Hui Cai

Hui Cai

Professor; Executive Director, SimTigrate Design Lab

Hui Cai

Professor; Executive Director, SimTigrate Design Lab


Education

Ph.D., (College of Architecture/Architecture) Georgia Institute of Technology, United States
M.A. in Architecture, (School of Design and Environment, Center for Advanced Studies in Architecture) National University of Singapore, Singapore 
B.Arch., (School of Architecture and Urban Planning) Southeast University, China

Keywords

Evidence-based design, Healthcare environment, Patient safety and experience, Patient outcomes, Care team communication and collaboration, Space Syntax Analysis, Simulation, Healthy community, Post-Occupancy Evaluation, Rural healthcare

Biography

Dr. Hui Cai is a Professor of the School of Architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, she served as the Chair of the Department of Architecture, and the Director of Research at the Institute of Health and Wellness Design at the University of Kansas. She also previously served as the Health + Science research leader and designer at CallisonRTKL Associates in Dallas. Cai received her Ph.D. degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology after several years of architectural education and practice in China and Singapore.


Dr. Cai’s research focuses on using a performance-driven and evidence-based design approach to analyze the relationship between culture, human behavior, and the physical environment, especially in healthcare settings and healthy communities. Dr. Cai combines various analytical tools in her research, such as space syntax analysis, discrete event simulations, and behavioral mappings. Cai disseminates her work extensively through numerous publications and presentations. Her work in healthcare research has received several awards, including the International Academy Award for Best Research project, AIA-AAH/AAH Foundation Burgun Fellowship, and the Inaugural Wilbur H (Tib) Tusler, Jr. Health Design Research Prize awarded by the Foundation for Health Environments Research. She is recently named as 2021 HCD 10 Healthcare Design Educator. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA).
 

  • Cai, H., Daneshvar, Z., Miller, K., Dash, M., & Jiang, S. (2024). Exploring Campus Configuration and Patient Arrival Behaviors at Large Hospitals: An Integrated Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) Protocol. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 19375867241271432.
  • Cai H, Garcia A, Polivka B, Spreckelmeyer K, Yang FM. (2023). Visibility and Accessibility of Hand Hygiene Stations and Fatigue Among Nurses Working in Long-Term Care (LTC) During the COVID-19 Pandemic. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 0(0). doi:10.1177/19375867221149126
  • Cai, H., Fullam, F., MacAllister, L., Fogg, L. F., Canar, J., Press, I., ... & Velasquez, O. (2021). Impact of Inpatient Unit Design Features on Overall Patient Experience and Perceived Room Level Call Button Response. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(18), 9747.
  • Cai, H., & Spreckelmeyer, K. (2021). The Continuous Learning Cycle: A Multi-phase Post occupancy Evaluation (POE) of Decentralized Nursing Unit Design. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal. doi:10.1177/1937586721105.
  • Cai, H., Tyne, I., Spreckelmeyer, K., & Williams, J. (2021). Impact of Visibility and Accessibility on Healthcare Workers’ Hand-Hygiene Behavior: A Comparative Case Study of Two Nursing Units in an Academic Medical Center. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal. doi:10.1177/1937586720962506. 
  • Peavey, E., & Cai, H. (2020). An Ecological Framework for Understanding the Environment’s Impact on Clinical Teamwork: A Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Studies. Environment and Behavior, 52(7), 726-760. doi:10.1177/0013916518815535. 
  • Cai, H., Zilm, F., Sheward, H., & Graham, K. (2020). Responding to COVID-19 – Healthcare Surge Capacity Design for High-Consequence Infectious Disease. Technology| Architecture and Design (TAD)., 4(2), 135-139. doiI:10.1080/24751448.2020.1804752. 
  • Cai, H. Lu, Y., & Sheward, H. (2019). A Historical Study of Chinese Nursing Unit Design since 1989. Health Environments Research & Design Journal. 12(4), 53-66. https://doi.org/10.1177/1937586718820682
  • Cai, H., Spreckelmeyer, K., Mendenhall, A., Li, D., Holmes, C., & Levy, M. (2019). A Regional Survey on Residents’ Preferences on Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Design in Rural Areas. Health Environments Research & Design Journal. 12(3), 187-205.  https://doi.org/10.1177/1937586718806866
  • Fay, L., Cai, H., & Real, K. (2019). A Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Studies on Decentralized Nursing Stations. Health Environments Research & Design Journal. 12(1):44-68. https://doi.org/10.1177/1937586718805222
  • Cai, H., & Jia, J. (2019). Using Discrete Event Simulation (DES) to support Performance-driven healthcare design. Health Environments Research & Design Journal. 12(3), 89-106. DOI: 10.1177/1937586718801910. 
  • Cai, H., & Zimring, C. (2019). Cultural impacts on nursing unit design: A comparative study on Chinese nursing unit typologies and their U.S. counterparts using space syntax. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science. 46(3), 573-594. https://doi.org/10.1177/2399808317715639
  • Lu, Y., Cai, H., & Bosch, S. (2017). Key spatial factors influencing the perceived privacy in nursing units – An exploration study with eight nursing units in Hong Kong. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal. 10 (4):37-48. https://doi.org/10.1177/1937586716672857
  • Morgareidge, D., Cai, H., & Jia, J. (2014). Performance-Driven Design with the Support of Digital Tools --- Applying Discrete Event Simulation and Space Syntax on Emergency Department Design. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 3(3), 250-264. doi:10.1016/j.foar.2014.04.006. 
     
