De innovatiewerkplaats Health Space Design is een living lab waar samen met zorginstellingen praktijkonderzoek wordt gedaan op het snijvlak van ruimte en organisatie. Het doel is om innovaties in de samenhang tussen mensen, gebouw en organisatie te ontwikkelen. De onderzoeken richten zich bijvoorbeeld op gastvrijheid, ontvangst, bewegwijzering, oriëntatie, geluid, bewegen of nieuwbouw.
LINK
In this paper we explore the influence of the physical and social environment (the design space) son the formation of shared understanding in multidisciplinary design teams. We concentrate on the creative design meeting as a microenvironment for studying processes of design communication. Our applied research context entails the design of mixed physical–digital interactive systems supporting design meetings. Informed by theories of embodiment that have recently gained interest in cognitive science, we focus on the role of interactive “traces,” representational artifacts both created and used by participants as scaffolds for creating shared understanding. Our research through design approach resulted in two prototypes that form two concrete proposals of how the environment may scaffold shared understanding in design meetings. In several user studies we observed users working with our systems in natural contexts. Our analysis reveals how an ensemble of ongoing social as well as physical interactions, scaffolded by the interactive environment, grounds the formation of shared understanding in teams. We discuss implications for designing collaborative tools and for design communication theory in general.
MULTIFILE
The Covid-19 pandemic triggered governments and designers to revalue and redesign public spaces. This paper focuses on the various design responses to Covid-19 proposed and implemented in public spaces. In particular, we identify the kinds of challenges that such design responses address and the strategies that they use. We selected 56 design examples, largely collected from internet sources. By analyzing the design examples we identified five Covid-related challenges that were addressed in public space: sustaining amenities, keeping a distance, feeling connected, staying mentally healthy, and expanding health infrastructures. For each challenge, we articulated 2 to 6 design strategies. The challenges highlight the potential of public space to contribute to more resilient cities during times of pandemic, also in the future. The design strategies show the possible ways in which this potential can be fulfilled. In our next steps, we will use our findings to develop a program of possibilities; this program will contain a wide range of design strategies for responding to future pandemics and will be made publically accessible in an online database. The program contributes to more resilient post-Covid cities, by offering a variety of possibilities for coping with, and adapting to, pandemic-related shocks and stressors.
MULTIFILE
In this project, we explore how healthcare providers and the creative industry can collaborate to develop effective digital mental health interventions, particularly for survivors of sexual assault. Sexual assault victims face significant barriers to seeking professional help, including shame, self-blame, and fear of judgment. With over 100,000 cases reported annually in the Netherlands the need for accessible, stigma-free support is urgent. Digital interventions, such as chatbots, offer a promising solution by providing a safe, confidential, and cost-effective space for victims to share their experiences before seeking professional care. However, existing commercial AI chatbots remain unsuitable for complex mental health support. While widely used for general health inquiries and basic therapy, they lack the human qualities essential for empathetic conversations. Additionally, training AI for this sensitive context is challenging due to limited caregiver-patient conversation data. A key concern raised by professionals worldwide is the risk of AI-driven chatbots being misused as therapy substitutes. Without proper safeguards, they may offer inappropriate responses, potentially harming users. This highlights the urgent need for strict design guidelines, robust safety measures, and comprehensive oversight in AI-based mental health solutions. To address these challenges, this project brings together experts from healthcare and design fields—especially conversation designers—to explore the power of design in developing a trustworthy, user-centered chatbot experience tailored to survivors' needs. Through an iterative process of research, co-creation, prototyping, and evaluation, we aim to integrate safe and effective digital support into mental healthcare. Our overarching goal is to bridge the gap between digital healthcare and the creative sector, fostering long-term collaboration. By combining clinical expertise with design innovation, we seek to develop personalized tools that ethically and effectively support individuals with mental health problems.
Despite their various appealing features, drones also have some undesirable side-effects. One of them is the psychoacoustic effect that originates from their buzzing noise that causes significant noise pollutions. This has an effect on nature (animals run away) and on humans (noise nuisance and thus stress and health problems). In addition, these buzzing noises contribute to alerting criminals when low-flying drones are deployed for safety and security applications. Therefore, there is an urgent demand from SMEs for practical knowledge and technologies that make existing drones silent, which is the main focus of this project. This project contributes directly to the KET Digital Innovations\Robotics and multiple themes of the top sectors: Agriculture, Water and Food, Health & Care and Safety. The main objective of this project is: Investigate the desirability and possibilities of extremely silent drone technologies for agriculture, public space and safety This is an innovative project and there exist no such drone technology that attempts to reduce the noises coming from drones. The knowledge within this project will be converted into the first proof-of-concepts that makes the technology the first Minimum Viable Product suitable for market evaluations. The partners of this project include WhisperUAV, which has designed the first concept of a silent drone. As a fiber-reinforced 3D composite component printer, Fiberneering plays a crucial role in the (further) development of silent drone technologies into testable prototypes. Sorama is involved as an expert company in the context of mapping the sound fields in and around drones. The University of Twente is involved as a consultant and co-developer, and Research group of mechatronics at Saxion is involved as concept developer, system and user requirement verifier and validator. As an unmanned systems innovation cluster, Space53 will be involved as innovation and networking consultant.
Mensen met een verstandelijke beperking en onbegrepen gedrag zijn bijzonder gevoelig voor hun fysieke omgeving. Deze heeft een directe invloed op hun welbevinden en daardoor ook op hun gedrag. In geval van onbegrepen gedrag kan zich dit uiten door vernieling van hun fysieke omgeving. Hierop wordt door zorginstellingen vaak beheersmatig gereageerd met als gevolg een kale leefomgeving en sociaal isolement. Door het toepassen van architectuur, gebaseerd op de mentale, sociale en fysieke behoeften van mensen die zorg en ondersteuning ontvangen kan een positief effect worden bereikt. De kandidaat heeft een ontwerpaanpak voor een humane architectuur ontwikkeld, waarmee positieve gedragsverandering bij mensen met een verstandelijke beperking en onbegrepen gedrag in woongroepen in de langdurige gezondheidszorg is vastgesteld. Juist voor deze bewoners is het begrijpen van échte persoonlijke gebruikersbehoeften in een fysieke omgeving en het herkennen van hun identiteit cruciaal. Praktijkorganisaties willen de ontwikkelde aanpak van humane architectuur daarom verder onderzoeken en standaardiseren. Dit PD-project richt zich hierop door het uitvoeren van projecten in de gehandicaptenzorg en het ontwikkelen van een generieke methodiek die aansluit bij de behoeften van gebruikers. Ook wordt hiermee aangetoond hoe samenwerking tussen architecten, zorgverleners en andere disciplines kan leiden tot praktische en innovatieve ontwerpen die gebouwen verbeteren en het gedrag van bewoners veranderen. De verwachte opbrengst is dat humane architectuur het welbevinden en de kwaliteit van leven van bewoners, medewerkers en familie doet toenemen en het personele ziekteverzuim en de zorg-, personeels- en vastgoedkosten doet afnemen. Middels een regionaal, nationaal en internationaal leernetwerk wordt de methodiek van humane architectuur ontwikkeld, gedeeld, verbeterd, geïmplementeerd en daarop gereflecteerd. De doelen worden gerealiseerd met verschillende praktijkpartners. Hierbij wordt aangesloten bij bestaande (regionale) netwerken, bijv. de innovatiewerkplaatsen Health Space Design en Gezond leven met een beperking en vindt afstemming en kennisdeling plaats met het Programma à la carte van Vilans.
