Date/Time: November 7, 2026 | 3:15 – 4:15 pm

Room: TAHOMA 3

Abstract:  What can designers do to create spaces and places that enhance health and experiences beyond a “first do no harm” approach? This session will explore lessons and design principles of behavioral health facilities to consider a more holistic approach that can be applied to the design of learning environments. Drawing on design expertise developed in their creation of many dozens of behavioral health facilities, a team of facilitators will introduce and explore key practices and features that are easy to incorporate into learning environment designs. Even for those familiar with school designs, some of these will likely be new and others may be new in their application to schools. Many will also be directly supportive of learning as well as wellbeing. The session will explore broad concepts and details of how design can support moving away from problems to adaptation by considering what design features may not normally be considered critical to student experience. This holistic approach considers students’ physiological, cognitive, emotional, and pedagogical growth and wellness across a broad spectrum of considerations, including:

• What human senses are both critical and frequently ignored in design?
• How do wider hallways improve behavior?
• How does transparency enhance user comfort?
• Why is personal agency critical?
• How can mechanical systems are critical to reducing human stress?
• What is the role of interaction and immersion in nature?

Large group discussion of topics and specific design features, the underlying reasons for their importance, and built solutions. Small group workshops will explore how to implement and apply the concepts introduced with participants challenged to consider these while exploring approaches and design solutions. The key challenge for all will be to explore these holistically and go beyond avoiding or compensating for prior trauma to create environments that are truly supportive, nurturing, and restorative to users’ health, wellbeing, and learning.

Learning Objectives:

1. Develop greater understanding of the principles and importance of a more holistic approach to human-centered design.
2. Learn the fundamentals of behavioral health and how it is important to consider for students and staff in schools.
3. Learn principles, lessons, and practices from the design of behavior health facilities that can enhance the design and experience of learning environments.
4. Explore and develop understanding of specific examples and details of design approaches in architectural, landscape, and mechanical systems that are often overlooked in the design of schools but are important contributors to user health and behavior.