Future architects will look back on these research initiatives and be pleased that their "evidence-based" design decisions are now firmly grounded in science, said AIA President Gordon H. Chong, FAIA, in his welcoming remarks at the "Healthcare Facilities Design and Neuroscience Workshop," August 13–15 in Woods Hole, Mass.

The conference facilities of the National Academy of Sciences formed an inspiring backdrop for an interdisciplinary assembly of 28 architects and neuroscientists who for two days explored potential connections between study of the mind and creation of the built environment. AIA President-elect Thompson E. Penney, FAIA, attributed the success of the meeting to the willingness of neuroscientists to discuss—in clear terms—their complex research concepts with architects experienced in health-care design. This was particularly true, he said, of the early morning presentation by Dr. Esther Sternberg from the National Institute of Mental Health and Dr. Terrence Sejnowski from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

The participants later worked in five groups to develop suggestions for appropriate research on:
• Windows and their impact on patient experiences
• Calming environments for patients and staff
• Wayfinding in complex buildings
• Privacy issues in the health-care setting
• Interior environmental impacts on people, equipment, and space utilization.

The group discussions yielded a number of recommendations for research to be undertaken by neuroscience-based programs, in hope that projects eventually would provide an expanded knowledge base for health-care facilities design.

Copies of the conference report will be available in mid-September. For more information, contact Margaret Tarampi, mtarampi@aia.org or 202-626-7342.

Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.