Arch4Health Studio + Seminar

Seminar + Studio

Spring 2024

Texas A&M University | College Station Campus

Dr. Roxana Jafari | Department of Architecture

Registration Requirements for Students

Texas A&M University, School of Architecture

Undergraduate Students: ARCH 481, 1 Credit Hour | Section 500

Graduate Students: ARCH 681, 1 Credit Hour | Section 601

Event Details

Series Focus: Architecture for Mental and Behavioral Health

Date: Fridays throughout Spring 2024

Time: 12:40 pm - 1:30 pm

Venue: Langford C, Room 105

Practitioners & Professionals

For those who are not students and are not registered in ARCH 481 or ARCH 681 that would like to join us for the lecture series, you are welcome to join via Zoom on Fridays at 12:40 PM Central Time.

Zoom Meeting: https://tamu.zoom.us/j/91567194129

Meeting ID: 915 6719 4129

Friday, March 01, 2024

Faculty and Advisors

Keynote Talk: 12:40 pm - 1:30 pm

Langford C, Room 105

Roxana Jafari, Ph.D., EDAC

Assistant Professor in Architecture

Texas A&M University

Lecture Series Coordinator

Gregory a. Luhan, Ph.D., FAIA

The Ward V. Wells Endowed

Professor of Architecture

Department Head of Architecture

Design Psychologist | Keynote Speaker | AuDHD | Co-Director, Human Experience LabCo-Director, Human Experience Lab Perkins&Will

George J. Mann, AIA

Professor Emeritus

Texas A&M University

It Will Take Coordinated Teams to Design, Build, & Operate Health & Hospital Facilities for the Future

Introduction and Objectives

The Architecture for Health Lecture Series is a weekly event coordinated by Dr. Roxana Jafari to cultivate mentorship connections between students and industry leaders. In spring 2024, the lecture series featured presentations by mental and behavioral health leaders from renowned architectural firms, such as HKS, CannonDesign, HDR, HOK, Architecture+, and Perkins&Will. These experts shared recent research findings and case studies relevant to the studio’s focus with the student teams and offered feedback on design projects through weekly studio desk critiques.

The series appeals to the general public, health consultants, nurses, physicians, allied health professionals, landscape architects, architects, mechanical, structural, and electrical engineers, interior designers, construction firms, health care administrators, facilities management, hospital engineers, materials management, and other related disciplines.

Continuing Education Credit Offered

AIA- American Institute of Architects with Health, Safety, & Wellness (HSW) credit.

Online Lecture Series Archive

The Archive of Architecture for Health Lecture Series (2018 - 2024) is availabe through the PBS website: https://www.pbs.org/show/texas-architecture-for-health/

Introduction and Objectives

The Architecture for Health Lecture Series’ schedule is synchronized with the healthcare design studio each semester to cultivate mentorship connections between students and industry leaders. This initiative not only imparts foundational knowledge crucial for designing healthcare environments but also nurtures invaluable relationships between students and experts in the field beyond the confines of traditional studio settings.

Guest Speakers | Spring 2024

Keynote Speaker | CannonDesign

Friday, February 02, 2024

Tim Rommel

Mental Healthcare Practice Leader

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm

Cannon Design | Texas A&M University

Langford C, Room 105

Presentation Title

Facility Planning & Design to Support the Continuum for Acute Mental Healthcare,an

Overview

Keynote Talk:

Learning Objectives (HSW)

Through the review of case studies related to mental and behavioral healthcare facilities, students and practicioners can learn what design features can influence the health and safety among staff and patients. Moreover, and welfare of both patients through destigmatization in such facilities are discussed.

Mental Healthcare Practice Leader

1. Understand the continuum of acute mental / behavioral healthcare

Cannon Design | Texas A&M University

2. Learn about the patient / staff safety as well as staff efficiency and work culture in mental and behavioral healthcare settings

3. Learn about cutting-edge research and case studies aiming at improving well-being and comfort and encouraging less stigmatization in mental and behjavioral healthcare.

Guest Speaker | Texas A&M University

Ray Pentecost III, DrPH, FAIA, FACHA, LEED AP

Friday, February 09, 2024

Director, Center for Health Systems & Design

George J. Mann Chair in Healthcare Design

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm

Langford C, Room 105

Presentation Title

Behavioral Health: Things to Consider in Facility Design…

Keynote

Talk:

Learning Objectives (HSW)

In this review of key design priorities for behavioral health facilities, students will learn how design directly impacts the health, safety, and welfare of both patients and staff in this high-risk environment. The casual disregard of these factors can lead to diminished clinical effectiveness, as well as potentially dangerous situations:

Director

1. Students will learn that all behavioral health facilities are not created equal.

Center for Health Systems & Design | Texas A&M University

2. Students will learn some of the key questions to ask in order to differentiate the care models for different kinds of behavioral health facilities.

College Station, Texas, United States

3. Students will learn to prioritize design decisions around major flows in healthcare design that characterize clinical operations for patient care.

4. Students will learn how design can directly impact the health, safety, and welfare of both patients and staff, especially in healthcare facilities with high-risk patients.

Guest Speakers | HKS Inc.

