---
title: "Evidence-based design"
chunk: 2/5
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence-based_design"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:25:33.637659+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

== A cautionary note about the strength of evidence in the built environment ==
In supporting evidence-based design, some caution is needed to ascertain the robustness of the evidence: the architectural psychology movement eventually drew criticism for its tendency towards ‘architectural determinism’ – a confusion between correlation and causality with the implication that there were mechanistic and causal links between the built environment and human behaviour. As some of the studies reviewed below reveal, the evidence is often weak or, worse, conflicting. In an early review of evidence in the healthcare sector, Rubin, Owens & Golden examined the medical literature for research papers on the effect of the physical environment on patient outcomes. They concluded that, if the demanding standards of proof used in medical research were used, almost all the studies would have to be regarded as methodologically flawed or at least limited. Unfortunately strongly held opinions are not the same as rigorously collected evidence.

== Evidence-base for architecture generally, housing and urban environments ==
In 2002, CABE published a cross-sectoral study  that set a pattern by reviewing a selection of the evidence (which it called the key research) for healthcare buildings, educational buildings, housing, urban environments, and business premises. It claimed: “Good design is not just about the aesthetic improvement of our environment, it is as much about improved quality of life, equality of opportunity and economic growth. … Good design does not cost more when measured across the lifetime of the building or place …”
At the urban scale, in 2001, CABE and DETR published a study on the value of urban design  which includes a literature review plus some case studies.
In New Zealand, a landmark review 
was supported by the Ministry for the Environment. The study categorised the evidence as conclusive, strong, suggestive or anecdotal, and also noted the difficulty of establishing causation since various design elements may be found in combination with other features. The authors state that urban design is context-specific and cautions against automatically adopting what works elsewhere in New Zealand.
In its 2003 review of the evidence about housing  CABE expressed similar concerns about the evidence base when it said: “The most striking finding in a review of the literature relating to the quality of residential design is the almost complete absence of any empirical attempts to measure the implications of high quality on costs, prices or values.”
David Halpern's book  brings together and reviews a substantial number of studies covering among other issues: mental ill-health in city centres; social isolation in out of town housing estates; residential satisfaction; and estate layouts, semi-private spaces and a sense of community. He concludes that there is substantial evidence to show the physical environment has real and significant effects on group and friendship formation, and on patterns of neighbourly behaviour.
Other literature reviews include a 2006 study by the Scottish Executive  and one by the UK NWDA/RENEW North West.

== Public open space ==
CABE's 2004 literature review on public open space draws attention to the physical and mental health benefits associated with access to recreational space, as well as the environmental value of biodiversity and improved air quality. In a follow up 2005 study entitled Does Money Grown on Trees? CABE assessed the impact on the value of residential property of proximity to a park, drawing on valuations prepared by local property experts in which external variables (shops, schools, busy roads) were controlled for. Economic and non-monetary benefits from the proximity were identified.

== Schools and Higher Education ==
A comprehensive review of the literature was undertaken in 2005 for the Design Council. It concluded that there was evidence for the effect of basic physical variables (air quality, temperature, noise) on learning but that once minimum standards were achieved, further improvements were less significant. The reviewers found forceful opinions on the effects of lighting and colour but that the supporting evidence was conflicting. It was difficult to draw generalizable conclusions about other physical characteristics, and the interactions between different elements was as important as single elements.
Other literature reviews of the education sector include two by Price Waterhouse Coopers and one by researchers at the University of Salford. 
In the higher education sector, a review by CABE reports on the links between building design and the recruitment, retention and performance of staff and students. Fifty articles are reviewed, and five new case studies reported.

== Offices ==
The offices sector has been widely studied with the major concerns focusing on productivity. A study in 2000 by Sheffield Hallam University reported that apart from surveys of occupants of individual offices, the evidence base on new workplaces was mainly journalistic and biased towards interviews with successes and failures. Some companies claimed that new spatial arrangements led to reduced costs, reduced absenteeism and easier recruitment, faster development of new ideas, and increased profitability. But others reported the exact opposite; and the reasons for this remained unclear.
CABE and the British Council for Offices published a joint study in 2005. The paper reports that four main issues have been studied: the largest is environmental and ergonomic issues related to the comfort of individual office workers; secondly research on the efficiency with which office space is used; thirdly adaptability and flexibility and finally research related to supporting work processes. The report is critical of the disproportionate focus on the performance of building services compared with other aspects of buildings.