The Best Hospital Architects in the US

Last updated on May 21st, 2024 at 08:00 am

The US Healthcare sector is a multi-trillion-dollar industry supported by over 20 million health workers. Based on the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) 2020 data, these professionals currently process more than 36.3 million admissions. As one of the country’s essential markets, the industry is responsible for addressing not just the present needs for quality medical care, but also for finding ways to evolve and adapt for the future. To meet these challenging and disparate demands, the industry has to continually evolve to keep up with the growing demand for better, higher-performing facilities, facilities that can respond to newer and more advanced threats to human health and wellness.

Architects that specialize in healthcare understand the significance of these numbers and the industry’s role in preserving human lives. Being the artists and creative visionaries that they are, they optimize the potential of design, technology, and sustainability to create holistic environments and healing spaces that empower, inspire, and transform. The results are buildings and structures centered on the specific needs of patients, health workers, and the communities that they serve.

The list below features the best 50 hospital architects in the US. The firms included here are known for their significant contributions to transforming, shaping, and serving the healthcare industry through innovative, adaptive, humane, and visually magnificent architectures. These firms were qualified based on the awards, publications, industry affiliations, and the number of projects completed for the healthcare sector. Our editorial team also looked at the background of the firms’ principal architects, the value and quality of their projects, their years of service, and most importantly, the reviews and commendations from their clientele.

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Ballinger

833 Chestnut St. Suite #1400, Philadelphia, PA 19107

At the center of Ballinger’s design philosophy is the vision of creating spaces that answer to the “needs, values, and context” of the people, institutions, communities, and landscapes to which they belong. Since its establishment over 140 years ago, the firm has been recognized for its contributions to a wide array of market sectors, including research, academic, corporate planning, and architecture.

For the health sector, the firm delivers public, educational, and institutional centers that champion technology, innovation, and sustainability. In 2019, Interior Design magazine included the company in its Top 40 Healthcare Giants ranking. In the same year, the firm earned the Award of Merit from the annual Healthcare Design Showcase for its work for the New York-Presbyterian David H. Koch Center.

Another notable project in its portfolio is the 250,000-square-foot outpatient facility for Penn Medicine. The structure is a modern and sustainable addition to the organization’s list of comprehensive multi-specialty ambulatory centers. Designed to adhere to US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Silver certification, the building stays true to its green and innovative roots. The structure’s thoughtful architecture allows access to abundant daylight and provides a more natural atmosphere for its patients. For easier wayfinding and orientation, there is a circulation corridor that leads to an interior garden of green lawns and groves, beautifully landscaped with native plants.

BWBR Architects, Inc.

380 St. Peter St. Suite #600, Saint Paul, MN 55102

BWBR Architects’s advocacy to “create a better world” through complex built environments can be traced back to 1922. Even then the firm gravitated towards using design as a tool that can help elevate industries, enhance the performance of organizations, and uplift the communities that they serve. Today—under its seventh generation of leadership— the firm operates as an employee-owned organization catering to the evolving needs in interior design, planning, architecture.

The company has secured its ranks as one of the best in the country, especially in terms of thought leadership and technology-based practices in architecture. Currently the firm serves over ten different market sectors, with projects that are recognized nationwide. As a designer for the most critical healthcare facilities in the region, the firm’s projects—such as the Mayo Clinic Sports Medical Center and the HealthPartners Neuroscience Center—won IIDA’s 2016 FAB Award for Healthcare and the 2017 NAIOP Awards of Excellence, respectively.

While other projects for the same markets have been commended for their design excellence, many of the firm’s works for the sector are praised for social responsiveness. Completed in 2018, the Helmsley Center for Cancer and Outpatient Care gave cancer patients a more accessible facility for procedures, from advanced cancer treatment options to basic radiation oncology services. As a space for healing, the architecture was created to accommodate a spacious community atrium. The atrium features fireplaces and a piano that welcomes patients and visitors to a peaceful, relaxing ambiance. The building is strategically situated and designed closer to “home,” near Pierre’s local communities. The center features nature-inspired materials and patterns that mirror the area’s stunning landscape.

