Salutogenic Design Research
Salutogenesis: the theory that binds health and design
Salutogenics is a theory developed originally by Aaron Antonovsky - a sociologist who wanted to develop a holistic theory with which to found and direct a new hospital.
He was fascinated by the survival of prisoners in the death camps of World War II, because their survival contradicted standing beliefs about the infectious nature of disease, the debilitating effects of malnutrition, hypothermia and other horrors. The survivors were only distinguished in the way they somehow maintained a sense that life was meaningful.
Antonovsky's theory is that there are three resources that combine to provide a Sense of Coherence – a forward thrust that resists the entropic forces of illness and infirmity.
The sense of coherence is made up of resources that improve manageability – the capacity to maintain homoeostasis and physical function; resources that improve comprehensibility – an ability to negotiate circumstances in order to maximise their benefit; and resources that enrich a sense of meaningfulness – the desires, causes and concerns that give us the need to resist illness in the first place.
Salutogenics is a useful tool for understanding health and design, because salutogenic design principles are robust and flexible enough to be easily applied to any building type, and at any scale.
Golembiewski has published and presented a number of academic papers on salutogenic, and is considered as an authority on the subject of salutogenic architecture. He was the inaugural chair of the Salutogenics Prize at the World Congress of Design and Health.
Some of our research on the Salutogenic Design
Golembiewski, J. (2019). "Salutogenic retrofit for an Islamic dementia home." Australian Journal of Dementia Care 8(2): 15-18.
Golembiewski, J. (2017). "Salutogenics and Residential Care for People with Dementia." Australian Journal of Dementia Care 6(3): 25-28.
Golembiewski, J. (2015). Salutogenic architecture in health care settings. Handbook of Salutogenics: past, present and future. G. Bauer and M. Mittelmark. New York, Springer Nature: 267-276
Golembiewski, J. (2010). "Start making sense; Applying a salutogenic model to architectural design for psychiatric care." Facilities 28(3/4): 100-117.