Scope of Work to Include Data-Driven Studies and Evaluations of K-12 Education and Senior Living Sectors
(February 13, 2018) – Global design firm Perkins Eastman is pleased to announce a new long-term collaboration with industry leader J+J Flooring Group. Designers, thought leaders, and researchers from both firms are set to embark on multi-tiered research programs that examine the arenas of K-12 Education and Senior Living design. The results of these studies will be published on a rolling basis throughout the coming year.
“Perkins Eastman has a long-standing commitment to advancing best practices in multiple architectural disciplines, and conducting evidence-based research to help designers create better built environments,” says Emily Chmielewski EDAC, Associate and Senior Design Researcher with Perkins Eastman. “This ambitious year-long effort requires a strong and visionary partner, and we are so pleased to have the support of J+J Flooring Group.”
According to Keith Gray, Director of Applied Research at J+J Flooring Group, “We are uniquely proud to be collaborating with Perkins Eastman for this very important work. Current research is an invaluable tool for architects, designers, and the many other stakeholders in these sectors. We at J+J are committed to the ongoing support of Perkins Eastman’s research work, which will benefit those who design, build, and use the next generation of pioneering schools and senior living communities.”
K-12 Schools
The collaborative’s K-12 research study will be looking in-depth at approximately a dozen different schools in the Mid-Atlantic region, to be announced at a later date, and evaluating how each school’s unique qualities, layout, and conditions contribute to building and occupant performance and satisfaction. This expansive endeavor is modeled after Perkins Eastman’s 2017 study, “Measuring Up: Using Pre- and Post-Occupancy Evaluation to Assess High-Performance School Design,” which used the award-winning Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School in Cambridge, MA as its case study.
The study will measure the schools’ indoor environmental quality (IEQ), using factors like thermal comfort, air quality, daylight, and acoustics. These factors will be tabulated -in conjunction with results from questionnaires conducted with students and staff – and used to determine how they directly contribute to the learning environment and the school’s overall performance and occupants’ satisfaction. By assessing the qualitative and quantitative conditions of recently modernized and non-modernized schools, this study’s results will be used to inform recommendations for future improvements across the school system, and develop a broader understanding of what constitutes high-performance design and the ROI for school modernization efforts.
Senior Living
For the collaborative’s Senior Living study, the team will explore the trends, industry disruptors, and opportunities the sector is currently facing and/or will face in the coming years. Thought leaders and innovators from outside the Senior Living sector will be engaged, from futurists and lifestyle consultants to tech gurus and medical professionals, to offer their unique perspectives on how designers, providers, and manufacturers can create better built environments through more informed decision making, planning, management, and responding to market demands. Further, the team will explore the drivers for change that could lead to new products, design strategies, models of care, and research agendas.
Perkins Eastman and J+J Flooring Group have formed this partnership to conduct two distinct research studies that will examine post-occupancy evaluation data from a select group of schools in the Mid-Atlantic region, and the disrupters and opportunities facing the Senior Living industry. Upon completion of each study, which range in duration from 6 to 12 months, findings will be compiled into deliverables appropriate to the content at hand, including but not limited to white papers, data-driven infographics, filmed interviews, and/or anecdotal narratives.