-By the Contract Editorial Staff

This summer, Contract once again gathered a panel of healthcare architects and interior designers to conduct the annual Healthcare Environment Awards Competition. Co-sponsored by Contract, The Center for Health Design, and Vendome, the competition aims to recognize excellence in design that enhances the delivery of care.

Given the bleak economic situation of the preceding months, it was with great anticipation this year's jury—Suzen L. Heeley, director of design at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, N.J.; James D. May, AIA, LEED AP, director of design practice for the New York region for Granary Associates; and Barbara J. Huelat, ASID, IIDA, AAHID regent, interior design principal at Huelat Parimucha in Alexandria, Va—gathered at Contract's offices. After all, amid the flat-lining billings across the profession, it seemed healthcare still had a pulse.

Of course, the healthcare sector is not immune to the budgetary struggles facing the A&D community, and in reviewing this year's projects and their own experiences, the jury soberly predicted that, in the end, finances would continue to drive design into the near future. The question wasn't whether it will impact design, but rather how deeply, with our jury wondering if, after years of evidence showing the benefits of single-patient rooms, the trend would revert from hospitality-influenced spaces and individual rooms back toward more institutionalized, ward-like systems because it is a cheaper way to deliver care. To this thought, there was a universal shudder.

Luckily, this year's winners—spread across seven categories including acute care, ambulatory care, long-term care/assisted living, health and fitness, landscape design, professional conceptual work, and student work—prove that thoughtful, well-planned, and equally well-executed design is still being done. What's more, the jury was especially encouraged by the two conceptual winners, which both looked not only at facility design, but also took a step back to look at the larger picture of healthcare and the cultural problems associated with it. Instead of taking a familiar design solution that has been prescribed to various institutions for years, these teams looked first at how the delivery of care works as a cultural system and then sought to craft design solutions that can address the systemic problems on a larger scale, responding to the needs of practitioners, patients, the environment, and society as a whole.

It is this type of work, the jury noted, that needs to be fostered and promoted, and while they were somewhat underwhelmed by the amount of innovation in this year's entrants as a whole, they remain optimistic that it is, indeed, being done. Perhaps one problem, they noted, is the time required to design and complete a healthcare facility, which often takes years longer than the time needed for an office space or retail venue. What's considered cutting-edge at the time of planning may seem old hat by the time the facility is up and running. Another challenge, they noted, is end-user buy-in. Healthcare, they said, is a particularly tough area when it comes to cultural change, and architects and designers have a heavy responsibility to push their clients. Many firms, it seems, are doing well-intentioned and well-executed work, but, while it is successful work, the question remains whether it could push farther. And, while a client may say "no" to the idea proposed, the concepts first have to be brought to the table. This is not to lay blame solely on the designer and architect, as certainly clients and practitioners play an equally large role in recognizing the importance of design on the delivery of care. With projects like this year's winners and the discussions they may provoke, however, we hope to help the A&D community continue—and lead—the discussion.


2009 Healthcare Environment Award Winners

Acute Care Facilities:

Project: St. Anthony Hospital Designers: Zimmer Gunsul Frasca

Honorable Mention: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Children's Hospital of New Orleans Designers: Eskew+Dumez+Ripple

Ambulatory Care Facilities:

Winner: Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center Designers: Anshen+Allen

Honorable Mention: Kennedy Krieger Institute Harry & Jeannette Weinberg Building Designers: Stanley Beaman & Sears

Health and Fitness:

Project: Ideal Dentistry Designers: Rowland Design

Landscape Design:

Project: The Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital Designers: S/L/A/M Collaborative

Long-Term Care/Assisted Living:

Project: Sun City Tsukaguchi Royal Care Designers: Yokomizo Associates

Professional Conceptual:

Project: "Redesigning the office for family medicine" Designers: Clemson University, NXT Health, and Spartanburg Regional Health System; Dina Battisto, PhD., M.Arch, Clemson University; Stephen Thomas, MD, Spartanburg Regional Health System; Salley Whitman, MHA, CHE, and Tara Weeks, M.Arch, NXT, Inc.; Mason Couvillion and Sonya Albury Crandall, MSW, researchers, Clemson University.

Student (not pictured):

Project: "Seeds of Hope" Designers: George Washington University students Sabrina Adewumi, Anna Amick, Tanuja Beenessreesingh, Ena Choi, Amanda Dawson, Sarah Duncan, Kathryn Jeffery, Bari Kessler, Kathleen McWeeney, Sarah Mundey, Faryaneh Overfelt, Katayoun Pamir, Noelle Richa, Shooka Sharafi, Samantha Sirzyk, Jena Soto, Emily Thompson and Jena Zlock. Under the guidance of professor Nazedzha Volchansky.

Additional coverage of this year’s winners can be found at www.healthdesign.org. Winners will be formally recognized during the HEALTHCARE DESIGN.09 Conference in Orlando, Fla.