Compendium of Design Strategies for Healing Environments

Evidence-based research has provided a body of evidence which links improved patient outcomes with building features such as courtyards, views of nature and access to daylight. While the quantitative data produced by such studies makes a strong case to decision-makers for the inclusion of such features into healthcare facilities, the design of healing environments requires more than a checklist of desirable features. This internship with Stantec Architecture aims to develop a compendium of design strategies which provide specific architectural techniques for the creation of a built environment which fosters both personal healing and urban-ecological regeneration. Design principles and techniques will be extracted from several exemplary healing environments, then applied, tested and refined. The compendium will be accompanied by drawings and diagrams to communicate in architectural terms the specific strategies which lead to powerful and transformative healing environments.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Ray Cole

Student:

Selena Schroeder

Partner:

Stantec Architecture

Discipline:

Architecture and design

Sector:

Construction and infrastructure

University:

University of British Columbia