1- Rachael Farrell, EDAC, LSSGB, LEED AP BD+C

Friday, February 23, 2024

Director of Mental and Behavioral Health Design

Sr. Medical Planner | Vice Presiden

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm

2- Eric Kutche, AIA, LSSGB, ACHE

Langford C, Room 105

Sr. Medical Planner | Vice President

Presentation Title

Keynote Talk:

Best Practices and Design Trends Across the Behavioral Health Care Continuum

Learning Objectives (HSW)

1. Hear the industry’s leading wellness design experts share how design is making a difference in the lives of children and adults faced with mental and behavioral health conditions. They will share real world experiences and future-looking insights into:

2. Understand effective design strategies that support the full continuum of behavioral health populations

Co-Chair of Mental and Behavioral Health Design HKS, Inc. HKS, Inc. | Texas Tech University Dallas, Texas, United States

3. Learn about trending case studies from state-of-the-art facilities in mental and behavioral health that support patients health and well-being

4. Realize the existing gaps and issues related to patient safety in existing facilities to guide the future of mental and behavioral health care environments

Guest Speaker | Perkins&Will

Kati Peditto, PhD

Friday, March 01, 2024

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm

Co-Director | Human Experience Lab Presentation Title

Design in Mind: Spaces for Neurodiversity and Mental Well-Being

Langford C, Room 105

Learning Objectives (HSW)

Keynote Talk:

1. Gain insights into neurodiversity, including conditions like autism and ADHD, and their implications for designing mental and behavioral health facilities that accommodate the diverse needs of all patients.

2. Learn about essential design strategies that support a neuro-inclusive environment, focusing on safety, privacy, and the reduction of environmental stressors to enhance patient care and staff efficiency in mental and behavioral health settings.

3. Discover how environments tailored to neurodiverse individuals can significantly improve patient outcomes, including reduced stress, enhanced comfort, and better overall mental health care.

Design Psychologist | Keynote Speaker | AuDHD | Co-Director, Human Experience LabCo-Director, Human Experience Lab

Perkins&Will

4. Understand the process of incorporating neuro-inclusive design principles into mental and behavioral health facilities, including practical guidelines and real-world examples that demonstrate the benefits of such designs for patients and healthcare providers alike.

Guest Speaker | HDR

Brian Geibink

Friday, March 08, 2024

Architect | Behavioral and Mental Health Practice Leader

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm

Presentation Title

Building Connections for Mental Health

Langford C, Room 105

Learning Objectives (HSW)

Keynote

Talk:

1. Identify serious issues that are impacting our health and significantly impacting our healthspan and lifespan.

2. Explore the importance of connection in mental health to support the wellbeing of patients, staff, and community.

3. Implement design strategies to improve connection with people, community, and purpose.

4. Infer strategies to cultivate stronger bonds between health and mental health.

Architect | Behavioral and Mental Health Practice Leader

HDR | The University of Kansas Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Guest Speaker | HOK

Virginia Pankey AIA, LEED AP, EDAC

Friday, March 22, 2024

Principal and Senior Medical Planner

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm

Presentation Title

Behavioral Health Crisis Units and EDs: Trends and Case Studies

Langford C, Room 105

Learning Objectives (HSW)

Keynote Talk:

1. Present the benefits of providing a separate trac for the care of behavioral health patients for decreasing the average length of stay (ALOS) and increasing patient through put for traditional and mental health patients alike.

2. Indicate the impact on the safety of patients & staff by developing a separate Behavioral Health Crisis Unit for Emergency Departments. Having this separate environment allows for therapeutic treatment of the behavioral health patients to begin prior to inpatient status. These patients may place ED staff in an unsafe situation when agitated patients are being boarded rather than treated.

Principal/Senior Medical Planner at HOK

HOK | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

St Louis, Missouri, United States

3. Show how the welfare of traditional ED and the behavioral health patient is improved by allowing for an alternate path. The therapeutic environment allows for care and observation of these patients. A harmonious and more open environment facilitate patient improvement and smaller number of them being put in restraints benefiting both patients and clinical staff.

Guest Speaker | Architecture+

Francis Murdock Pitts FAIA, FACHA, OAA

Principal | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Friday, April 05, 2024

Presentation Title

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm

The Modern Mental Health Hospital: Roots, Branches, Sources, and Inspiration

Langford C, Room 105

Learning Objectives (HSW)

Keynote Talk:

The following lessons are important because they reduce trauma, enhance patient safety, and equip clinicians and patients with the discernment and insight that provide a start for successful recovery; an impotent contribution to patient safety, social well-being, and public welfare:

1. What discerning clinicians and suffering patients have been hoping that designers might provide through more supportive mental health environments.

Principal at architecture+

2. How the emerging field of environmental psychology gave birth to several critical discoveries and fostered seventy years of research with meaning for the design of mental health facilities.

architecture+ | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, New York, United States

3. The implications that both have had in the development of the varied expressions of the contemporary psychiatric hospital using specific projects as illustrations of how these drivers have changed designed environments.

Speaker | Texas A&M University

Roxana Jafari, PhD, EDAC

Assistant Professor of Architecture

Architecture Department

Presentation Title

Lighting and Mental Health among Patients in Healthcare Facilities

Learning Objectives (HSW)

The following learning objectives are met through investigating the impact of lighting, as an important environmental factor in healthcare settings, on patients’ mental and bahavioral health during hospitalization in intensive care units:

1. Gain insight into the physiological and psychological pathways by which lighting affects the mental well-being of hospitalized patients in intensive care units.

2. Demonstrate the enhancement of patient health and well-being by optimizing room layout and window design elements in the cardiac intensive care unit to alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression, and pain, and improve patient recovery.

3. Acquire proficiency in utilizing on-site data and electronic health records of patients to explore safety measures concerning mental and behavioral health in healthcare settings.