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 Biographical Sketch & Bibliography

Gerald Weisman
Professor
Department of Architecture

gweisman@uwm.edu

 

 

Education
University of Michigan: Ph.D. in Psychology & Architecture 1979
University of Michigan: M.Arch. 1970
Carnegie-Mellon University: B.Arch. 1969

 

Teaching Area
General Design Studio, Environments for Older Persons, Environmental Cognition, Philosophical Bases of Environmental Design Research

 

Memberships
Steering Committee: AIA Design for Aging Center
Vice President: Society for Advancement of Gerontological Environments (SAGE)
Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA)
Gerontological Society of America

 

Academic and Professional Honors
Career Achievement Award, Environmental Design Research Association, 2005.
Travel Fellowship, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, May - June 1998.
Award for Outstanding Research & Creative Activity, Graduate School & University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Foundation, 1992.
Applied Research Citation, Progressive Architecture, 1990.
Award to Holding on to home [U. Cohen & G. Weisman, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990], American Institute of Architects International Book Fair, 1990.
 

Teaching Experience
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: 1983-present
Pennsylvania State University: 1978-1983
Kansas State University: 1975-1978

 

Professional Experience
National consultations on projects for the elderly and cognitively impaired.

 

Research Interests
Programming, design, and evaluation of environments for the elderly and cognitively impaired.  Along with the UW-M colleague Uriel Cohen, he co-directs the Instiitute on Aging & Environment. With support from the national office of the Alzheimer's Association, the Retirement Research Foundation, and the Helen Bader Foundation, the Institute on Aging & Environment conducts programming and evaluation studies and provides technical assistance to dementia care providers engaged in the design of innovative new facilities or renovations. Weisman previously served as environmental consultant to a major research initiative on specialized facilities for people with dementia sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. He is a member of the Steering committee of the American Institute of Architects' newly established Design for Aging Center and Vice President of SAGE (Society for advancement of Gerontological Environments), a national organization committed to reform of regulations for nursing home design. He most recently served as Principle Investigator for a project, funded by the Helen Bader Foundation of Milwaukee, to develop planning and design guidelines for dementia day care facilities.

 

Publications (Selected)
Weisman, G. (2001). The place of people in architectural design. In A. Pressman (Ed.), The architect's portable design handbook: A guide to best practices. New York: McGraw Hill.
Weisman, G.,Chaudhury, H. & Diaz Moore, K. (2000). "Theory and Practice of place: Toward an integrative model". In R. Rubenstein, M. Moss, & M. Kleban (Eds.), The many dimensions of aging:
Essays in honor of M. Powell Lawton. New York: Springer
Norris-Baker, L., Wiesman, G., Lawton, M.P., Sloane, P. (2000). Assessing special care units for dementia: The professional environmental assessment protocol. In S. Danforth & E. Steinfeld (Eds.), Measuring enabling environments. New York: Plenum.
Weisman, G (1997). Environments for older persons with cognitive impairments: Toward an integration of research and practice. In G. Moore & R. Marans (Eds.), Advances in environment, behavior, and design: V.4.. New York: Plenum.
Lawton, M. P., Weisman, G., Sloane, P. & Calkins, M. (1997). Assessing environments for older people with chronic illness. In J. Teresi, et al. (Eds.), Measurement in elderly chronic care populations. New York: Springer.
Kovach, C., Weisman, G., Chaudhury, H, & Calkins, M. (1997). Impacts of a therapeutic environment for dementia care. Journal of Alzheimer's Care & Research, May/June. Pp. 99-110.
Lawton, M.P., Weisman, G., Chaudhury, H & Calkins, M. (1997). "Assessing environments for older people with chronic illness". In J. Teresi, M. P. Lawton, D. Holmes & M Ory (Eds.), Measurement in elderly chronic care populations (pp. 193-209). New York: Springer.
Weisman, G., Calkins, M. & Slaone, P. (1994). The environmental context of special care. Alzheimer's disease & associatec disorders: An international journal. V. 8: Supplement 1, 308-320.
Cohen, U & Weisman, G (1991). Holding on to home: Designing environments for people with dementia. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins

 

Research and Creative Activities
Along with Institute on Aging & Environment colleagues, Weisman has, over the past ten years, been involved in over 70 consulting projects in the U.S. and Canada including a new replacement campus for the Philadelphia Geriatric Center and the Helen Bader Center at the Milwaukee Jewish Home.

 

Service
Co-Director, Institute on Aging & Environment
Member, Leadership Council, UWM Design for Aging Center
Member of the Departmental Executive Committee; Steering Committee of the AIA Design for Aging Center; Reviewer of manuscripts for Journal of Architecture & Planning Research and the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) Board of Directors