Dignified Design

Dignified Design (formerly Trauma-Informed Design) studies how the architecture and design of permanent supportive housing can better support residents’ health and recovery.

Dignified Design, formerly known as Trauma-Informed Design, is testing ways the built environment, and specifically permanent supportive housing, can impact health and well-being outcomes for people formerly experiencing homelessness. Our Dignified Design work includes a strong partnership with Shopworks Architecture. Please review the Shopworks Architecture website for a full array of open source Dignified Design material.

Implementing a Four-Phased Trauma Informed Design Process: This is an overview of how we implement trauma-informed design in our design process. This is not a checklist, but more about how the process should be impacted when we seek to design with an understanding of trauma as a core value. This overview includes case studies to show how the process was implemented on specific developments as well as an accompanying step-by-step manual. Click here to view our manual that accompanies this document.

Architectural Principles In The Service Of Trauma Informed Design: This pamphlet focuses on ways to design a building to help regulate the body and support therapeutic approaches. Since trauma lives and works through the body and the body reacts to physical space before we cognitively process it, the built environment is integral to how one experiences trauma. This document presents a brief primer on the body-space-trauma relationship, organizing principles for trauma-informed architecture, some examples of built work, and narratives that inform what amenities residents and staff may need.