Health Research through Design. A Reflection on the Capacities of Design Research in Investigating Health and the Design of the Built Environment

Abstract

Research into the relationships between health and the design of the built environment have been pursued more actively in the public health and planning fields in recent times. As a consequence, much of the findings and outcomes from this field of inquiry have generally been more applicable to the policy and planning arena with little direct relationship to the practice of architectural, landscape and urban design.

This paper outlines, evaluates and offers conclusions arising from the outcomes of two sets of design research projects led and overseen by this paper’s authors: Leire Asensio Villoria and David Mah. Both research projects focus on the framing of design practice through a public health lens, whereby design processes and models were generated with health-related concerns operating as the major parameters and determinants of design strategies and practice.

The efficacy of using health-related information and principles to inform urban design practice is evaluated through these specific examples of deliberate health and places design research. Through these specific research projects, this paper also aims to evaluate the possibilities or capacities offered by design research to contribute towards the wider body of knowledge on health and the design of places.