Research Awards
  • The 2024 Wilbur H (Tib) Tusler, Jr. Health Design Research Prize, awarded by the Foundation for Health Environments Research
  • The 2022 Inaugural Wilbur H (Tib) Tusler, Jr. Health Design Research Prize, awarded by the Foundation for Health Environments Research
  • The 2018-19 American Institute of Architecture-Academy of Healthcare Architecture (AIA/AHA) J. Armand Burgun Fellowship in FGI interest areas of Health Facility Planning & Design from AIA-AHA to support research on “A multi-center study of critical access hospital design to inform FGI guidelines”, 2018
  • The 2011 Best International Research Project, Design & Health International Academy. (2011)

Teaching Awards
  • HCD10 Educator of the Year, 2020, Center for Health Design and Healthcare Design Magazine, award presented at the Healthcare Design Forum
     
Student Awards Related to My Teaching and Advising
  • Mentor, Marzia Chowdhury, Center for Health Design 2022-23 Joseph G. Sprague New Investigator Award, $9,431
  • Mentor, Marzia Chowdhury, 2022-2023 Griffin/McKahan/Zilm (GMZ) Graduate Fellow in Health Facility Planning and Design, $8,950
  • Mentor, Healthcare Environment Award 2022-23 Winner, student category, co-sponsored by the Center for Health Design and the Healthcare Design Magazine, “Synergy: University of Kansas Student Health, Wellness, and Success Center”, Graduate Studio ARCH 808 student team: Molly Knake and Isabella Smith. 
  • Mentor, Healthcare Environment Award 2021-22 Honorable Mention, student category, co-sponsored by the Center for Health Design and the Healthcare Design Magazine, “Vertical Continuous Care Retirement Community (CCRC) Prototype Post-COVID”, Graduate Studio ARCH 808 student team: Dani Kolker and Caroline Coleman
  • Mentor, Healthcare Environment Award 2020-21, winner, student category, co-sponsored by the Center for Health Design and the Healthcare Design Magazine, “NOLA Behavioral Health Hospital”, student team: Samia Mansour & Juhyun So
  • Mentor, Healthcare Environment Award 2018-19, winner, student category, co-sponsored by the Center for Health Design and the Contract Magazine, “Veterans Wellness Village”, student team: Bhaswati Mukherjee, Mohammed Alsinan, Shummer Roddick
  • Mentor, Honorable mention, Union of International Architects-Public Health Group (UIA-PHG) Young Architects and Students Design International Competition 2017, Union of International Architects-Public Health Group (UIA-PHG) Young Architects and Students Design International Competition 2017, 2017, student team: Sayali Wazalwar, Matthew Primovic, Yuanyuan Yue.
     

Cai, H. (Current PI), Jennifer DuBose (Original PI), 2019-2024, Mild Cognitive Impairment Empowerment Program- Innovation Accelerator, $1.2M, as sub-project of Mild Cognitive Impairment Empowerment Program. Sponsored by Emory University, with donation from Cox Foundation.

Cai, H. (PI). Machry, H. (Co-PI), Sheward, H. (Co-PI), 2023-2025, Subaward from Johnson County Department of Health and Environment, for Grant under the Farmers Market Promotion Program (USDA-AMS-TM-FMPP-G-23-0010), $23,818

Cai, H. (PI), Fallum, F. (Co-PI), MacAllister, L. (Co-PI), 2023-2024, The impacts of nursing unit design on patients’ perceived noise levels and patient experience, funded by Perkins +Will, $ 16,600

Cai, H. (PI), Emergency Department (ED) Design for Pandemic Conditions: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic, Foundation for Health Environments Research Grant, 2021, $30,000.

Cai, H. (PI), To Validate Facility Guidelines for Critical Access Hospitals (CAH): A Collaborative Benchmarking Post-Occupancy Evaluation Study on CAHs, The 2018-19 American Institute of Architecture-Academy of Healthcare Architecture (AIA-AHA) J. Armand Burgun Fellowship in FGI interest areas of Health Facility Planning & Design, AIA-AHA, 2018-19, $10,000.


Cai, H. (PI), Spreckelmeyer, K. (Co-PI), Medina, M. A. (Co-PI), Sheward, H. A. (Co-PI), & Sanguinetti, P. (Co-PI). High-performance Design for Health & Wellness: Seeding a Center of Design Excellence for Promoting Efficient Rural Healthcare Settings. Institutional - KU Office of Provost, Research Initiative Level II Grant (RIC II), $30,000, (August 1, 2015 - July 31, 2016).