DREXEL DESIGN RESEARCH for HEALTH LAB
DREXEL DESIGN RESEARCH for HEALTH LAB
health, equity, community, care
 

Featured Projects

 
 

MCSAP

Mantua Creative Standard for Aging-in-place

Through participatory projects in the community and study of age-friendly principles, age-friendly care, and current standards in aging, this interiors-focused trauma-informed analytical scorecard is under development with actionable next steps for residents to repair and maintain their urban interior spaces and develop creative space.

Care Kits

Equity and Design for Dignity

Design Research + Graduate Innovation

Biodesign

for Aging

URBN STEAMlab and GARDEN FRESH HOME were founded by Dr. Shivanthi Anandan and D.S. Nicholas in 2012, with a focus on Urban Sustainable Living and green space in the urban environment. Our work is patent pending with two low-impact growing units for underserved urban families without access to fresh food.

 

Mobile Autism Assesment Unit

Community Health and Autism Assesment

Creative Community

Creative Aging-in-place introducing a co-housing project in Northwest Philadelphia with Drexel Writers Room and Faculty from the School of Education and College of Arts and Sciences. DRDR4HEALTH is a partner in the efforts

 

Mantua Active Seniors Garden

A garden for active seniors co-designed with an interdisciplinary group of students and faculty

Our Creative Process

 

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MCSAP

The main objective of the MCSAP relates to developing supportive interiors through assessment and re-conceptualization. Building on and continuing the community-based participatory approach, the team here uses the scorecard to make suggestions for interiors that support aging residents in active creative endeavors.  To develop the MCSAP around shared creative space where this group meets to write, and make art, an observational study is undertaken along with a literature review of existing measures to synthesize the MCSAP further, and a visual analysis of the observational data collected. Synthesized from best practices in aging-in-place and a six-plus year experience with this specific underserved community, the MCSAP tool yields detailed interior improvement and repair suggestions for seniors to create and age in place safely. Our observational study outcomes include a further development and initial validation of our detailed MCSAP checklist to better understand the preparedness of these intergenerational shared spaces to serve older adults over time.

for more info on the MCSAP and how to work with us please fill in this form

Garden Fresh Home

URBN STEAMlab and GARDEN FRESH HOME were founded by Dr. Shivanthi Anandan and D.S. Nicholas in 2012, with a focus on Urban Sustainable Living and green space in the urban environment. Our work is patented with two low-impact growing units for underserved urban families without access to fresh food. This project integrates evidence-based design and fundamental research processes in science into the research of green space and food production within the home.

A short video about the latest work on the Garden Fresh Home growing unit for families with a lack of access to healthy food.

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proto-

typing

Transdisciplinary thinking in the design of sustainable indoor and outdoor urban spaces

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biodesign

We are engaged in developing a healthy growing system for urban underserved housing. Our methods are inherently cross disciplinary.

SECOND STORY COLLECTIVE

(SSC)

Creative Aging-in-place is the DESIGN AND RESEARCH goal with this co-housing project in Northwest Philadelphia, with Drexel Writers Room and Faculty from the School of Education and College of Arts and Sciences. current work includes aging-in-place assessment and checklist for residents. DRDR4HEALTH is a partner in the efforts and As you may know, this summer our Second Story Collective team was awarded a $1M Civic Innovation grant from the NSF. We are the only group of this year's awardees addressing inequities in housing. Our goal is Placekeeping—to develop an arts-centered model for intergenerational co-housing and affordable homeownership.

One of our team member’s renderings of our prototype on a bunk. The rendering shows the bag in “Privacy Screen” mode. When folded, the bag resembles and acts like a backpack.

The Better Bunk Backpack

This privacy backpack design has emerged through a collaborative exploration of living spaces at current shelters, therapeutic strategies, and privacy screen solutions. The privacy screen/backpack solution creates a sense of ownership, belonging, and hope for women, children, and veterans facing insecure housing.

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Health design Research Innovations Projects

interdisciplinary coursework that explores health and design through the lens of human-centered design research. This work also falls under the umbrella of scholarship of teaching and learning and is a collaboration with Dr. Yvonne Michael from The Dornsife School of Public Health. 

