John Tocci, Sr.’s Post

Building on our insightful discussion, we're excited to delve into the second trend affecting design and construction: Behavioral & Mental Health. Key Takeaways: The pandemic has heightened the need for designs that address mental health, as evidenced by a 25% global rise in anxiety and depression. Modern design now integrates physical and digital elements to offer restorative solutions. Bridging operational decisions with physical structures is crucial for harmonious environments, and involving medical teams in design decisions ensures optimal care. Addressing mental health needs extends beyond hospitals to community-focused projects like gardens and affordable housing. Examples: Improve mental health with clear wayfinding, avoid dark, unwelcoming staff corridors, and design flexible ED rooms for Behavioral Health. Design can significantly impact mental well-being! Haworth, Interface, nora by Interface, Champlin Architecture, Bon Secours Mercy Health, Cincinnati Children's, Blue Cottage of CannonDesign, GBBN Architects, Messer Construction Co. #PanelDiscussion #HealthcareTrend #HealthcareDesign #TeamRCFGroup #CincinnatiHealthcareSummit

Take a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to plan and design the more than $500 million Barwon Women’s and Children’s. Projectors cast life-size architectural plans on to an open floorspace in a North Melbourne warehouse to create a virtual walk-through. This process helped future workers of the facility give practical feedback on the design based on their clinical experience.  Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g3aJ6UXz Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority Victorian Department of Health Barwon Health #PublicHealth #Infrastructure

Check out this recent article! We are committed to providing thoughtful creative solutions that elevate the human experience for seniors and the staff who care for them!

Isaac Wallace’s recent article, "Designing for Staff Efficiency," highlights his dedication to creating thoughtful solutions for senior living environments. In collaboration with AgeWell Solvere Living, he explores how intentional design can enhance staff workflows, leading to more effective care and improved operational outcomes. Follow this link to read more: https://lnkd.in/eJRnpPE5   Building on this commitment, Isaac is attending the Senior Housing News ReBUILD conference, where he is engaging with industry leaders to discuss challenges and innovations shaping the future of senior living.   His work continues to reflect ERDMAN’s focus on creating spaces that empower both staff and residents. #SeniorLiving #DesignWithPurpose #StaffEfficiency #ERDMAN

We often hear that we need to do better as a society without examples or further explanation. Well, here is a beautiful one, buildings that heal. There is a new architectural movement slowly gaining traction, known as trauma-informed design (TID), that counterbalances dehumanizing design. TID uses intentional design to create beautiful buildings for the people who need it most, giving these individuals a feeling of dignity and worth so they can start to heal. Check out this article and ponder how you can be more intentional to help others heal. #bthechange #positivenews https://lnkd.in/gkqSjage

Anyone who's worked in the open spaces sector knows that developing benchmarks for open spaces and achieving consensus is no small task. In recent years, in an effort to add nuance to historic benchmarks like 2.83 hectares per 1,000 people and to consider factors like quality and accessibility (which are very important!), we've swung to the other extreme, where the required quantum of open space has taken a back seat. This approach can be quite misleading because it might suggest that the same amount of open space is needed whether 100 people or 100,000 people are in a given area, as long as everyone has access to some kind of open space. This graphic we developed during Covid demonstrates that it's crucial to provide enough open space proportional to the population, while making sure that they are high quality and are well-connected. Quality and accessibility should complement our open space network, not serve as a substitute for it. This will ensure our places are resilient and continue to have a high standard of living. #openspaceplanning #socialinfrastructure

More on open space provisioning/benchmarking In many growth areas, and in some urban areas with growing populations, there just isn't the quality public open space in proximity (usually around 200m without barriers in high density, and 400 to 800m in low to medium density) to service the future growing population (or even the existing in some cases). When planning for what will go into masterplans and proposals for these new and growing areas - just what is the benchmark we should apply? Depends of course on a range of factors, but one population-based benchmark we've been applying at Cred Consulting lately is one we developed during the Covid pandemic - when we saw so many communities, particularly in Western Sydney, who simply couldn't walk to a park within 800m. Or the ones they could access were tiny and unembellished. We worked out “How many people can you fit into a 0.5ha park standing 1.5m apart" While we know capacity benchmarking is also about quality and design, we worked out that you can fit just under 1,100 in a 0.5ha park (or 2,200 people in a 1ha park). If we want everyone to be able to use their local parks, or if we are faced with a disaster requiring evacuation, or another pandemic, then there probably needs to be enough open space nearby that the local community can literally can fit in. And let's face it, the higher the density of house, the more people living in smaller areas, the more important our public open spaces are for our health, climate and economy. Jen Guice Abinaya Rajavelu Sebastian Pfautsch GAICD Jeremy Gill Fiona Morrison Bec Watson Beck Dawson Julia Miller-Randle Elise O'Ryan Libby G. Matt Coggan Heather Nesbitt

Trauma-informed design is an approach that takes into consideration the potential impact of built environments on individuals who have experienced trauma. By incorporating principles such as safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment, designers can create spaces that promote healing and well-being. This approach is particularly important in settings such as healthcare facilities, schools, and social service agencies. By implementing trauma-informed design, we can create environments that support the recovery and resilience of those who have experienced trauma. #traumainformeddesign #healingenvironments #wellbeing

Trauma-informed design is an approach that takes into consideration the potential impact of built environments on individuals who have experienced trauma. By incorporating principles such as safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment, designers can create spaces that promote healing and well-being. This approach is particularly important in settings such as healthcare facilities, schools, and social service agencies. By implementing trauma-informed design, we can create environments that support the recovery and resilience of those who have experienced trauma. #traumainformeddesign #healingenvironments #wellbeing

What can fabric first mean for social fabric? Interesting reflection from The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland's president Chris Stewart PRIAS on the links between rehab and retrofit and the dual meanings words and language can have. "Rehabilitation is more typically associated with the action of restoring someone as opposed to something back to health. The idea that retrofit goes beyond the material aspects of the built environment and incorporates immaterial aspects and meanings is important. Buildings are not just artifacts but are liveable examples of social structure behavioural patterns. We need to do more to recognise the connection between the rehabilitation of architecture and social cohesion." In public health, some health promotion approaches critique the idea that health is an ideal condition and that our job as professionals is to push ill health back up the hill to this ideal state and back on a pedestal. Instead health promotion is about the constant support that is needed to maintain wellbeing and avoid entropy. Maybe there's something similar to reflect on for social wellbeing - the need to constantly support and maintain social fabric using sustainable methods and resources and building on the fabric that already exists in people in local places My biggest learning from my PhD that 20 years in architectural practice didn't teach me is a deeper understanding of the street environment right outside our front doors as both a physical environment and a social one. We say it in practice but often don't *really* get it. If we can rehabilitate both then we stand a chance of addressing health for people and planet. #SocialWellbeing #HealthyStreetlife