Committee on Architecture for Education

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Design & Health and Committee on Architecture for Education .
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With up to 50 percent of students' daily energy intake occurring in the school building, schools are often the focus of targeted efforts to combat childhood obesity. Recent evidence has shown that although school-based nutrition education programs may contribute to healthier eating habits, these programs are not consistently effective on their own. 

But we know that the way architects design school features can improve the effectiveness of those programs. In an article published in the April 2015 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, researchers examine five findings on how school architecture influences health. 

You can check out the five findings here: http://nccor.org/blog/influence-of-school-architecture-and-design-on-healthy-eating-key-findings-from-systematic-review/ 

I'm sharing this here because I think it'll resonate with members of CAE, and wonder: how are you tackling issues of activity and nutrition in the design of school environments? 

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Matthew Welker Assoc. AIA
Sr. Manager, Strategic Alliance & Initiatives
The American Institute of Architects
Washington DC
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Dear Matt,
Thank you for posting and referencing this groundbreaking work. As a member of the design and research team for the project highlighted in the AJPH article [and several forthcoming articles on this project] - I want to acknowledge the power of interdisciplinary collaboration when seeking to accelerate a paradigm shift in designing places where children and adolescents learn, live, play and discover. What lies at the deep intersection of public health and architecture are people...children being the most vulnerable to the complex set of choices we design and build into the environment. Building our capacity to understand the role architecture plays, especially within the healthy eating / physical activity & movement domains, signals a critical shift in both health and learning priorities. It's an exciting time to push boundaries, work holistically across disciplines, evaluate the impact of design and re-conceptualize a fresh and healthy set of choices through the eyes of children. To do so, we need to lean on and translate evidence-based expertise and we need to be willing to contribute to the evidence base to highlight the critical, applicable frameworks for both practice and policy consideration. A big measure in any culture of education will put a spotlight on health, wellbeing and creativity - not just test scores.

For more resources on the work - check out the publications, resources and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation film via www.wemoveschoolsforward.com

The Buckingham project also highlighted as a CAE award recipient:
http://network.aia.org/committeeonarchitectureforeducation/home/awards/2014recipients

We also contributed to a new publication and significant accomplishment for the state of Minnesota:
Health Impact Assessment on Planning School Construction Projects in Minnesota 2015
Casting a new 'health' lens on State Ed Specs - an exciting sign of a state moving forward!
http://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/sites/default/files/HIA%20-%20Building%20Healthy%20Schools_0.pdf

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthy Eating Research Initiative
http://healthyeatingresearch.org/

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Dina Sorensen, Associate
Design Research
VMDO Architects, P.C.
Charlottesville VA
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