The students in HDI projects use a combination of design thinking, social determinants of health, and cultural, socio-economical, and Design research to understand the problems they were approaching. Funded through 100k of foundation funding 2016-2021.

STEM +

CREATIVE

PROCESSES

Curriculum

(AKA: Cirge)

The CIRGE Project is focused on inter-professional creative collaborations with health and STEM researchers, including mentorship of novice designers, prioritizing designing, ideating, and advocating for change. As Design lead and Co-PI on the CIRGE (IGE: Creative Interdisciplinary Research in Graduate Education) program team, we work with a diverse set of researchers and practitioners, to develop coursework and research in the area of interprofessional teaching and mentorship.

PROJECT FUNDING

$ 499,174.00 National Science Foundation; “IGE: CreativeInterdisciplinary Research in Graduate Education (CIRGE)”

PI- Fraser Fleming, Department Head Chemistry; Co-PID.S. Nicholas, AIA; Co-PI Paul Gondek, PhD; Co-PI Jen Katz-Buonincontro, PhD; Co-PI Dan King, PhD. NSF 17-585Innovations in Graduate Education program.

mobile reach

DREXEL AUTISM INSTITUTE

This Project was a collaboration between the Design + Care 4 Health Lab and The Autism Institute. In the summer of 2012 and during the 2012/2013 school year, The Drexel Autism Institute and a multidisciplinary group of students from the Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, led by Dee Nicholas, collaborated on a design to create a mobile clinic for the use of the Institute. The first mobile assessment unit in a heavily populated urban area and one of the very few mobile clinics for autism in the U.S., this clinic works to reach underserved populations in this urban area. The design was developed through a six-week studio course, in which four multidisciplinary teams of students developed designs for the project. The program included designing the interior and exterior of the mobile unit.

 

“

OCTOBER 2013

“The newly established A.J. Drexel Autism Institute of Drexel University — the first institute in the country to treat autism as a public health issue — is working on plans to put Philadelphia’s first mobile autism unit on the road. The converted van will be used for testing and diagnosis, with the intention of getting help to currently under-served communities. When it came time to find designers for the van conversion, the institute kept it in the family: They turned to students at the university’s Westphal College of Media Arts and Design. D.S. Nicholas, an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Architecture and Interiors, was tapped to teach an interdisciplinary course tasked with coming up with design proposals”

Philly Metro “Drexel’s Autism Institute goes mobile” / Read similar Article

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Design

Build

Garden

In this Drexel University community design-build venture, trans-disciplinary teams of interior design and architecture students and faculty, gained skills in community building. Centered on the needs of an aging population, occupancy, team design, and team construction; the project took place at Mantua Presbyterian Apartments a HUD senior housing facility.

Consisting of community interface, intensive collaborative design sessions, and element prototyping followed by on-site construction and fabrication; the process included receiving advice from Drexel biomedical engineering students on designing for the elderly. Residents took part in user-driven charrettes to identify working solutions for the space. Project methodology involved engaging with community members, prototyping solutions, and user-centered resolutions. In considering a space for residents to come together, the clients requested gathering, gardening, and relaxation spaces. Considerations for accessibility, such as safe paving and maintenance were also incorporated. The garden paths designed are a“loop” that the residents can repeatedly stroll to increase outdoor time and movement-their “life space”. Post Occupancy was undertaken in collaboration with public health students and faculty. With Kieran Timberlake’s Andrew Cronin.

 
 
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PRESENTATION AND PAPER

2022    Hurwich, T., Nicholas, D., Fleming, F., Gondek, P., Katz-Buonincontro, J., King, D., &           Perignat, E. (2022). Designing For Creative Research In Graduate    Education. ICERI2022Proceedings, 195–201. https://doi.org/10.21125/iceri.2022.0081     In-person presentation, Sevilla by D.S. Nicholas International Event/Outlet

JOURNAL ARTICLE

2022    Perignat, E., Fleming, F. F., Nicholas, D., King, D., Katz-Buonincontro, J., & Gondek, P. (2022).

Effective Practices for High Performing Interdisciplinary Faculty Teams. College Teaching. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/87567555.2022.2086525

 
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