CallisonRTKL

901 S Bond St., Baltimore, MD 21231

With projects all over the world, CallisonRTKL recognizes the importance of its responsibilities as an architect and as a part of the global community. Its drive to innovate and explore creative solutions can be seen in its relationships with people and its clients, and the unforgettable architecture that it has completed across Europe, North America, Latin America, Australia, and many parts of Asia.

The company’s contributions to the healthcare industry are represented by patient-oriented architectures, a product of the firm’s methods powered by creative, technology-based ideas. These qualities are often highlighted with the recognition that the company continues to earn through the years. In 2019, for instance, the firm was awarded the GBCA Construction Excellence Award in Healthcare for its Main Line Health Bryn Mawr Hospital Pavilion project. And its Warren Clinics project won the IIDA Excellence in Design Award.

The Northwestern Medicine Cancer Center in Warrenville is notable for its thoughtful design. The architecture opens up the facility to allow natural light in and provide a clear view of the area’s calming landscape. The design ultimately creates a better experience and facilitates a more relaxing atmosphere for its patients. The 48,000-square-foot detached cancer and diagnostic imaging facility provides private treatment areas and healing gardens. The inclusion of these spaces is consistent with the project’s initial focus of “comfort, dignity, and safety” for its patients and visitors.

CannonDesign

360 Madison Ave., 11th Fl., New York, NY 10017

Since its establishment in 1945, CannonDesign has championed sustainability, community involvement, and architectural excellence. These qualities have long represented the company’s vision of shaping the future of architecture by serving the education, commercial, science and technology, sports, hospitality, and healthcare sectors. Many of its milestones and achievements can be attributed to the fusion of ideas that comes from the more than 1,000 creative thinkers, experts, and problem-solvers who work for the firm.

As a firm that serves the healthcare industry, the company is a nationally-recognized institution that consistently secures commendations and industry awards every year. In 2019, for instance, it took home ENR’s Best Healthcare Project awards for its work for the Froedtert Health, Surgical and Interventional Platform. In the same year, AIA Baltimore recognized the company’s Bayhealth Hospital-Sussex Campus project with the Exceptional Detail Award. This year, CannonDesign celebrated a decade of being ranked in the top 10 in the Modern Healthcare Design Firm Survey. Over the years, the firm continues to collaborate with leading medical institutions to complete significant master planning, architecture, interior design, and consulting work for the sector.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care, Location: Philadelphia PA, Architect: Pelli Clarke Pelli

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), one of the biggest pediatric and research institutions in the country, commissioned the company with multiple other firms, to plan and design a modern ambulatory care center.  The project’s most distinctive feature is its use of primary colors, a palette that brings the joy and delight of childhood—achieving its ultimate goal of uplifting the spirits of patients and staff. As a LEED Gold-certified facility, the architecture was designed to accommodate future technological changes and structural evolutions that will benefit the generations to come.

CO Architects

5055 Wilshire Blvd., 9th Fl., Los Angeles, CA 90036

CO Architects’s focus on people helped it grow an organization that has completed large and complex projects for a wide array of markets. Founded in 1986, the firm’s practice expands to a long list of highly-demanding and high-value sectors, including academic, science and technology, civil and cultural, among others.

As an architectural firm that caters to the demands for complex built environments, the firm continues to develop and enhance its technology-based, people-centered, sustainable approaches to design. These efforts have resulted in multiple recognitions from leading industry organizations. AIA, for instance, highlighted the firm’s architectural influence on the healthcare industry with designs meant for clinical practice and well as medical education. In recent years, the company won AIA-Kansas’s Professionals Choice Awards for Design Excellence and a Citation Award for Architecture for its Health Education Building project for the University of Kansas Medical Center (a collaboration with Helix Architecture + Design).

