The SimTigrate Design Lab is an interdisciplinary research lab dedicated to creating better healthcare experiences. From intensive care units (ICU) to surgical suites to patient rooms to infection prevention, we look at medical settings and suggest changes to make them better for all involved.
We bring together individuals from architecture, industrial design, systems engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, nursing, medicine, psychology, and facility management development.
Our director is Craig Zimring, an environmental psychologist and professor of architecture at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, and one of the founders of the use of evidence-based design. That concept involves making design decisions based on the best available evidence, often acquired through research or review of peer-reviewed journals.
SimTigrate – combining concepts of simulation and integration -- grew out of the Healthy Environments Research Group (HERG). Established around 2000, HERG was a multidisciplinary group of faculty and students at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University dedicated to improving healthcare outcomes through the design of cities and buildings.
The SimTigrate Design Lab was launched in late 2011 to focus more directly on health and healthcare and to create a lab structure focused around researchers, including Georgia Tech staff and students.
Over the years, the lab’s work has “transformed the way we build hospitals,” Zimring said. They are quieter, have more light and are better for families, he said. There is evidence that patient recovery is impacted by their environment.
| Get Involved |
|---|
The SimTigrate faculty and researchers are an integral part of the curriculum at the College of Design. In addition to specialty research and topical seminars, Craig Zimring and associated faculty teach ARCH 6271 - Healthcare Design of the Future (3 credits each fall); ARCH 6243 - Evidence-Based Design (3 credits each spring); and ARCH 6268 - Advanced Architecture and Behavior, (concentration core, 3 credits) each spring.
The courses are part of the curriculum for the M.S. in Architecture program, with the concentration in Health and Design; and the Ph.D. curriculum with a concentration in evidence-based design.
To find more inforrmation on SimTigrates Lab courses, click here.
