Our Story
The Building for Wellbeing (BWB) collaborative was born from a common interest around salutogenic built environment design from two different colleges at North Carolina State University: the College of Design and the College of Natural Resources. Initiated through a successful grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation under their Engaging Businesses in Health program, our initial partnership explored how multifamily developers engage health topics in their residential projects.
This project purposefully identified developers viewed as leaders in health in multifamily and asked a series of questions around how their organizations think about, prioritize, and implement health in their properties.
(Learn more about that research project here.)
After exploring this research and broadening our understanding of opportunities to contribute to this conversation locally and more broadly, we applied and were accepted to the AIA’s Design and Health Research Consortium (DHRC). The DHRC is a group of programs affiliated with architecture programs around the country, with solid partnerships in public health, that share resources, strategies, and opportunities to help grow the knowledge around health in the built environment.
“Understanding the relationship between how population groups experience 'place' and the impact of 'place' on health is fundamental to the social determinants of health-including both social and physical determinants.”
(DHHS 2018)
Our biggest and most recent project started in the fall of 2019 upon receiving a research grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders program. The study aimed to explore how the design of a hybrid YMCA/elementary school in Southeast Raleigh impacted the physical, mental, and emotional health of students, faculty, staff, and the greater community.
Using case study research methodology, the BWB team conducted interviews with faculty, families, and community members to understand health outcomes based on the unique design of the elementary school. Campus site visits and canvassing were also conducted to engage the broader community.
Led by Dr. Traci Rose Rider and Dr. J. Aaron Hipp, the BWB team believes that healthy building includes all built environments, parks to commercial space, and spans issues of sustainability, equity, and inclusion. This website is a hub for relevant research and resources for practitioners and researchers interested in health, equity, and the built environment.
Collaborative
The Building for Wellbeing Lab is an interdisciplinary collaborative between the College of Design and the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University.
Connect with Us
Interested in learning more about our work or partnering with us? Please send us an email at buildingforwellbeing@ncsu.edu