Ahara Hakini

I have been in the evidence-based design field for 6 years now, and I currently serve as co-chair of research, a position I have held for 2 years and 2 months. Before this role, I was a lead interior designer at GHID, where I conducted extensive evidence-based research for religious and commercial spaces. My background is very heavy in creating healthcare environments for people, so evidence-based design, which is a healthcare process, is at the core of what I do. There is intentionality behind the design itself, not just luxury design or design for leisure. In my current role, I manage all the researchers in different fields, and we research design aspects from interiors all the way to landscape and architectural. We range the matter of research depending on the visually impaired, the blind, audio, aging, designing for mental health awareness in all spectrums, and designing for neurodivergence. A typical day involves managing researchers, writing research, making sure we are out in the field getting first-hand primary research points, assessing how elements like colors affect someone's psyche in hospital spaces, compiling data, and ensuring the research we find is applicable at the end of the day. Our main role is making sure that the research is applicable to different sections of design through newsletters, articles, and published research. One of my most notable professional achievements was automating the systems for assessing a site and creating a system within GHID that brought in the occupants as well to the design process, not just the client we are building the building for. I was classically trained under Gloria Hayley, a known classically trained interior designer, which is a really big note in the design space where most design now is contemporary.