Space Planning Methodologies, Guidelines, and Standards

In addition to her consulting, Cynthia Hayward has had a long history in developing space planning methodologies, guidelines, and standards for healthcare facilities — including government agencies and multi-hospital healthcare systems in the United States and Canada.

In the 1980s, she directed a multi-year project under contract with the Canadian Department of National Health and Welfare to develop a series of space planning methodologies — the Evaluation and Space Programming Methodology Series — for use by individual provinces in assessing and planning their healthcare facilities. Although conceived and financed by the Canadian government, these methodologies were widely used by regulatory agencies and facility planners throughout the United States over the subsequent two decades.

Development of the SpaceMed Guide also evolved from her work with the American Institute of Architect's Committee on Architecture for Health (AIA/CAH) when it assumed responsibility for overseeing the Guidelines for Construction and Equipment of Hospitals and Medical Facilities from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 1984. Because she was actively involvement with the Programming Subcommittee, the AIA/CAH asked her to write a white paper titled A Generic Process for Projecting Healthcare Space Needs. This document was published in 1986 and established predesign planning as a formal phase of the architectural design process.