Photo by Nils Timm

In 2017, AIA Pasadena Foothills Chapter also recognized the company for another unforgettable work, the Shriners for Children Medical Center (a collaboration with SRG Partnership). The center is Shriners organization’s primary facility in Southern California and was built to cater to pediatric orthopedic care patients. The three-story structure houses spacious facilities and amenities, including clinics, a surgical suite, administrative offices, underground parking, a therapy garden, an events space, and many others. One of the most notable qualities of this project is its energy efficiency. The entire architecture was designed to meet the CalGreen sustainability standards.

Corgan

401 N Houston St., Dallas, TX 75202

Since its inception in 1938, Corgan has stayed true to its core design principles of empathy, clarity, singularity, locality, and responsibility. Its projects in the US and around the world embody these ideals, with architectures that represent the firm’s legacy of designing buildings that enhance the lives of its users and at the same time amplify the value of its environments.

To be able to cater to an impressive spectrum of markets, the firm relies on the experience of its multi-affiliated principals who invested almost two decades of their career with the company. The firm has an extensive portfolio that covers a long list of projects from different sectors, including the aviation, commercial, data centers, education, healthcare, and other specialty markets.

Some of the company’s complex and high-value works have shaped the Texan healthcare sector. In recent years, the firm designed and led the master planning of the 1.9 million-square-foot Parkland Hospital. Aside from acquiring its LEED Gold standard set by the USGBC, the firm also incorporated design principles that include evidence-based designs and lean design solutions. Its sustainable features, architectural excellence, and design efficiency secured several recent awards, such as the AIA Dallas Honor Award and the Texas Society of Architects Design Award.

Cuningham Group Architecture, Inc.

201 Main St., SE Suite #325, Minneapolis, MN 55414

John Cuningham established Cuningham Group Architecture, Inc. in 1968. The early years of the firm focused on the development of a new model of architecture that highlighted inclusivity and collaboration, especially among the major players of every project venture: clients, consultants, engineers, and contractors. These groups are tasked to participate actively in nurturing and innovative practices aimed to create transformative architectures that will last generations.

Today the company considers collaboration the essence of its architectural practice. Cuningham’s vision guided the company to expand its services across a wide range of markets and connect its networks with leading organizations, including the AIA. Its projects for public housing, multifamily, gaming, hospitality, education, entertainment, corporate, commercial, and healthcare sectors are products of its partnerships with institutions, professionals, and clients from different industries.

One great example of its collaborative work with a leading healthcare institution is the Douglas & Nancy Barnhart Cancer Center, a 45,000-square-foot project for Sharp Healthcare. The project was designed to respond to the holistic and healing needs of its users, providing comfort, privacy, and dignity. Aside from its safe and solemn spaces, special entry points are provided for returning patients who have special access via dedicated parking spaces. The design was also aesthetically sensitive to its residential surroundings. The building was created to blend in and not appear intimidating. The building is divided into three levels based on the function and ease of access and privacy: the first story houses the radiation oncology area, the second is dedicated to medical oncology, and the third level accommodates private physician offices.

DAVIS BRODY BOND

One New York Plz. Suite #4200, New York, NY 10004

Five partners lead DAVIS BRODY BOND’s: AIA fellows Steven M. Davis, Christopher K. Grabé, and Carl F. Krebs, as well as William H. Paxson, AIA, and David K. Williams, AIA. These partnerships have consistently produced award-winning projects for a variety of sectors. The firm’s high-value clientele is composed of institutions and organizations from the education, civic, cultural, corporate, residential, urban planning, and the healthcare industries.

Some of its most notable awards recognize its contribution to New York’s healthcare and medical sector. The firm renovated and modernized the Adult Emergency Department at NewYork-Presbyterian, for instance, and the project earned the New York Association of Consulting Engineers Engineering Excellence Award. As a leading architectural firm in the region, the firm continues to work with major companies to enhance and transform the field’s architectural landscape.

