A collaborative research project on evidence-based and eco-effective design

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to provide information regarding the design of healthcare facilities in the context of two important considerations, evidence-based design (EBD) and eco-effective design (EED). The secondary purpose was to test the effectiveness of research involving collaboration between practitioners and academic researchers, and the collaboration between EBD and EED professionals. The research team included designers and staff from a firm specializing in EBD and EED and a university researcher. Methods employed included focus groups, snowball surveys, and questionnaires. Practitioner focus groups specializing in EBD and EED identified critical questions that were translated into a 22-question, Likert and narrative-response survey. EBD and EED experts, via a snowball survey, selected the best practice institutions that would be the most appropriate recipients of a questionnaire that would address the role of EBD and EED. Administrators, representing these institutions, participated in the survey. This study is significant in that it demonstrates that in spite of prior perceptions that EBD and EED are in conflict with one another, administrators perceived the two as being fundamentally compatible. This conclusion is useful to designers and facility administrators by freeing them to incorporate both of these critical approaches in the design of new facilities. Observations are made regarding the collaborative process between practitioners and researchers.