Congress Website for wcdh2026
Key Themes & Sessions
These sessions, led by global experts and policymakers,
will redefine health-promoting built environment
The congress will explore thematic sessions focusing on
how design impacts health and well-being, including:
• Building Health: Shaping Cities for People and
Wellbeing
• Innovating Healthy Cities: Design, Performance, and
Impact
• Design Leadership in Healthcare: Hospital Project Case
Studies
• Global Health, Environment, and Culture in Ageing
Communities
• Ecological and Green Design as Determinants of
Health and Well-being
Thursday 30 October 2025
Session 1: Opening Remarks: Visions, Challenges & Strategies for Health by Design
Prof. Ray Pentecost (USA) Are We Ready for the Practice of Design for Health?
Dr. Norman Wu (Singapore) Delivering future-ready public healthcare infrastructure projects
Prof. Alan Dilani (Sweden) Lifetime Developing Salutogenic Design Approach to Promote Health
Session 2: Hospital Design, The Case Study of Hospital Projects
Frankie Lim Lip Chuan (Singapore) Creative and Innovative Health Oriented Development in Singapore
Stefano Capolongo (Italy) The WHO Techincal Brief “Hospitals of the Future”
Francesca Dinelli (Italy) The Architectural Integration of new Hospital in Pisa- Italy
Joey Tan (Australia) The New Melton Hospital in Melbourne
Session 3: Health by design- critical role of leadership at every level
Liak Teng Lit (Singapore) The Salutogenic Leadership of Creating Good Design
Doreen Koh Yan Fun (Singapore) Incorporating Salutogenic Design in a Tight Size, The Eastern General Hospital
Ka Wai Yeung/David Kaunitz (Australia) The Value of Good Design in Creating Environments that Promote Health
Deborah Wingler (USA) Nurse Burnout – The impact of Good Design to Enhance well-being
David Wright / Connor Crist (USA) Culturally Sensitive responsive Healthcare Design in Africa
Session 4: Evaluation to Improve the Hospital’s Performance
Vivien Mak (Hong Kong) Health- Responsive Design in Hong Kong
Mike Hess (USA) Strategic Master Planning for Healthcare Institutions - A Roadmap for the Future
Lawrence Kam (Singapore) SingHealth’s Regional Health Testing Process during Design
Jane Ho (UK) Functional Performance Evaluation of the Royal Liverpool Hospital in the UK
Bedia Tekin (Cyprus) Design Quality Indicators to Measure Hospital Quality
Friday 31 October 2025
Session 5: Neuroscience and Environment for Children’s health and Growth
Keynote; Amir Amedi / Salama Ofek (Israel) Merging Neuroscience, Salutogenic Design, and Digital Interventions
Shaping the Future of Medicine
Cui Jiameng (China) China’s National Health Commission Initiatives to Promote Children’s Mental Health
Sahand Abbasi (USA) Design for Children’s Socio-Emotional Development
Leila Parsa (Sweden) The Successful Case of Butterfly Learning Environment in Sweden
Session 6: Climate Change, Lighting Design and Biophilia in built Environment
Federica Pascale (UK) The Impact of Climate Change on Health and Health Inequalities
Cherif Amor (Qatar) The Impact of Lighting on psychosocial Outcome
Nasrin Golshany (USA) Enhancing Elderly Health and Wellbeing through Lighting Design
Eleonora Zioni, Fanny Feigenson (Brazil) Biophilia in built and digital environments
Session 7: Global Challenges of Healthy Aging Design
Angela Lee (Singapore) A Framework for Healthy, Liveable, and Walkable Urban Neighborhoods
Jeongyeop Baek, Kyung-Hee Cho (Korea) Towards Proactive Home Healthcare
Andrea Rebecchi (Italy) Healthy Urban Planning Strategies
Brinda Sengupta (Singapore) Designing Salutogenic Healthy Communities for Active Aging
Ishmam Ahmed (Singapore) Mind the Gap - Accommodating Neurodiversity in Singapore’s MRT
Session 8: Healthy-Housing and Workplace Design to Enhance Wellbeing
Natalia Ottonello/Sabrina Lorusso (Uruguay/ Italy) The Impact of Housing Design on Health
Daniela Aguirre Alfaro (Singapore) Workplace Design to enhance Brain Performance
Laura D. Schwanhäuße (Germany) Human-Centered Architecture and Sustainability
Gelun (China) Designing with Empathy: The Human Story at the Heart of Our Spaces
Saturday 1st November 2025
Session 9: Ecological and Salutogenic Design for Healthy Society
Ken Yeang (Malaysia/UK) Ecological Architecture and the Salutogenic Outcome
Sukriti Ambasht (India) Exploring Salutogenic Design Strategies within Architecture
Katharina Nieberler-Walker (Australia) Therapeutic Hospital Gardens–Guidelines to transition to healthy spaces
Chloe Piper (Australia) Integrating Trauma-Informed and Salutogenic Design Approaches
Session 10: The impact of AI in Hospital and Cultural Value
Ghaydaa Hemaidah (Saudi Arabian) A Case Study of Saudi Arabian Governmental Hospital
Sumandeep Singh (Singapore) The Future Ready Hospital- Integrating AI and Automation
Giulio Altieri (Switzerland) The Potential of AI in the Evaluation of hospital infrastructure
Hui Cai (USA) Rural Hospitals Provide Essential Health Services
Session 11: A Healthy Policy is the Foundation of Salutogenic Healthy Society.
