Public Health
What we do
The UIA Public Health Group helps members of the design professions understand and accept their responsibility to create places that protect health, develop better health and restore health once it is impaired. Every project by every professional in every practice impacts the health of the people who use it, which means that the work of the Public Health Group is relevant and useful to every architect in every Member Section of the UIA – and the world. Recent experience with COVID-19 has reinforced in our minds the impact that design can have on our health and on the spread of disease.
How we do it
The UIA Public Health Work Programme enjoys a rich history of seminars developed for its members, often in collaboration with partner organisations like the IHF and WHO. In addition, UIA Public Health often takes a leadership role in organising or facilitating discussion groups at international congresses on health architecture and engineering. The UIA Public Health Work Programme, with its Secretariat, is preparing important new global initiatives on designing for health.
2022: UIA Year of Design for Health
During the UIA General Assembly held in July 2021, there was near unanimous support for a proposal to declare 2022 as The Year of Design for Health. This recognised both the high priority of designing for health in our world today and reflected the universal responsibility among architects to create environments that respect that high priority. As part of this international year-long celebration and commitment, the UIA has pledged to do the following:
- Urge all UIA member sections to encourage architects and their clients to use evidence-based design to promote health in buildings and cities;
- Launch an open-access digital information hub on designing for improved health, benefitting all nations;
- Establish an international research agenda to advance the goals of designing for health; and,
- Support the creation of resources that will help architects conduct research in designing for health.
For more information…
The UIA Public Health Work Programme has established a Secretariat at the Center for Health Systems & Design at Texas A&M University in the United States. For information on PHG membership guidelines, as well as opportunities for service and news of important upcoming events, please visit our website.