The Design/HEALth initiative at the University of Colorado aims to improve design at every scale – from the home to the biome – to enhance the health and wellbeing of all people and our planet.
To accomplish this, we bring together design and health professionals situated at the intersection of these fields including doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, architects, planners, urban designers, interior designers, landscape architects, community builders, anthropologists, educators, and artists.
These design and health professionals are engaged in projects that consider the “environmental determinants of health,” from exploring how quality of place impacts health and wellbeing to learning from vernacular building traditions, providing supportive residential communities (for those experiencing homelessness, domestic violence, and other mental and physical health challenges), introducing networks of vibrant public spaces and urban agriculture, providing nature therapy, bringing environmental justice through inclusive design, improving air and water quality, and more.
To share this work and amplify its impact, we are hosting Design/HEALth Summits, distributing newsletters, and more.
Please join us in elevating environmental, urban, and architectural design to improve the health and wellbeing of people and the planet.
September 9
12 - 1 p.m.
Dania Morelli
CU Denver CAP 2026 I Technical Designer, Gensler
Memory Through Scent: How Architecture Can Support Emotional Healing
September 28
12 - 1 p.m.
Elizabeth Hoff, PsyD
Department of Psychiatry, CU Anschutz
The Healing Partnership: How Design Can Support Therapy
October 5
12 - 1 p.m.
Dan Brook, MD & Abraham Nussbaum, MD
Department of Psychiatry, CU Anschutz
Clinical Sites and Houses of Worship: Biophilic Designs in Clinical Settings to Promote Mental Health
October 14
12 - 1 p.m.
Kathleen Fogler
Ideal Wilderness Studio and College of Architecture and Planning, CU Denver
Jeannine Rustad
Director of Planning, City of Aurora
Laura Perry
Assistant City Manager, City of Aurora
The Connected Campus: Design Strategies for Health, Education, and Community
October 26
12 - 2 p.m.
Kate LeMasters, PhD
Department of Medicine-Internal Medicine, CU Anschutz
Shawhin Roubari, PhD
Department of Environmental Studies, CU Boulder
Architectural and Epidemiological Violence: Perspectives on Design and Health in Prisons and Detention Facilities
Professor Julee Herdt taught the first-ever Design/HEALth Architecture Studio.
