ABSTRACT
Architecture and other design disciplines have long lagged behind in driving the social, political, financial, and environmental arguments for creating spaces that promote health and healing. Discoveries in modern medicine, presumably because of their emphasis on measurable outcomes, have ushered in the dominance of the hard sciences over design and the definition of health. With the myriad of testing possibilities and big data available to the twenty-first century, and evolved understandings of healthcare practice, architecture can regain agency in its interactions with health in all forms. This book provides an understanding of how the built environment is connected to this broader view of health. To illustrate this concept, a collection of case studies has been compiled to show how to plan and design environments that contribute to the health of individuals, organizations and communities, and larger natural ecosystems. Each case study explores the intersection of design and health for a diverse range of building types, scales, and contexts.
