CHICAGO — International Interior Design Association (IIDA) is excited to announce the Transformation and Innovation Award winner and the Best of Competition winner for the 2023 IIDA Healthcare Design Awards. The Transformation and Innovation Award winner is Gensler for the Community of Hope Family Health and Birth Center (Washington, D.C). This year’s Best of Competition winner is EwingCole for their Essentia Health, St. Mary's Medical Center (Duluth, MN).

The IIDA Healthcare Design Awards recognize firms for creative design of healthcare facilities across seven categories within Hospitals, Extended Care and Assisted Living Facilities, and Ambulatory. In addition to the above awards, Gensler and EwingCole were named category winners for their respective projects including Ambulatory, Specialty Clinic; and Hospitals, Community.

“The winning firms combined high technical knowledge to implement comforting and healing spaces,” said IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO, Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA. “Every year, we are excited to see what design teams are doing to push the boundaries of healthcare design and redefine what the future holds for all that rely on these spaces for their form and function.”

Projects were reviewed by a panel of healthcare design professionals, including Uphealing Inc. Founder and Principal, Lilliana Alvarado, IIDA, CHID; Page Principal and Interior Design Director, Aimee Burmaster Hicks, IIDA, CHID, RID; and PhiloWilke Partnership Director of Interiors, Stephanie Fallon, IIDA, CHID.

“Creation of advanced healthcare environments is a true art and this year’s winners have really mastered that art,” Alvarado said on behalf of the jury. “As designers of healthcare projects ourselves, the jury applauds EwingCole and Gensler on these visionary, patient-forward spaces.”

All winners were announced and honored during a celebration at IIDA Headquarters in Chicago on October 12. All winning projects can be viewed on IIDA.org. For questions in regards to this or other IIDA design competitions, please contact competitions@IIDA.org