DQS Summit – a call to create design quality standards for Ontario hospitals
Farrow Partnership facilitated a Design Quality Standards Summit for approximately 100 hospital administrators, healthcare architects, government decision makers, general contractors and other procurement team members September 20, 2007.
Attendees were given an opportunity to develop a more informed opinion regarding how quality standards for the design of Ontario hospitals can be created and applied.
The agenda for the day included presentations and interviews in the morning, followed by roundtable discussions in the afternoon. Sharon VanderKaay, Director Knowledge Development at Farrow Partnership Architects, introduced the event and served as moderator. She asked participants to consider the following questions throughout the day:
• What is the local impact of worldwide trends in health care in regard to quality design criteria?
• What lessons can Ontario learn from experience outside the province?
• What design standards would be appropriate for Ontario hospitals?
• How can design standards be created and applied?
In the morning international design advocates provided their perspective on developing and promoting design standards. The lead presenter was John Wells-Thorpe, who advises the Commission for Architecture and Built Environment (CABE) in the United Kingdom. Professor Alan Dilani of the International Academy of Design and Health, who is also a researcher at the Karolinska Institutet, Swedish National Institute for Psychosocial Factors and Health, gave the next presentation “Health Promotion by Design”.
Prior to lunch, two representatives from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) spoke about opportunities and challenges related to the creation and application of design standards. The MOHLTC representatives were Doug Murray, Acting Director, Investment and Portfolio Management Branch, and Cliff Harvey, Consultant Architect, Capital Planning Unit
In the afternoon, roundtable discussions provided a chance for participants to examine issues of their choice in depth. The following six break out topics were selected by Summit attendees:
• Timing and Integration of Design Quality Standards
• Communication and Ownership of Design Quality Standards
• Healthy Environments and Sustainability Factors
• Process and Development of Design Quality Standards
• External Stakeholder Involvement in Design Quality Standards
• Design Process Flexibility and Future-Proofing Facilities
The event was sponsored by:
Altus Helyar
Cannon Design
EllisDon Corporation
Farrow Partnership Architects
H.H. Angus & Associates
Halsall Associates
Herman Miller for Healthcare
MMM Group
Montgomery Sisam Architects
Murphy Hilgers Architects
Perkins Eastman Black
Vanbots Construction
Zeidler Partnership Architects
