S. J., Wendt, K. A., Heitzman, S. C., Skemp, S., Thomas, D., & Dahl, R. (2016). Does space matter? An exploratory study for a child–adolescent mental health inpatient unit. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 10(1), 23-44.

    EBD Journal Club
    May 2017 EBD Journal Club

    Bayramzadeh, S. (2017). An assessment of levels of safety in psychiatric units. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 10(2), 66-80.

    Lessons Learned
    April 2017 Lessons Learned

    The following are compiled from research literature, case studies, interviews, and other materials to provide an overview on the topic of aging populations.  

    Tool
    March 2017 Tool

    Built environment strategies can help healthcare organizations and communities promote healthy living, reduce obesity, and prevent chronic disease. Given the increasing focus on community health and preventive medicine, it is important that healthcare organizations and the communities they serve incorporate built environment strategies that result in healthy behavior.

    With support from the Kresge Foundation, The Center for Health Design has developed a standardized Community Health Center Facility Evaluation tool that supports design for population health. The tool is intended to support both design and post-occupancy evaluation of built projects with respect to population health goals.

    Project Brief
    February 2017 Project Brief

    Learn about: how the physical setting of a special care unit for dementia patients can affect their behavior in both positive and negative ways, design features that may help engage residents and foster socialization, and strategic choices of flooring surfaces, flooring transitions, and wayfinding that can help create a safer environment.