Through a collaboration with renowned planning and design firm Poltronieri Tang Associates, the company also led the programming and full architectural services for The Children’s Hospital of New York’s 35,000-square-foot Pediatric Emergency Department. The building was a significant addition to the facility and plays a crucial goal in expanding the health center’s ability to accommodate patients, especially during high-admittance periods. The upgrade also reduced patient waiting time, boosted staff morale, provided better access, increased mobility for equipment and medication, and most importantly, more installed advanced technologies such as paperless charting and wireless nurse call.

EUA (Eppstein Uhen Architects)

333 E Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202

Eppstein Uhen Architects believes that design solutions are not predetermined and that great ideas are born from innovation, exploration, and never-ending curiosity. By challenging ideas and refining them into relevant, client-centered, socially and environmentally-responsible concepts, the firm is able to deliver architecture and design processes that can answer to the complex needs of critical and highly-demanding environments. EUA provides those solutions to the healthcare, academic, science and technology, education, residential, corporate, and public sectors.

The firm’s design philosophy has produced many stunning architectures throughout the region. Its offices in Milwaukee, Madison, and Denver allowed it to transform communities and urban landscapes, as well as contribute to critical fields, such as the medical and healthcare industry. One example of its work for the sector is an architectural design project for a new clinic for the Wisconsin Institute of Urology. The firm partnered with Miron Construction, another award-winning company.

The collaboration generated options for the client that prioritize the efficiency of design and long-term maintainability. That includes flexible designs that can accommodate future enhancements and facility upgrades. The structure was shaped to minimize patient steps and provide a more private and less-stressful movement by separating pre-op and post-op traffic. To provide a soothing atmosphere, natural elements such as wood and organic patterns were installed. The design was inspired by the “Respite in the Woods” theme.

EwingCole

100 N 6th St., Philadelphia, PA 19106

Over 100 awards from architecture and professional institutions, including AIA, IIDA, and the Illuminating Engineering Society are included on EwingCole’s list of achievements as a multidisciplinary practice. Since its inception in 1961, the firm has offered a wide spectrum of services, from lighting design, master planning, process engineering, and other complex architectural services to a long list of markets.

As a firm that puts sustainability at the center of its agenda, the firm believes that human wellness is dependent on the health of the environment so it strives to design spaces where humans and nature can interact harmoniously. That approach is especially important in the healthcare sector, where architecture that contributes to a healthy body and mind is more than just pretty, it can saves lives.

The Asplundh Cancer Pavilion’s architecture, for instance, represents an ideal healing environment where patients diagnosed with cancer can enjoy Abington’s rich and vibrant ecology. The company successfully brought the outdoors into the building through a design that welcomes natural light and provides uninterrupted views of its surrounding landscapes. The project earned an honorable mention in the 2019 Healthcare Design Magazine Showcase.

EYP

201 Fuller Rd., 5th Fl., Albany, NY 12203

Innovative, sustainable, technology-based, and client-driven solutions have guided EYP’s architecture and engineering practice since its founding in 1972. These factors helped the company grow its operations from its Albany office to other primary US regions. Today, its scope covers different regions in the country through its offices in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Raleigh, and Washington, D.C.

From these locations, the firm collaborates with mission-driven clients from major markets: higher education, science and technology, government, and the medical sector. As an architectural firm that also specializes in designing the most complex healthcare structures in the country, one of its most significant projects for the market can be found in Missouri.

Designed to meet the client’s stringent requirements, the Fulton State Hospital is the first of its kind and is one of the most challenging projects that the firm ever took on. The forensic psychiatric hospital required maximum and intermediate-level security that can safely house severely mentally-ill patients from different categories of program communities. Covering 450,000 gross square feet, the facility accommodates 300 beds as well as treatment and relevant living spaces. The project was recognized by AIA Mid-Missouri with an Honor Award. It was also featured in leading local media, including the Columbia Daily Tribune and St. Louis Public Radio.

