social value | Integrative Briefing for Better Design

What do we mean by value? In this guest blog, Gary Adsett shares the “value-thinking” taking place at policy level in the development of independent schools across Queensland, Australia. He discusses how value-for-money is considered to maximise educational outcomes.

Caloundra Christian College. Architect: McLellan Bush.

I lead a Block Grant Authority that provides capital funds to Queensland independent schools to support their construction of new buildings and refurbishment of existing ones. The collective amount of funding distributed is significant, particularly when considered over a 10-year funding horizon. As with any investment, there is a desire to achieve a value-for-money outcome to maximise the return on investment. This funding is considered an investment toward the provision of high-quality student educational outcomes.

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Sarah Backhouse has spent 20+ years briefing and evaluating workplace and learning environment projects, focusing on their sociocultural environments as much as their constructed environments. Increasingly, health and wellbeing feature as building project objectives. However, “health and wellbeing” is often a catchall term, interpreted differently across individuals, cultures and professions. This short post explores the nexus between integrative briefing and mental wellbeing.

Mental Wellbeing

Mental wellbeing and mental health are distinct concepts yet frequently conflated. Mental health spans a continuum from mental illness to good mental health, and mental wellbeing spans from languishing to flourishing[i]. This dual continuum model[ii],[iii] explains why mentally healthy people sometimes struggle, and those with mental illness can thrive with environmental support. Promoting mental wellbeing is a positive goal across contexts as it underpins people feeling good and moving towards their full potential; it also has a protective dimension.

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