Mann elected director of global health care architecture group

As the new director of the [International Union of Architects Public Health Group] (http://www.uia-public-health-group.org/) , George J. Mann, professor of architecture at Texas A&M, said he will advocate heightened patient care, improved health care access and availability, and quality, affordable health facilities worldwide.

The Skaggs-Sprague Endowed Chair of Health Facilities Design at Texas A&M, Mann has led the Department of Architecture’s Architecture-for-Health studio since 1966.

He was elected to a three-year term as UIA PHG director at the organization’s annual meeting March 22-24 in Oslo, Norway.

Mann said his goals as the group’s new director include:

• Making the UIA PHG the world’s leader of innovative health facility research and design;
• Increasing membership from developing nations, and
• Encouraging student participation.

Mann, the first U.S. resident to hold the director’s post, has previously served on the UIA PHG executive committee and has been the American Institute of Architects’ liaison to the group for the past 5 years. He joined the organization at its 1974 annual meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.

UIA PHG members, who hail from 40 nations around the world, focus on sharing their knowledge and experience with fellow architects, engineers, consultants, health care managers and providers, health care organizations and governments. The members initiate research projects that contribute to better health care buildings and environments.

Since establishing the Architecture-for-Health studio at Texas A&M, Mann has directed students in more than 700 socially significant research and design projects throughout the world. The studio’s more recent projects include designs for rural hospitals in [Tanzania] (http://archone.tamu.edu/college/news/newsletters/fall2010/stories/African_clinic_redesign.html) and the [Sudan] (http://one.arch.tamu.edu/news/2011/4/26/sudanese-facility-designs/) , an eye hospital in [China] (http://one.arch.tamu.edu/news/2011/11/28/china-hospital/) and a San Antonio, Texas clinic and wellness [center] (http://one.arch.tamu.edu/news/2012/2/22/saclinicdesigns/) catering to the under- and uninsured.