Evaluating Parks (01-23-09)
TAES (Towards An Excellent Service) “is a free diagnostic tool that allows an organization to define for itself how it is performing against a model of best [park] management practice.
Resources
Green Ergonomics (01-02-09)
US Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED points can be awarded for the creation of “healthful, comfortable, and productive workplaces,” i.e., those that are ergonomically strong.
Nighttime Light Pollution
Scientists have developed a pioneering tool that can be used to predict and determine the intensity of light pollution.
Visual Quality Through Design (8-04-08)
In a meaty booklet sponsored by the American Society of Interior Designers, Jack Nasar discusses creating an environment that is high on visual quality.
PlaceMaking Suggestions (7-31-08)
The Housing Market Renewal (HMR) Program has been operating in the United Kingdom since 2003.
Home and Neighborhood Design Checklist (5-16-08)
The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has prepared a comprehensive tool that can be used to assess the quality of the design of homes and neighborhoods.
New Data Gathering Methodology (4-30-08)
Keinonen and his colleagues have developed a design process model that is effective at “optimizing the efficiency of user studies . . . focusing on project specific relevant information . . . ensuring the profound creativity of collaboration.”
Simulating Daylighting (4-07-08)
Researchers at the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada have developed a new, streamlined way to simulate the complex ways that daylight influences light levels in rooms with “dissimilar dynamic complex fenestration systems (such as windows with movable shadings) whose optical behavior (transmission, reflection and scattering) may change during simulation.”
Symbolism in Childcare Centers (4-04-08)
The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has comprehensively reviewed the features of childcare centers that optimize physiological and psychological experiences for children under 5 and their caregivers.
Space Design Tools (3-20-08)
Canada’s National Research Council Institute for Research in Construction (NRC-IRC) has developed a suite of space design software tools that are available free or for a nominal fee at their website (archived: https://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/achievements/highlights/2007/daylight_autonomy_distribution.html).