Architects Launch Ten-Year Commitment to Make Design a Catalyst for Public Health Architects Launch Ten-Year Commitment to Make Design a Catalyst for Public Health
Posted
09/24/2012
The American Institute of
Architects (AIA) today announced a ten-year commitment to develop
design and technology solutions for cities that address challenges
faced on public health, sustainability, and resiliency to natural
disasters. AIA EVP and Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy, FAIA,
announced the Commitment to Action at the Clinton Global Initiative
(CGI) Annual Meeting, where more than 1,000 global leaders are
gathering to address the theme, "Designing for
Impact.
"This commitment by the AIA represents an all-out effort to
demonstrate the link between building design and the health of
building occupants," says Ivy. "And it will enable us to bring the
force of design to bear in the public health arena and
debate."
The commitment by the AIA involves both monetary and "in-kind'
contributions and features three initiatives:
- University research on solutions-based outcomes. Three
university-based projects have been selected for year-one funding
that demonstrate the importance of design on public health. In
addition, the 2013 Latrobe Prize through the AIA College of Fellows
will fund research that aligns with this commitment.
- Community Planning Process. The AIA will mobilize
interdisciplinary university teams engaged with community and
professional partners in one of the world's largest cities to
address complex problems using design thinking and technology
innovation.
- Show Us Your APPtitude hackathon. The hack-a-thon, in which
computer experts gather to come up with the most creative app or
technology based solution to a given need or problem, springboards
from the community planning process by providing related design and
technology solutions. Students and other participants from a
variety of disciplines will have the opportunity to compete for a
prize that recognizes achievable, inventive solutions.
The recipients of the first-ever Decade of Design research
grants are:
- Texas A&M University - Evaluating Health Benefits of
Liveable Communities: Toolkit for measuring the health impacts of
walkable communities, validated with an empirical study of a LEED
for Neighborhood Development project in Austin.
- University of Arkansas - Fayetteville 2030: Creating
Food City Scenario Plan: The study of planning possibilities and
design solutions for creating a local food infrastructure while
accommodating a quickly growing population.
- University of New Mexico - Establishing Interdisciplinary
Health-Architecture Curriculum: Pilot program to develop a
framework for implementing a three-year interdisciplinary program
for addressing health issues in local neighborhoods.