Flad Architects

644 Science Dr., Madison, WI 53711

With a rich history that goes back to 1927, Flad Architects is one of the oldest, most established planning and design firms in the country. The firm has partnered with universities, research organizations, science and technology giants, and healthcare institutions to create spaces and environments that enhance human potential and ultimately deliver a profound impact on the community.

As an architectural firm, the company promotes modern innovations and sustainable practices. The firm’s advocacy for green design has been recognized nationwide by organizations like the American Institute of Architects (AIA). And the International Interior Design Association-Wisconsin (IIDA) commended its work for the healthcare industry. Its project for the UF Health Heart & Vascular Hospital and UF Health Neuromedicine Hospital, for instance, earned the Celebrate In Design Award’s top rank. The same level of praise was given to many of its projects for the market, especially when it comes to design flexibility and the firm’s contribution to local communities. One example is the firm’s project for an emergency facility in the region.

Every second counts when saving lives; that sense of urgency and the need for accessibility inspired the company to design an efficient, flexible facility for the residents of Madison. St. Mary’s Hospital is a 13,900-square-foot free-standing satellite emergency center. The building is a part of a new healthcare campus designed to cater to Sun Prairie’s nearby communities. One of the most significant details of the architecture center is its ease of access: the structure is easily visible from the state’s main highway and its structure effortlessly orients responders and emergency vehicles to the building’s front door.

FCA

2000 Market St. Suite #600, Philadelphia, PA 19103

For FCA (Francis Cauffman Architects), “design” is a vital medium that connects the company with people in order to create spaces that embody the cultures of individuals and communities, enhance lives, and amplify the functions and performance of these structures. By inspiring transformative collaborations among clients, architects, designers, engineers, and builders, the firm has delivered architectures commended by the AIA, IIDA, and USGBC, and celebrated for their excellence in architecture, planning, interior design, green design advocacies, and social responsiveness.

The company is licensed to work in multiple states, allowing it to serve a long list of markets from the country’s major regions. FCA’s clients come from the country’s most significant sectors, including the academic, corporate, law, urban planning, and science and technology industries, and the firm has completed comprehensive work for the healthcare market.

One of the firm’s most notable works is the MD Anderson Cancer Center, a new addition to the Cooper University Hospital. The completion of the 103,000-square-foot facility is an important healthcare milestone for the Northeast. The center—which houses a comprehensive list of facilities, equipment, treatment clinics, and a central pharmacy—welcomes all types of cancer patients. Aside from a landscaped entry plaza, the building also has a nice garden retreat located on its second level and provides access to the rooftop. As a LEED-certified project designed to adhere to green and sustainable standards, the project earned USGBC’s Urban Green Awards, Silver, in 2014.

FreemanWhite

3545 Whitehall Park Dr. Suite #500, Charlotte, NC 28273

For more than a hundred years, FreemanWhite has dedicated its services to providing planning, architecture, engineering, interior design, and strategic project development solutions to the healthcare community. Many of its projects promote patient-centered environments and enhance building performance through cutting-edge technologies and responsive design solutions.

As a firm that concentrates one hundred percent of its services to the healthcare industry, FreemanWhite has a wide spectrum of expertise within the medical and healthcare sector. The firm has designed architectures for specific critical structures: acute care, ambulatory care, emergency, surgery, and post-acute care. Many of these projects earned awards and commendations from the industry’s most respected institutions.

In 2019, for instance, the firm won ENR Southeast’s Award of Merit in Health Care for its Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center work. This project is known for its use of the latest technology in cancer treatment, but it also has a reputation for its unforgettable architecture. The firm combined the minimalist and elegant features of modern-classic architecture. Elements of nature were incorporated into the design so that there is access to natural light and thoughtful spaces created for indoor plants that boost mood and inspire healing. Artwork by local artists adds visual calmness and well-being. The 332,000-square-foot project was a collaborative effort between the company and HKS Architects.

