About Academy

The International Academy for Design and Health (IADH)

Is a leading global, interdisciplinary knowledge community dedicated to a powerful idea: that design can be a proactive force for human health, wellbieng, and performance.

Founded by Dr Alan Dilani at the Karolinska Institute, Medical University in Stockholm in 1997 after the successful outcome of the 1st World Congress in Trondheim in Norway.

The aim of the IADH is to provide a highly visible global forum for promoting an ongoing international exchange of research findings among scientists, designers, health professionals, industry and Ministries of Health worldwide.

Our Focus: Salutogenic Design

At the core of our mission is the principle of salutogenic design. This moves beyond merely preventing illness to actively creating environments, products, and systems that support and enhance our physical, psychological, and social wellbeing.

Our Mission: Bridging Research and Practice

We exist to shift the global design mindset from simply solving problems to proactively fostering health and resilience. By bridging the gap between academic research and real-world practice, we empower our members to create spaces and experiences that genuinely improve quality of life.

Who We Serve

Our community is open to all professionals committed to integrating health and design, including:

Architects, Designers, and Urban Planners
Healthcare Professionals and Public Health Experts
Researchers and Academics across all disciplines
Industry Innovators and Product Developers
Government and Community Organizations

Applications of Salutogenic Design

Salutogenic principles can be applied across numerous sectors to create healthier environments, such as:

Architecture: Hospitals, clinics, senior housing, schools, and offices.
Urban Design: Public parks, walkable neighborhoods, and community centers.
Product & Digital Design: User-centered products, apps, and services that promote mental and physical wellness.

Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson, Swedish royal family and Dr Alan Dilani at the Karolinska Institute on the 2nd World Congress on Design and Health, Stockholm, June 2000.

Our Vision and Mission

Vision:

Our vision is to foster Salutogenic design to promote health and wellbeing by creating physical environments that support health promotion and thereby healthy societies.

Mission:

To fuel our passion to drive improvement in the quality, of life and value of health and wellbeing through our physical environment.

To develop and disseminate knowledge through the promotion of research and professional and clinical practices in the development of our physical environment to improve our health and wellbeing.

To promote and participate in the worldwide adoption of Salutogenic environments through the translation of research into practice.

To provide a forum for its constituent network to engage and thrive.

To provide a platform for education, training, research, advocacy, events, media and publishing activities that improve knowledge, shape thinking, and influence global practices in the design of physical environments.

Governing Bodies

Executive and Global Board

Consists of representatives from institutional, government, non-government organisations (NGOs), private and corporate organisations, industry partners and other areas of industry.

The Executive Board of Academy

Alan Dilani, Ph.D. CEO and Founder
Ray Pentecost, Dr.PH, President Texas A&M University, USA
Sandra Surkamp, Director Chapter South Pacific, Australasia
Stefano Capolongo, Ph.D. Director of European Chapter
Hessam Ghamari, Ph.D. USA, Director of Academy Awards
Sahand Abbasi, Ph.D. Director of North American Chapter
Rosalia Saimon, Ph.D.UNIMAS-University Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia
Calvin Luk, Ph.D. Hong Kong, Director of Asian Chapter
Innocent Okpanum, Ph.D., Director of Africa & Middle East Chapter

The Global Advisory Board of Academy

Alan Dilani, Ph.D. CEO and Founder
Ray Pentecost, Dr.PH, President Texas A&M University, USA
Tye Farrow, M.Sc Farrow partner Architects, Canada
Sandra Surkamp, Director Chapter South Pacific, Australasia
Stefano Capolongo, Ph.D. Director of European Chapter
Hessam Ghamari, Ph.D. USA, Director of Academy Awards
Sahand Abbasi, Ph.D. Director of North American Chapter
Calvin Luk, Ph.D. Hong Kong, Director of Asian Chapter
Innocent Okpanum, Ph.D., Director of Africa & Middle East Chapter
Andrea Rebecchi, Ph.D. Director
Rosalia Saimon, PhD
UNIMAS-University Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia
David Kaunitz
Kaunitz Yeung Architecture, Australia

Prof. Alan Dilani, Ph.D. CEO and Founder

Dr Alan Dilani is founder of the International Academy for Design & Health and World Health Design journal, author of many books, articles and research papers on Salutogenic Design. Dr Dilani has been engaged worldwide in several universities in the field of design and health developing “Salutogenic Design Program”, both in medical and design institutions. Awarded by American Institute of Architects for his high-quality research on the built environment.

