<unk>  is a process used by architects, interior<unk> ers, facility managers, and others in the planning,<unk> , and construction of commercial buildings.  An<unk> er, together with an informed client, makes decisions<unk>  on the best information available from research and project evaluations. Critical thinking is required to develop an appropriate solution to the<unk>  problem; the pool of information will rarely offer a precise fit with a client's unique situation. In the last analysis, though, an<unk>  should result in demonstrated improvements in the organization's outcomes, economic performance, productivity, customer satisfaction, and cultural measures.
This is a method applicable to many types of commercial building projects, but is uniquely suited to healthcare because of the unusually high stakes and major issues of safety and improved clinical outcomes.  A natural parallel and analog to<unk><unk>  medicine, it is currently being used in the healthcare industry to help convince decision-makers to invest the time and money to build better buildings - and realize strategic business advantages as a result.
Research relevant to healthcare<unk>  can come from many areas:
Environmental psychologists focus on stress reduction, which includes:
social support (patients, family, staff);
control (privacy, choices, escape);
positive distractions (artwork, music, entertainment);
influence of nature (plants, flowers, water, wildlife, nature sounds).
Clinicians focus on medical and scientific literature, which includes:
treatment modalities (models of care, technology);
quality & safety (infections, errors, falls);
exercise (exertion, rehabilitation).
Administration refers to management literature:
financial performance (margin, cost per patient day, nursing hours);
operational efficiency (transfers, utilization, resource conservation);
satisfaction (patient, staff, physician, turnover).
Approximately 1200 credible studies with specific environmental relevance have been identified by The Center for Health<unk>  in these areas, and many more applicable research citations are in other branches of the literature.
Evidence-based design
Block design
Surrogate endpoint
Placebo-controlled studies
Randomized controlled trial
Design of experiments
Meta-analysis
Agent study