Recently named one of the 25 most influential in Healthcare Design, environmental psychologist and professor of architecture Craig Zimring is helping to transform military healthcare in a Department of Defense project to upgrade its hospitals and clinics.

“Our group focuses on ‘bench to classroom to bedside to policy,’ linking research to education to application to policy,” said Zimring, who heads the research program leading the nation in evidence-based design. In fact, Zimring and two Georgia Tech alumni--Debajyoti Pati (PhD Arch 2005) and Anjali Joseph (PhD 2006)--were recently named to Healthcare Design Magazine’s 25 most influential people in healthcare design. The group’s recent successes include supporting the development of the New York City Active Living Design Guidelines and winning a significant research grant from the United States Department of Defense Military Health System to evaluate and upgrade its hospitals and clinics.

“We have been awarded an additional $450,000 from the Military Health System (MHS), bringing the total of this 20-month project to $950,000 through September,” he said. “The principal focus is to conduct research examining the impact of design on a range of healthcare outcomes--falls, noise, infections, nurse back injuries, and transfers--in four National Capital Region military hospitals and three non-military facilities.” The group also will consult on MHS construction projects including Fort Bliss, Walter Reed and others and contributing to world-class standards for MHS design and care.

Other collaborative research projects between the Georgia Tech Health Systems Institute and the College of Architecture include:
- providing Louisiana State University technical support for the replacement hospital for Charity Hospital in New Orleans;

- connecting students and professionals on a team to design an innovative small hospital in rural Indonesian Borneo for Health In Harmony that provides healthcare and healthcare education as well as supporting sustainable agriculture.

- working with Nurture by Steelcase and others to explore opportunities for supporting improved healthcare design in China, especially through evidence-based design.

The College of Architecture at Georgia Tech has been a leader in design innovation since 1908. Students, faculty and researchers in the Schools of Architecture, Building Construction, City and Regional Planning, Industrial Design and Music work across boundaries to advance knowledge of designed environments at all scales, producing new realms of experience and creativity. Georgia Tech offers bachelors, masters and doctoral studies in architecture, building construction, and industrial design: masters and doctoral studies in planning and music. Areas of concentration include, integrated project delivery, and high performance buildings and urban design. The College’s seven interdisciplinary research centers apply cutting edge research in partnership with corporate, government, and nonprofit agencies. These centers include the Advanced Wood Products Laboratory/Digital Design and Fabrication Lab; the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA); the Center for Geographic Information Systems (CGIS); the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology (GTCMT); the Interactive Media Architecture Group in Education (IMAGINE Lab); the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD); and the Construction Resources Center (CRC).