CONCORD, CA – Gensler has become the newest Advocate Firm for the Evidence-Based Design Accreditation and Certification (EDAC) program from The Center for Health Design (CHD). As a global leader in architecture, interiors, planning, and strategic consulting, with professionals networked across 33 locations on five continents, Gensler is now committed to having 25 percent of its health care division attain EDAC accreditation.
“Gensler prides itself on a research-based methodology to inform the design process,” says Barbara Bouza, AIA, LEED AP, a principal at Gensler, Los Angeles, and leader of the firm’s health care practice. “We fully support the EDAC program and are excited to become an Advocate Firm and collaborate with The Center for Health Design. Research gives us invaluable insight into user behavior and the dynamics of the health care environments that we design.”
As a leading architecture and interior design firm, Gensler leverages its deep resources and diverse expertise in such areas as health care, hospitality, workplace, science and technology, brand design and retail. Gensler is committed to research and has published the results of its independent surveys in the United States and United Kingdom to determine how the workplace environment affects productivity, creativity and attitudes about work. Gensler recently facilitated focus groups, patient shadowing, family interviews and benchmarking for a leading academic medical institution to gain insights into the user experience from the patient and family point of view. Gensler’s goal through innovative design is to balance the understanding of human needs, economic requirements and environmental responsibility.
“The EDAC program sets a standard of practice in design and pushes the envelope of innovation in the health care design industry,” says Debra Levin, president and CEO of The Center for Health Design. “We applaud Gensler for taking on this commitment to become an Advocate Firm and continuing to lead the way for innovation in our field.”
Through the EDAC program, CHD has defined and standardized the evidence-based design process as a way to educate and assess an individual’s understanding of how to base design decisions on credible research evidence. Since the launch of the EDAC exam in April 2009, more than 300 individuals worldwide have been accredited. For more information about the EDAC program, visit www.healthdesign.org/edac.
About The Center for Health Design
The Center for Health Design (CHD), formed in 1993, is a nonprofit research and advocacy organization of forward-thinking health care, elder care, design and construction professionals, and product manufacturers who are leading the quest to improve the quality of health care facilities and create new environments for healthy aging. Its voluntary board of directors guides the work of paid staff that manages and directs the organization’s research, education, outreach, and advocacy efforts. For more information, visit www.healthdesign.org.
About Gensler
Gensler is a global design, planning, and strategic consulting firm with professionals networked across 33 locations on five continents. Consistently ranked by U.S. and international industry surveys as the leading architecture and interior design firm, Gensler leverages its deep resources and diverse expertise to develop design solutions for industries across the globe. For its longstanding commitment to sustainable design, Gensler received the inaugural Leadership Award from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2006. Visit www.gensler.com to learn more.