GBBN Architects

332 East Eighth St., Cincinnati, OH 45202

GBBN works with visionaries to enhance spaces and empower people. The firm combines creative tenacity, technical mastery, and a global perspective to deliver unique design solutions. GBBN helps its clients use design to shorten the distance between medical breakthroughs and patient bedsides, set students up for success, connect audiences and artists, and inspire employees to do their best work.

Their work on the University of Louisville Physicians’ Novak Center for Children’s Health is a perfect example of their design philosophy. Located in Louisville, Kentucky, the Novak Center for Children’s Health brings multiple pediatric specialties together in a 174,000-square-foot facility that is efficient and colorful.

The presence of clinics for neurology, ophthalmology, and hematology in one building provides accessible, convenient, collaborative, and comprehensive services for patients and families. Its playful use of shapes, curves, and color combinations make it a friendly, healing space for its young patients. GBBN served as the core and shell design lead, executive architect, and AOR. It collaborated with EYP, the project’s associate architect, that took charge of the project’s medical planning and interior design.

Gensler

1700 Broadway, Suite #400, New York, NY 10019

With a global team of 6,000-plus people, Gensler has shaped cities and industries around the world through its comprehensive services that span 24 practice areas and a global clientele. As an ever-evolving organization founded in 1965, the firm has grown to incorporate modern sustainable design processes and design solutions that are helping transform the world into a better place.

The firm is manned by over 1,200 LEED-accredited professionals. Through this impressive manpower, the company has completed over 100 million square feet of LEED-certified projects and over 600 million square feet of work that follows green design and building standards. The same standards are employed across the different markets the firm serves, especially in the health sector.

One great example of the firm’s work is the Physicians Medical Park, one of the newest modern facilities in Torrance. The building is located adjacent to the nationally-recognized medical care facility, Torrance Memorial Medical Center. The firm led the design of this ambulatory center and multi-tenant medical office dedicated to primary-care clinical services that adhere to OSHPD 3 standards. The seven-acre site has its own parking space with separate areas for doctors and patients. All of the amenities were designed to be sustainable and cost-effective.

Gresham Smith

222 Second Ave. S Suite #1400, Nashville, TN 37201

Roadways that connect cities, corporate campuses that encourage productivity and empower people, medical facilities that cater to the well-being and health of individuals: Gresham Smith delivers projects that help transform lives and enhance communities. The firm’s milestones are well-documented in the industry’s leading publications, such as the Building Design + Construction magazine, Architect Magazine, and the ENR.

The company is headquartered in Tennessee. In addition to its overseas offices in China and United Arab Emirates, the company has established multiple locations across the United States. Florida is home to its biggest operations, with multiple offices located in Tampa, Tallahassee, Miami, Jacksonville, and Ft. Lauderdale. One significant market that the firm serves is the healthcare sector: Gresham Smith has completed a number of hospital campuses and healthcare facilities over the years.

Its work for the St. Joseph’s Hospital-South is a good example. The project was an answer to the growing demand for modern healthcare facilities for Hillsborough County. Completed for the BayCare Health System, the 335,000-square-foot structure can accommodate 90 beds and a variety of amenities to support an environment that promotes a sense of peace and comfort. The work included an adjoining 85,000-square-foot medical office building.

Harvard Jolly Architecture

2714 Dr. MLK Jr. St., N St. Petersburg, FL 33704

What started as a one-man practice in 1938 evolved into one of the country’s most influential architectural companies. Today, the company stays true to its founder William Harvard, Sr. ‘s business philosophy of giving the clients a complete devotion in order to deliver projects that represent “attention, unique design, and quality of construction.” The firm serves multiple market sectors across Florida. These include sectors for education, public safety, libraries, as well as public and commercial parking spaces.

