Churchill famously said, ‘we shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.‘ (1948). Our research captures how the world shapes our health and wellbeing, how we experience place, what is going on in our minds and bodies as we move through space, and aims to apply this knowledge to the design and planning of the built environment.
Our goal is to foster and apply research to design solutions that allow us be fitter, happier, more productive, age better, live longer, and help us all live together in a positive and meaningful way.
Specifically, we aim to:
- Drive world-class scientific research on the neurological and psychological impact of environments on the human mind
- Translate basic research into design practices
- Promote excellence in teaching to educate a new generation of design-health professionals and leaders to promote a vision for healthy, inclusive places
- Generate impact and serve as the definitive ‘go-to’ design-health resource for Virginia and beyond
- Drive discourse within the disciplines of architecture, planning, and landscape architecture as agents of health change