Dr Aki Linden, (Finland) Former Health Minister 2022, and current Finnish Member of Parliament
Download all presentations of the last congress WCDH2024
Session 1: Scientific Introduction of the Congress
Alan Dilani (Sweden), The Science of the Salutogenesis, Theory and Application
Stefano Capolongo (Italy), The Hospital of the Future
Stefano Boeri (Italy), The Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) Green Residential
Session 2: Healthcare Design
David Rakel, MD (USA), The Science of the Salutogenesis and Healthcare Delivery
Andrea Brambilla (Italy), Sustainability in the Next Generation Hospital. Needs and requirements
Tye Farrow (Canada), Embreathment, Embodiment, Environmental Enrichment, improved outcome
Margreet C. Vos (The Netherlands), Design a Safe Hospital for Patients and Healthcare Staff
Session 3: Case Studies Healthcare Design
Sonika Rawal, Celen Pasalar (USA), Impact of Urban Park Design on Recovery from Stress
Eduard Boonstra (The Netherlands), Why a “Blue Hospital” Design? How to Achieve?
Maddalena Buffoli (Italy), Urban Green Space Design and Frequency Exposure Impact
Erica Brusamolin (Italy), Designing Community Health center to Improve Well-being
Marco Gola (Italy), Rethinking the Territorial Medicine in Italy
Erica Isa Mosca (Italy), Advanced Design Strategies for Community Health Center in Italy
Session 5: Urban Mental Health / Supportive Environment
John Zeisel (USA), Healthy Aging Includes Aging Well with Dementia
Tianzhi Sun (Italy), Supporting Healthy Aging Community by Design and Health Impact
Calvin WH Luk (Hong Kong), Salutogenic design for therapeutic garden in a vertical city of Hong Kong
Silvia Mangili (Italy), Assessing the Quality of Built Environment for People with Dementia
Session 6: Urban Public Health
Antonio Gomez-Palacio (Canada), The Community Well-being Framework
Julia Nerantzia Tzortzi (Italy), Urban Health - Interdisciplinary Resilience Assessment
Ruzica Bozovic Stamenovic (Singapore), Singapore: Shaping the Salutogenic City for Resilient Future
Fei Lian (China), Effects of Neighborhood Environment on People with Cognitive Impairments
Mauricio Rosso (Colombia), The Critical Role of Urban Environment on Health of People
Session 7: Healthy Buildings
Enzo Grossi MD (Italy), Neurobiological Salutogenic Mechanisms of Architectural Beauty
Francesqca Jimenez (USA), New Workplace Design with Positive Effects on Employee Physical Activity
Andrea Möhn (The Netherlands), Healing Architecture: six case studies of room renovations
Argiro Dimoudi (Greece), Zero Energy Building Strategies for Hospitals
Mohana Das (Hong Kong), Salutogenic Design and its Role in Enhancing the Sense of Belonging
Eleonora Zioni (Brazil), Neuro-urbanism and Mental Health: designing the salutogenic city
You are invited to submit abstracts of 400 words in English. The abstract should clearly state the objectives, methods used, results and conclusions.