According to BD + C magazine’s yearly ranking, the company ranks as the largest educational architectural firm in Florida. The firm is also equally successful in other areas that it serves. The healthcare industry, for instance, has relied on the firm’s expertise to implement design strategies that prioritize the functional and holistic needs of patients, families, and healthcare workers.

To date, the firm has partnered with healthcare providers to complete over 20 million square feet of facilities not only in the region but also in other parts of the US. These works range from humble community clinics, general hospitals, as well as specific venues such as ambulatory surgery centers, acute care centers, outpatient care facilities, and behavioral health centers. These facilities have been commended for their performance and for their architectural feats. The Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, for instance, was awarded 2018 #1 Most Beautiful Hospital in the United States, according to Soliant Health’s annual ranking.

HDR

1917 S. 67th St., Omaha, NE 68106

H.H. Henningson’s vision of helping the towns of the rural Midwest to grow with the changing world created HDR, a company founded on the spirit of advancing communities and enhancing people’s lives. The firm started out as an engineering company in 1917 and built infrastructure that developed and nurtured the region’s energy and water resources.

Today, the company has a massive geographic and market reach, operating over 200 offices across the world and supported by more than 10,000 employees. Its extensive portfolio features multi-faceted sectors that present varying levels of complexity. These projects have been awarded different engineering excellence awards, design awards, and sustainability awards by different industry organizations, especially by regional and national engineering organizations such as American Council of Engineering Companies and the American Society of Engineers.

Commissioned by Vidant Health, the 410,000-square-foot Vidant Cancer Center represents the firm’s philosophy of designing architectures that promote healing of body, mind, and spirit. Its interiors are filled with artworks that invoke visions of North Carolina’s life and nature. Daylight easily fills the halls of the building, thanks to its glass-dominated layout. Outside are healing gardens, labyrinths, and other spaces of respite for patients and families in need of a calm and peaceful place to meditate, relax, and reflect.

HED

26913 Northwestern Hwy. Suite #200, Southfield, MI 48033

In order to cater to the needs of a broad range of market sectors, HED operates through four offices in California and four more locations in Massachusetts, Illinois, Texas, and Michigan. Since its inception in 1908, the company has delivered planning, architecture, engineering, and consulting services that supported its goal of “advancing your world” for clients and communities through the positive impact of design and exceptional solutions. 

HED has long prided itself as being a leader in high-efficiency design as evidenced by the many “firsts” it has achieved. These include the first LEED Gold-certified buildings in Michigan for its Ford Rouge Visitor Center project, the first LEED-certified multi-family building in the Midwest after its completion of the Wentworth Commons in Chicago, and the first LEED Platinum-certified library in the world: the Lakeview Terrace Branch Library. At present, HED is among the exclusive list of roughly 30 firms in the world that have won the AIA COTE Top Ten award more than once.  To make all these possible, the firm relies on over 114 LEED-accredited professionals led by CEO, J. Peter Devereaux, FAIA, LEED AP. With this caliber of talent on staff, it’s no surprise that many of its projects are celebrated for their sustainable and green features. The Rancho Mirage Rehabilitation Hospital is one perfect example.

The state-of-the-art structure is the only acute care rehabilitation center in Coachella Valley. Its façade and landscaping blends with its location’s desert setting and sand palettes. The building was designed to exude an intimate, spa-like atmosphere. The architecture has also been recognized for its sustainable features and building solutions: solar shading canopies, energy-efficient HVAC systems, an abundance of natural light during the day, and the locally-sourced materials. 

HGA

420 North 5th St., Minneapolis, MN 55401

National multidisciplinary design firm, HGA, believes that enduring, impactful design results from deep insight into the people and passions that animate each unique environment. The firm’s 11 offices from coast to coast craft specialized teams to serve clients across a wide range of industries including education, arts, healthcare, corporate, government, community, and energy.

