KU Institute of Health+Wellness Design to host 4th annual Health & Wellness Symposium

The School of Architecture & Design’s Institute of Health + Wellness Design will host the fourth annual KU Health & Wellness Symposium on Thursday, Mar. 5 in Marvin Hall. 

Sustainable design is crucial for mankind. Buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of global CO2 emissions. Water and other natural resources must be utilized effectively to manage limited resources. Hospitals and other health care facilities generate major energy and natural resource demands. This year’s Health & Wellness Symposium will explore the ways that architects and designers can incorporate sustainable design principles in environments that enhance human health and well-being. 

The Institute of Health+Wellness Design has invited three leading health care design professionals to discuss the future of sustainability in health care facilities: 

Willa Kuh is Director of Planning for the Building Performance Practice at Affiliated Engineers, Inc. where she develops energy mitigation and comprehensive sustainability plans. As well, she leads AEI’s Water Stewardship Group and Resilience+Design Group, which operate to advance climate change design expertise.  

Rick Maniktala is President and Principal at BranchPattern (formerly M.E. GROUP). With over 20 years of experience, he has worked on more than 60 healthcare projects and led the firm’s integrated-design efforts on multiple large-scale health and wellness projects across the country. 

Steve McDowell is BNIM’s Director of Design. Believing that good design is about people–their health, productivity and lifting the human spirit through design–his work is setting new standards in high performance design. Under his leadership, BNIM received the AIA Firm Award in 2011. 

Symposium will begin at 12:30 p.m. in The Forum at Marvin Hall. At the conclusion of the Symposium at 2:30 p.m., join the speakers for a reception in 305 Marvin Hall. 

Event is free and open to the public.