Dak Kopec

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Professor, School of Architecture

Expertise: Architecture, Environmental psychology, Aging in place, Health design

Biography

Dak Kopec is an architectural psychologist. He is among course instructors for UNLV's Healthcare Interior Design master's program, which blends Architecture and Health Sciences disciplines to teach interior designers to create spaces (such as hospitals, schools, homes, and senior living communities) that cater to aging populations as well as a wide range of physical ailments (for example: visual impairment, mobility issues, and dementia).

Kopec has written five books pertaining to psychological and physical health and a person’s overall well being, has been invited internationally to discuss health and wellbeing within the designed environment, and invited to serve diverse government appointed positions. His interests are in social justice through environmental design and person-centered design for specific health-related conditions.

Education

B.S., Health Sciences, California State University Long Beach
M.S., Community Psychology, Springfield College
M.S., Architecture, NewSchool of Architecture and Design
Ph.D., Environmental Psychology, Union Institute and University

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Dak Kopec In The News

5 Areas of Your Home to Renovate Before Retiring

Money.com

When you daydream about your retirement, you may be picturing traveling, volunteering and spending time with grandkids. One thing that’s likely absent from the dream? Struggling to move around your own home.

The best walk-in tubs, according to mobility experts

Aol.

Home is the place where you're supposed to feel safest. But as you get older, fall risks lurk everywhere: on loose stairs, in cluttered hallways, and especially in the bathroom. Falls are the number one cause of injury in adults ages 65 and over, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Thanks to an abundance of slippery surfaces, the bathroom is the most common place for falls to happen.

The most effective aging-in-place renovations, according to experts and retirees

HousingWire

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: older Americans overwhelmingly support aging in place in their own homes, with some recent survey data indicating at or over 90% of seniors supporting retirement living in their own homes.

How Thoughtful Landscaping Helps Deter Crime

Money

Every year, nearly one million U.S. households fall victim to burglary, according to the FBI, leaving homeowners feeling violated and traumatized. What if the house itself was the first line of defense?