Kirk Hamilton, FAIA, FACHA
Fellow of the Center for Health Systems & Design
Associate Professor, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
The feeling I got from the recent HealthCare Design '06 conference in Chicago was nicely framed by the comparison between Ian Morrison's opening high density yet humorous analysis of healthcare policy and statistics along with its possible futures and Robin Orr's simple and touching closing which effectively urged each of us to increase our self-awareness in order to design for true compassion. A great pair of windows to both the outside and inner worlds!
The constant focus and laser-like attention to evidence-based design in virtually every presentation tells me the concept has taken root and has reached a tipping point of compelling importance to practitioners and their clients. The merger of the Coalition for Health Environments Research and the Center for Health Design portends added strength and critical mass for advancing the common research agenda.
The evidence-based chorus at the conference was so overwhelming as to lead me to think we may be on the verge of overusing a great idea and turning it into a meaningless catch phrase. I think we need to see more and deeper development of the evidence-based model next year--going farther into process and measured outcomes, rather than repeating the same ideas--and we need to balance it with additional important themes for folks involved in healthcare design.
I attended one of the discussion groups (on timeless design) and thoroughly enjoyed a deeper discussion with a smaller group of interested participants. I enjoyed the comment of one new participant who told me she got as much or more from the interaction with other attendees as she had from the presentations and I also observed a high level of interaction in the corridors and the extensive exhibit hall.
I was especially delighted to hear spontaneous applause when it was announced that the HCD'07 in Dallas will be combined with the annual AIA Academy of Architecture for Health fall meeting, and I for one am eager to see and hear what comes next.
