EYP, a national leader in sustainability and comprehensive high-impact design, has partnered with the University of Oregon’s Institute for Health in the Built Environment (IHBE) as a founding industry practitioner. With the goal of developing new design concepts for the realization of healthy and sustainable inhabited spaces, the university began forming unconventional collaborations with experts in the building and health industries at other universities and various businesses. These partnerships create unique opportunities to collaborate on research where architecture, biology, medicine, chemistry, and engineering converge.

“We know that healthy, happy workers are more engaged and feel more fulfilled by their careers; and with so much of our time spent inside buildings, it is critical to examine how our surroundings affect our overall health,” said Teresa Rainey, director of high performance design at EYP. “By researching how factors such as thermal comfort, indoor air chemistry, building product chemistry, microbiomes, human perception and building operation influence or alter a space, we can design solutions to create the best building environment.”

As an advocate for knowledge-sharing, EYP is utilizing its expertise in creating inspiring, sustainable and high-performing workplace environments that facilitate collaboration and enhance wellness and productivity to set the industry standard to create environments that enhance the human experience.

“We are thrilled to have EYP as one of the founding partners of the Institute for Health in the Built Environment,” said Mark Fretz, DDS, M.Arch, Director of Knowledge Exchange and Assistant Research Professor at IHBE. “They are passionate experts leading the way and pushing the boundaries in building design, energy optimization and occupant performance, and they add extreme value to our consortium. I fundamentally believe that the potential for innovation and impact lies at the intersection of our disciplines through our long-term, invested relationship in which knowledge is exchanged and applied.”

Teaming with IHBE and its integrated approach allows EYP to develop additional research and gain access to expansive data that can be applied to the unique solutions the firm creates for its clients. Additionally, EYP is committed to promoting developments in the built environment through research and experience. By supporting the innovative initiatives and partnerships such as IHBE, EYP continues to advance research that enriches the human experience in the built environment and beyond.

“EYP’s goal is to reinvent the practice of architecture for the betterment of our clients, our people and the planet, and partnering with IHBE helps us achieve our goal,” said Rainey. “We look forward to our continued partnership and the development of new design concepts for the realization of healthy and sustainable inhabited space.”