Mental Health and Architecture

"Mental Health and Architecture" with Scott Bales AIA, EDAC and Samia Mansour Assoc. AIA, EDAC of Cuningham Group Architecture. This video (recorded March 15, 2022) is part of a series focused on specific industries by the Workplace Suicide Prevention* program, a collaborative partnership of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and United Suicide Survivors International.

The built environment has a significant impact on personal and social mental wellbeing. This webinar will provide an overview of the current measures and design strategies that are currently available for implementation across all project typologies. It is important for all stakeholders to acknowledge that an individual spends a significant portion of their life in the workplace. Furthermore, understanding how the environment itself can support mental health is a critical step when addressing wellbeing.

Learning Objectives:

1. Share data on the affect of the built environment on personal and social mental wellbeing.

2. Demonstrate what current measures and design strategies in the workplace are understood to have an effect on mental health.

3. Discuss next steps and future goals for mental health and architecture.

Guest speakers:
Scott Bales AIA, EDAC
LEED Green Associate, Architect at Cuningham Group Architecture (https://cuningham.com/)
Scott is a results-oriented architect who is passionate about creating safe, meaningful and functional behavioral health spaces. With experience since 2015, he has cultivated an enthusiasm for creating spaces that allow providers to deliver the highest level of care and afford users the maximum chances for successful outcomes. Scott is particularly interested in accessibility and universal design to remove barriers for all.

Samia Mansour Assoc. AIA, EDAC
LEED Green Associate, Designer at Cuningham Group Architecture
Samia is a designer that enjoys planning effective and efficient behavioral health spaces that are conducive to healing and overall wellbeing. She applies evidence-based design to turn goals and visions into strategic solutions that prioritize patient and staff success. In her projects, she strives to create environments that meet the mental health needs of the individual and provide long-lasting positive outcomes.

*The Workplace Suicide Prevention program has a call to action to all workplaces and professional associations — now is the time to implement the National Guidelines for Workplace Suicide Prevention! Make suicide prevention a health and safety priority at work. Take the pledge and learn more at https://workplacesuicideprevention.com. Visit https://afsp.org/ and https://unitesurvivors.org/.