Projects, plans and programmes for complex environments such as healthcare facilities need to be designed with specific consideration of the multitude of users, technologies and policies in order to address a sustainable and resilient development. Several Evidence Based Design (EBD) studies highlight the deep interrelation between built and natural systems with human or organizations-related outcomes, but the effect on healthcare staff such as Medical Doctors (MD) is still underexplored. The paper investigates the assessment of self-reported satisfaction and wellbeing of MDs in healthcare facilities. A multidimensional assessment model composed of 53 Likert scale questions has been developed from literature review and existing tools, and submitted to a statistically significant sample of workers in 2 different office settings of an Italian hospital. Since MDs spend a considerable amount of their working time in offices, the qualities of such space are very important. The study highlights and confirms that localization, indoor environment, natural and artificial light are relevant drivers for staff satisfaction and wellbeing. Further investigations on a wider and diverse sample are encouraged.

The purpose of the scoping review is to explore the relationship between housing conditions, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and mental health implications on human well-being. In fact, time spent at home increased due to the recent COVID-19 lockdown period, and social-sanitary emergencies are expected to grow due to the urbanization phenomenon. Thus, the role of the physical environment in which we live, study, and work, has become of crucial importance, as the literature has recently highlighted. This scoping review, conducted on the electronic database Scopus, led to the identification of 366 articles. This, after the screening processes based on the inclusion criteria, led to the final inclusion of 31 papers related specifically to the OECD area. The review allowed the identification of five housing conditions [house type, age, and floor level; housing qualities; household composition; neighborhood; green spaces] that, by influencing the IEQ parameters, had impacts on the mental health outcomes addressed. By synthesizing the contributions of the review, a list of design recommendations has been provided. These will serve as a basis for future researchers, from which to develop measures to reduce inequalities in housing by making them healthier, more resilient, and salutogenic.

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