Abstract
The American Institute of Architects (AIA), at their 2024 annual convention in Washington, DC, recently passed an important resolution recognizing the role of architecture and design for health and wellbeing. This sits well with those of us who believe that design for health is relevant for every building type. We believe every building has a potential impact on human health which can be either positive or negative. The AIA resolution which stems from this concept comes only two years after the Union Internationale des Architectes (UIA) named 2022 the international Year of Design for Health at the request of their Public Health Group for similar reasons (Hamilton, 2022).
The resolution was presented to the convention by William Hercules, FAIA, on behalf of the AIA's 2023 & 2024 Strategic Councils. “The intent of this resolution is to increase AIA members’ value to their clients by embracing evolving knowledge and trends in health and wellbeing…” (AIA 2024 Resolution #1, p. 14).
The presentation was framed upon a series of supporting statements that recognized the importance of health to the population, its enormous cost to the economy, and its disparities based on the social determinants of health. It cited the large and growing number of studies offering causal and correlational links to aspects of the physical environment and noted that many architects are unaware of this body of knowledge and so do not rely upon it in their practices. The AIA does have a long-standing Knowledge Community, the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health, that addresses architecture and health which has developed or supported some of the relevant studies. The resolution proposed the following:
LET IT BE RESOLVED. The Board and National Ethics Council will add components to AIA's Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct requiring a focus on wellbeing, promoting related discussions with owners, and utilizing health and wellbeing-related research pertinent to proposed design interventions.
LET IT BE RESOLVED. The Board will modify the Framework for Design Excellence to include Research for Health and Wellbeing as a component.
LET IT BE RESOLVED. The AIA will promote architects’ roles supporting health professionals within professional limits.
LET IT BE RESOLVED. The AIA will promote the incorporation of design and research for health and wellbeing in all architecture degree programs with various educational organizations, such as the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), and the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) (AIA 2024 Resolution #1, p. 15).
The strategic points of the resolution include an implication that all member architects should recognize the role of their work upon the health and well-being of their clients and the public. To do so, architects and their organizations should support further environmental research related to health and well-being, as well as improving the quality of their own design decisions by utilizing relevant evidence. This relates to every building types, not just design for health.
Other points include revision to the AIA Code of Ethics because design for health is now an ethical and moral imperative which follows the profession's long-standing requirement to address the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Similarly, the resolution requires an update to the AIA Framework for Design Excellence which will include reference to health and well-being research.
Of particular interest is the resolution's suggestion that all architectural degree programs should be adjusted. “The AIA should embrace and promote architects’ roles supporting health professionals plus advocate for the incorporation of health and wellbeing-related research in architecture degree programs” (AIA 2024 Resolution #1, p. 14). An emphasis on performance of research in the educational realm is a welcome suggestion. I, for one, feel that architectural students should have meaningful exposure to the evidence-based process and environmental research methods.
Between the UIA action in 2022 and the AIA's action in 2024, there is now broad international professional agreement that an architect has a moral and ethical responsibility to understand the impact of their projects on human health and well-being (Hercules, 2024; Pentecost, 2024). This extends beyond the long standing regulatory health, safety, and welfare requirements of professional licensure. The recognition of the importance of research and the use of relevant research findings is particularly welcome to us at the HERD Journal. Further, the recognition that this understanding of design's role in health and well-being must extend to the realm of architectural education is extremely important. Eventually we must move beyond the situation in which practitioners are often unaware of the research findings which might influence their design decisions. We need architects and design professionals to understand environmental research methods and to know how to access and evaluate research findings.
Congratulations to the AIA, UIA, and all who have been involved in the process. This is a great step in the right direction!