Prof. Ray Pentecost, President

He is director of the Center for Health Systems & Design at Texas A&M University. Pentecost serving as chairman of an AIA and National Institute of Building Science initiative to create a public, Internet-based repository for peer-reviewed research and case studies of the built environment. He is the president of International Academy for Design and Health. As the 2009-10 board president of the AIA’s Academy of Architecture for Health, Pentecost led a drive to add healthy community design to th...

Prof. Stefano Capolongo, Ph.D. Director Europe

Architect, PhD in Public Health, Full Professor in Hospital Design and Urban Health at the School of Architecture, urban planning construction engineering (AUIC) of Politecnico di Milano. Head of the Department in Architecture, Built environment and Construction engineering (DABC) and Scientific Coordinator of the Design & Health Lab. President of the Urban Public Health Section for the European Public Health Association (EUPHA).

Prof. Hessam Ghamari, Ph.D. USA, Director of Academy Awards

Dr. Hessam Ghamari is an Associate Professor of Interior Design for the Department of Family & Consumer Sciences at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Interior Design in 2014 from Texas Tech University. He has published articles in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences on environmental psychology, and healthcare design.

Dr Calvin Luk, Ph.D. Director Asia

Dr. Calvin W. Luk is Acting Director and Project Manager- Spatial Team Leader of Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He develops and leads community participatory action research on topics spanning Universal Accessibility, Inclusive Design for people with disabilities, Therapeutic landscape for Dementia, and Environmental assessment of care facilities for older persons. He engages extensively in community and urban infrastructure projects, in...

Prof. Sahand Abbasi, Ph.D. Director North America

Dr. Sahand Abbasi is an accomplished designer, educator, and researcher renowned for his pioneering work in design for health and wellbeing. As an Assistant Professor at South Dakota State University and a distinguished Designer, his influence extends across academia and professional practice. His research focuses on crafting spaces prioritizing health, nurturing childhood development, and inclusive design. Driven by his belief in design thinking, Dr. Abbasi fosters innovation and positive exper...

Prof. Innocent Okpanum, Ph.D. Director Africa / Middle East

Dr. Innocent is an architect, researcher, urban designer, healthcare design specialist, and the managing director and owner of the architectural firm, Ngonyama Okpanum & Associates, which has offices in eight cities in South Africa; Abuja, Nigeria; Accra, Ghana; and in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He studied in Genova, Italy, where he obtained a doctorate degree in architecture. He also holds a Ph.D. in architecture for health care facilities design from the University of Newcastle in the UK.

Tye Farrow, M.Sc. Farrow Partner, Canada

Tye Farrow is a world-recognized pioneer tackling how what we create either gives or cause health. With award-winning projects around the globe that enact salutogenic design, he is the first Canadian architect to have earned a Master of Neuroscience Applied to Architecture (University of Venice IUAV), and has a Master of Architecture in Urban Design (Harvard University), and a Bachelor of Architecture degree (University of Toronto). Tye is a sought-after speaker who has presented to respected or...

Dr. Rosalia Saimon, Ph.D. Medicine Health Sciences, Sarawak

Dr. Rosalia Saimon, a distinguished senior lecturer specializing in health promotion, is a trailblazer in the field of public health.
With a keen research focus on the intersection of psychosocial and environmental determinants influencing health behaviors, she has made significant contributions to understanding and improving population health outcomes. A visionary in her field,
Rosalia embodies the perfect blend of expertise, passion, and a genuine connection with the world around her, making h...

Arch. David Kaunitz, , Australia

David co-founded Kaunitz Yeung Architecture with his wife, Kawai Yeung, driven by a shared passion for creating socially responsible, culturally sensitive and humane architecture, and with a shared focus on facilitating high quality architecture in some of the most
disadvantaged communities and First Nations People in Australia and Asia-Pacific. Underlying this is a deep commitment to participatory design and local construction. Together, David and Kawai, have created a new paradigm that shows h...

Arch. Vivien W.L. Mak, M.Sc. P&T Group, Hong Kong

Vivien began her career at P&T Group and is currently a Group Director. She specializes indesign and execution of healthcare, aged care, community, and institutional buildings and has also been involved in retail, commercial, industrial, and housing developments. She led her team to produce the Elderly-friendly Design Guidelines and Service-specific Clinic Design Guidelines for the government, and is currently working on various hospital and public building projects.

Arch. Sandra Surkamp, Director Australaisia

Sandra Surkamp is an architect with almost 20 years of experience. She has specialized in healthcare facilities, earing recognition as one of Australia’s leading health facility planners. Her pragmatic approach to the development and implementation of health infrastructure projects creates efficient facilities that support the model of care and contribute to a sustainable health system. Sandra is a Director of the Destravis Group, an organization focused on health system, health service and heal...