Architecture students show design can improve health outcomes

HEALTHCARE DESIGN STUDENT AWARD

Samia Mansour, of San Marcos, California, and Juhyun So, of Overland Park – architecture students in Hui Cai’s Health and Wellness Design Capstone Studio – were awarded a 2020 Healthcare Environment Award in the student Graduate Project category.

Their project, “NOLA Behavioral Health Inpatient Facility,” is a proposed 48-bed behavioral health hospital adjacent to the University Medical Center in New Orleans that provides a home base to offer a full range of behavioral health services.

The students’ research revealed a high concentration of behavioral health issues for all age groups in New Orleans, with each group having its own behavioral health concerns. Moreover, a high percentage of the homeless population in the area suffer from behavioral issues, such as substance abuse.

The project addresses the needs across underserved user groups by providing three 16-bed inpatient units (geriatric, adult, adolescent), an outpatient behavioral health service for working parents and adolescents in school, and a homeless rehabilitation center. It integrates nature, music, arts, nutrition, and physical activities in the holistic healing process for mental health recovery.

Students and researchers have access to an unparalleled array of research tools and resources. The School’s new Health and Wellness Design Simulation Lab allows projects to be explored and tested at human scale in virtual reality.