Elke Miedema

Research Activities

Here you will find general description about my research activities, including my PostDoc work at Chalmers University of Technology.  The majority of my research relates to building design for social and health development.

Research Subjects

Building design (processes), co-design, design briefs, methods and education, design-decision-making

Human health; health, wellbeing, health promotion, positive health, healthy behaviour, equity, empowerment, social sustainability

Transformation; heritage, energy-saving retrofit,

Settings; Hospitals and healthcare, Universities, Workplaces, Residential, Neighbourhood

Methods; literature reviews, interviews, observations, surveys, document analysis, and plan analysis.

Research Projects

As independent researcher at HealthScapes

Purpose;  (1) a review mapping literature addressing age-in-place i.r.t. social sustainability, living environment (place and space) and healthy older adults. 

Collaboration: Susanna Nordin (Darlana Univeristy), Jodi Sturge (Twente University, HealthScapes), and Marie Elf (Darlana University)

My role: supporting main reserachers (Susanna and Jodi) in all the reserach steps from reserach strategy, paper selection and analysis up to writing and editing. 

Outcome: paper expected 2023-2024

as PostDoc at: Architecture & Civil Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology

Purpose: The literature review focused on research on the relation built environment, health-related outcomes and the healthcare environment.

Collaboration: This is a collaboration with Dalarna University Sweden and Florey Institute Melbourne Australia.

Outcomes: Publications expected 2023.

Purpose; This review maps literature addressing a combination of homeowner decision-making, renovation of residential buildings with regards to both energy reduction /performance and architectural heritage.  

Collaboration: Paula Femenias of Chalmers University of Technolog (Building Design) and Mattias Legnér from Uppsala University (Department of Art History)

My role: support on review method; developing search terms, strategies, data extraction for data bases; title and abstract filter. 

Outcome: paper expected 2022

as PostDoc at Architecture & Civil Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology
Background: Previous research indicates that the physical environment of healthcare facilities plays an important role in the health, well-being, and recovery outcomes of patients. However, prior works on mental healthcare facilities have incorporated physical environment effects from general healthcare settings and patient groups, which cannot be readily transferred to mental healthcare settings or its patients. There appears to be a specific need for evidence synthesis of physical environmental effects in mental healthcare settings by psychopathology.
Purpose: This review evaluates the state (in terms of extent, nature and quality) of the current empirical evidence of physical environmental on mental health, well-being, and recovery outcomes in mental healthcare inpatients by psychopathology.
Collaboration: This was a collaboration with Institute of Facility Management, Life Sciences and Facility Management, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland & Environmental Psychology Department, School of Psychology, University of Surrey, United Kingdom.
Outcome: [Journal paper] Weber, C., Flores, V. M., Wheele, T. P., Miedema, E., & White, E. V. (2022). Patients ’ Health & Well-Being in Inpatient Mental Health-Care Facilities : A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 12 (January), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.758039

as PostDoc at Architecture & Civil Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology

Background: Demographic changes will lead to a globally aging population, a growing number of single households and increasing urbanisation and migration. Population projections suggest there will be 66.1 million people aged 80 years plus in the EU-28 by 2080, and less than two persons of working-age for each elderly person, an enormous threat for healthcare and welfare. Widespread and interconnected challenges make hospitals an important target to focus on for addressing societal health and wellbeing and social equality on the one, and energy conservation and climate mitigation on the other hand. This is particularly important now, as many of the healthcare buildings in most parts of Europe are in urgent need of redesign, which requires further research and cross-collaboration within the healthcare sector, society and other disciplines such as building technology and design.

 

Purpose: In 2019, the involved researchers started to work on understanding factors for health and well-being promotion in hospitals by applying the SSO method that has been developed at Chalmers for designing sustainable offices with a focus on good indoor environmental quality (IEQ), well-being and comfort at workplaces. The purpose of the (Re)designing hospitals project is to lay the ground for further research on (i) sustainable development of healthcare environment as well as (ii) the introduction of health promotive organisations.

 

Collaborations: The collaboration has been established between RWTH Aachen in Germany, one of the best universities in engineering sciences in Europe, and MHH, one of the six leading university hospitals in Germany and the Chalmers spinoff company Furbish with researchers from two different divisions at ACE (see above). As a next step, we do see the need to involve other stakeholders in the Västra Gothenburg Region (VGR) and Gothenburg University, working with healthcare questions as well.

Outcome: journal paper expected 202

as PostDoc at Architecture & Civil Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology

Background: This project is the PhD project of Melina Forooraghi. This abstract is from her Licentiate thesis published in 2020. This was originally published here: https://research.chalmers.se/en/publication/517174).

Her work is still ongoing; and current publications can be found here: https://research.chalmers.se/en/person/melinaf

Abstract: The office, where many people spend most of their day, influences the health of employees, their families, communities, and society. While the body of research that relates office environment to health is growing, a question of interest for practitioners arises: how buildings should be designed and managed in order to support and promote health. This Licentiate thesis adopts a Salutogenic perspective in physical office environments. The Salutogenic approach is an orientation toward health that focuses on the origins of health rather than on the determinants of disease. Salutogenesis indicates that the factors that create health are often different from those that cause illness. In this perspective, ‘sense of coherence’ has been found to be a resource for health promotion. However, the previous research concerning health in offices has tended to focus on the negative impacts of physical office environments (pathogenic) and less research has been carried out on the components that create and maintain health (Salutogenic).

