Can you share the key factors that drive your creativity when designing healthcare facilities?
Lilliana Alvarado (LA): I’ve always been interested in the stories of people using the spaces we try to enhance. Particularly in healthcare environments, patients and staff have specific needs and know what works and what doesn’t. Creativity, to me, comes from balancing individual solutions with the larger project goals of our clients.
Aimee Burmaster Hicks (ABH): Travel is the number one driver of my creativity. I love getting fresh perspectives and new ideas from other cultures. Aside from the aesthetics—colors, patterns, forms, and light—experiencing the sensitivities of different cultures and seeing what they prioritize and value gets me thinking differently.
Insights from my own experience as a patient, having undergone brain tumor surgery, have underscored the importance of designing spaces that support care staff in multiple ways. These spaces should be inspirational, fostering creativity and interactions, and should include areas that promote innovation and collaboration, as well as spaces that encourage engagement and rest.
Kelley Dorsett (KD): I am inspired by the people I design for. Hearing from caregivers, staff, patients, their families, and the broader community allows everyone to contribute to the creative process. It is important to leave an area better than you found it and promote equity through design. Projects are successful when they provide social value by contributing to economic stability, enhancing access to care, creating secure, inclusive environments that are flexible and adaptable for various populations, and addressing the ever-changing healthcare landscape.
What recent trends in healthcare design do you find the most intriguing? How do you see these trends shaping the future of healthcare environments?
LA: I’m not particularly drawn to trends; instead, I find research compelling. I prefer human-centered and evidence-based design principles because they are supported by solid research. I believe that identifying the right solution for each unique space or client is the best approach to creating functional, customized, and distinctive environments.
ABH: It couldn’t be a more exciting time in healthcare design to actively engage in future-thinking—this effort involves collaboration with innovators outside the traditional multi-discipline team structure, like immersive experience designers and AI technology experts. Key areas include community integration, which goes beyond the “wellness hub” idea of integrating nutrition and fitness classes into a facility to emphasize inclusivity and accessibility.
How easy is it to travel to the facility on public transportation? Are the programs appropriate for the community’s diverse population, such as the elderly, people with sensory processing differences, or physical disabilities? Creating spaces that respect and accommodate diverse cultural needs, languages, abilities, and practices is crucial. Additionally, it’s important to think flexibly and normalize virtual consultations and remote patient monitoring to create ambient, seamless patient experiences that are controllable and personal, thereby increasing patient engagement and participation in their own health journey.
Finally, safety is paramount in healthcare design, ensuring patients, families, and staff feel secure both physically and emotionally. With healthcare workers increasingly on the front lines of violence, it’s crucial to thoughtfully design and locate both visible and invisible security barriers. Beyond establishing physical security, designers must create spaces that are welcoming, inclusive, and accommodating, fostering a sense of belonging and security for everyone.
KD: Healthcare design trends are currently focused on integrated technology, human-centered design, and sustainability. Data-driven design allows for quick adaptation planning, increases operational efficiency, and improves patient satisfaction. Advanced technology solutions, such as user-friendly apps and telemedicine, enhance inclusivity, reduce stress, and increase access, offering more convenient care for less complex health issues. Sustainability efforts aim to lessen environmental impact through enhanced energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and improved indoor air quality, and regenerative healing environments promote wellbeing and future resilience.
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