PROJECT OVERVIEW 

A collaborative design strategy to support a major Bolivian healthcare nonprofit to develop a sustainability framework for their healthcare facilities that could support increased access and quality of care.

PROJECT INFORMATION

TIMELINE: 2011
LOCATION: Bolivia
Client: CIES (Planned Parenthood Bolivia)
Partners:
    HealthxDesign
    Simon & Associates
Role: Project Director and Editor, Author, Researcher

STORY

Environmental sustainability and its relationship to public health represent an emerging and important theme in global development. With over 58,000 facilities worldwide, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is the second largest healthcare provider in the world.

This project was a pilot effort to understand how issues of design can help IPPF achieve increasing levels of sustainability and pioneer new methods of better health delivery.

CIES is IPPF’s Bolivian affiliate. Its 10 permenant clinics and multiple mobile clinics provide more than 30% of the healthcare in Bolivia. In 2011, CIES was developing its five year strategic plan, and was interested in using sustainability as a tool for achieving its larger institutional goals. Public Architecture partnered with HealthxDesign and Simon & Associates to conduct fieldwork in Bolivia as well as secondary research to understand the challenges and opportunities. The end result was a guide that details an innovative and responsive framework addressing issues of building infrastructure, operations, and integrated programming. Implementation of the “low-hanging fruit” identified in the report has already saved CIES tens of thousands of dollars.

A project of Public Architecture

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