My role in this project: I have been involved in this project first a co-author, then also a co-supervisor.

as PostDoc at Architecture & Civil Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology

Background: In relation to the current COVID-19 Pandemic we are studying the remote-workplaces of employees of Chalmers University Of Technology. We mainly explore the relation between the home work conditions (e.g. social density, household constellation, unpaid activities), work activities (e.g. lab work, desk work, teaching), health behaviours (e.g. taking regular breaks for water, social interaction) and health (e.g. productivity, perceived physical health, perceived mental health). We hope to identify the factors that complicate remote work and identify vulnerable employee populations to be able to inform organisastional strategies. 

My role in the project has been to co-develop the aim and research question of the study. I have also designed and developed the survey questions, the survey format to collect the data. I have extracted the data and provided preliminary results.  

Outcomes: awaiting funding for result publication

as PhD student at Architecture & Civil Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology

Background: The AIDAH research and innovation environment intends to unfold intra-, inter- and transdisciplinary research supporting implementation projects for a sustainable built environment that confront three major societal challenges:(1) Increasing diversified articulated demands on the housing market call for alterability and adaptability in solutions for new resilient ways of residing. (2) An ageing society requires new residential ways of living that combine dignity and appropriate care enabling individuals to remain independent in residence as long as possible but that also provide sound working environments for personnel. (3) Profound changes in technical conditions for caring and medical treatment necessitate rethinking traditional healthcare situations and developing new situations ranging from advanced care in residence to intensive care units in hospital and patient hotels. The intended scientific integration in conceptual and methodological terms—between architecture humanities research, sociology of residence and caring sciences—is intended to bridge gaps and initiate transgressive academic approaches exploring new modes of knowledge production. Objectives of these approaches include identifying and articulating new resilient qualities in designs, in caring processes and healing environments, thereby providing new operational knowledge developed in close collaboration with diverse actors and stakeholders in society. International research exchange will provide further valid strategic evidence-based design support for decision makers in planning, building and medical services. The interdisciplinary team of researchers from architectural design, social and caring sciences are based at the Centre for Healthcare Architecture, CVA, the recently established Centre for Residential Architecture, CBA and the CIB W069 Commission Residential Studies, all hosted by Chalmers with active team participation also in EU COST Action Intrepid.

 

Health Promotive Building Design: My role has been to focus on the design of healthcare buildings in relation to ongoing healthcare developments, namely the introduction of health promotion.

 

Partner organizations

  • Dalarna university (Academic, Sweden)
  • University of Gothenburg (Academic, Sweden)
  • University of Gothenburg (Publisher, Sweden)

Start date 12/11/2013 – End date The project is closed: 31/12/2019

Find more information, such as collaborating researchers here. 

As research assistant at Architecture at Technical. University Delft

Which design principles have laid the foundations for what the built environment around us looks like? 

To support the Bachelors of Architecture at TU Delft, we developed a systematic overview of, and insight in, the history of architecture, urban and landscape design. Each component focused on 40 projects that together visualise central design principles (e.g. Grondslagen). The focus has been on; 

  • The home, its garden and landscape; 
  • public space and buildings; 
  • residing, building and surroundings; 
  • the European Metropool.  

My work has focused on collecting building material, such as historical drawings and photos, to support the development of drawings of the project.  Additionally I was responsible for developing the drawings of 20 housing project, that should have a common visual style to allow comparison and plan analysis. 

 

The developed material is currently used in the courses with the same name; Grondslagen 1, 2, 3 and 4. 

Publications

2023

  • [Journal paper] Forooraghi, M., Miedema, E., Ryd, N., Wallbaum, H., & Babapour Chafi, M. (2023). Relationship between the design characteristics of activity-based flexible offices and users’ perceptions of privacy and social interactions. Building Research & Information, 1-17.  https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2023.2180343

2022

2021

  • [Journal paper] Forooraghi, M., Miedema, E., Ryd, N., & Wallbaum, H. (2021). How Does Office Design Support Employees’ Health? Case Study on the Relationships among Employees’ Perceptions of the Office Environment, Their Sense of Coherence and Office Design. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(23), 12779. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312779

2020

  • [Journal Paper] Forooraghi, M., Miedema, E., Ryd, N., & Wallbaum, H. (2020). Scoping review of health in office design approaches. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, 22(2), 155–180. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRE-08-2019-0036
  • [Peer-reviewed Conference Paper] Dumitrache, O., Miedema, E., & Dobre, C. C. (2020). Active Care – Building Design for Habilitation Centers. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 588. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/588/3/032078
  • [PhD Thesis] Miedema, E. (2020). Health-promotive building design [Chalmers University of Technology]. In doctoral thesis. https://research.chalmers.se/publication/515674/file/515674_Fulltext.pdf 
  • [Journal Paper] Marco Adelfio, Iqbal Hamiduddin & Elke Miedema (2020) London’s King’s Cross redevelopment: a compact, resource efficient and ‘liveable’ global city model for an era of climate emergency?, Urban Research & Practice, DOI: 1080/17535069.2019.1710860

2019

2017

2015

  • [Conference Poster] Miedema, E.(2015). Engaging stakeholders in Complex Design using Symbiosis in Development method. Design 4 Health Conference, July 13-16, 2015 Sheffield UK.

2012

  • [Conference Presentation] E. Miedema (2012). “How can Architecture contribute to the re-socialization process of forensic psychiatric patients?” In the proceedings of the IAPS conference on Humans Experience in the Natural and Built environment: Implications for research, policy, and Practice.

Academic Service

Review & Editor roles

Table of Contents

Elke Miedema

Copyright 2020 Elke Miedema