Interactive Workshop: 100 minutes
Q&A: 20 minutes

Extensive research shows a strong correlation between the health of children and the primary environments in which they spend most of their time: home, school, and neighbourhood. Yet, when it comes to designing and constructing schools, architects and planners are rarely asked to employ design strategies that promote the mental and physical health of children. All too often, the holistic health of the child is not prioritized when devoting resources to the design of a school. The concept of salutogenesis—building design that seeks to enhance health and well-being—is relatively new and, as such, lacks guidelines that would otherwise assist architects when designing or renovating schools.

This supersession will introduce attendees to health and well-being research from many different fields to understand how this may be applied within the context of school design. Through interactive exercises this session will help attendees assess the efficacy of a comprehensive set of 27 design guidelines. Attendees will be introduced to the HSAT (Healthy School Assessment Tool). This tool will help school architects and planners as well as school districts and principals assess the educational adequacy of their learning spaces to map out steps necessary to create salutogenic learning environments that enhance the well-being and resilience of all children.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn how to use the Healthy School Assessment Tool (HSAT) that measures over 200 school building elements related to student health and wellbeing and apply this to measure the environmental quality of new and renovated buildings during design and after construction.
2. Those who attend this supersession will be able to design learning spaces that facilitate the delivery of a holistic, well-rounded curriculum. Such environments will be developed from the ground up with a focus on social and emotional development and overall student wellness.
3. Understand and be able to design schools that are driven by the latest research in the world of education and salutogenesis – the science of wellness.
4. Gain a sound understanding of the essential foundational elements of good school design – and they can utilize this understanding to move schools and school districts away from the traditional and obsolete school buildings that still dominate the educational landscape and toward healthier, more sustainable and functional designs – always keeping student health and wellbeing as the focus.