HGA’s award-winning healthcare practice group ensures that the design, delivery, and operation of its healthcare clients’ facilities support their strategy and mission. The firm uses ethnographic and evidence-based research, data science, lean methodologies, and rapid prototyping to develop unique insight and not only deliver but also transform the state-of-the-art in healthcare planning and design. 

A good example of the firm’s innovative healthcare work is the Adventist Health Medical Office – Fowler in California. The project displays how HGA develops a deep understanding of the diverse needs of its healthcare clients by listening to patients, families, and medical professionals to create spaces that are beautiful, functional, and enduring. The 46,000-square-foot facility is the first of its kind for the greater Fresno area and provides essential care for the surrounding rural community—serving all stages of life, from birth to elderly care.  This health hub culminates in an 11,000-square-foot Life Center that connects the general public to clinical personnel in addition to insightful medical research and information. HGA’s other works for the sector earned two 2019 Evidence-Based Design Touchstone Awards, including a Gold Level recognition for the 7 North Tower Medical Surgical Unit Build-out at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. In the same year, the firm secured an IIDA Healthcare Design Award for CentraCare Health – Long Prairie in Minnesota. In 2018, HGA was honored with the ENR CA Best Project Award for its Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital project.

You can see more from HGA by checking out their website here.

HKS Architects

350 N Saint Paul St. Unit #100, Dallas, TX 75201

Since its establishment in 1939, HKS Architects has offered architectures that can evolve and remain relevant over time. That flexible design philosophy can be observed in many of its projects, especially for the healthcare industry, one of the biggest sectors it serves.

Norton Women’s and Kosair Children’s Hospital, for instance, showcases the firm’s ability to use design to elevate experiences and amplify the healing elements of the outdoors. Aside from walkways that receive an abundant amount of natural light, the building’s multi-colored glass exteriors allows observers to enjoy the passing of time through changing daylight. The structure is also home to a rooftop garden, a sanctuary for vulnerable patients.

The project accommodates a 40-bed NICU, 16-bed ICU, 33-bed medical and surgical section, a breast health center, inpatient migraine treatment, a workout area, and the Norton Cancer Institute. The completed work won the 2016 Healthcare Design Showcase as well as the Modern Healthcare award in the same year. In 2015, the firm earned the Louisville Business First, Commercial Real Estate Awards, under the Medical Project category.

HMC Architects

633 W 5th St., 3rd Fl., Los Angeles, CA 90071

HMC Architect’s vision of designing for the human experience and delivering transformative designs that make a difference in the community is represented by its extensive portfolio that focuses entirely on the education, civic, and healthcare sectors. More importantly, the firm’s projects are designed to create a positive impact on the environment and transform society into an environment where people can lead a healthy life.

The company was established in 1940 and it has grown into an influential firm that has helped shape California’s architectural scene. Brian Staton, Assoc. AIA heads the firm’s daily operations as its president and CEO. Staton has been with the industry for almost three decades, and he is known for his collaborative leadership and passion for the “intersection of architecture and people.” That design philosophy can be observed in how the firm designs LEED-certified and AIA-recognized structures that respond to the ever-changing needs of an advancing population.

Designed for LEED Gold Certification, Kaiser Permanente Skyport Medical Office Building is another addition to San Jose’s technologically-advanced structures. The medical building is a four-story, 153,000 structure that houses 100 providers, specialized clinics, and laboratories. Sustainable elements have also been incorporated into the structure. Tech-smart and progressive, the building responds to the needs of its modern-day patients. Aside from offering the latest in medical technology, the center also provides a hospitality-driven experience that offers a glimpse into the future of healthcare. For instance, visitors can check-in remotely through their mobile and computer devices.

HOK

5 Bryant Park, 1065 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Fl., New York, NY 10018

With 24 offices across three continents, HOK is composed of over 1,600 employees who support its global operations, delivering architecture, design, engineering, and planning solutions to a wide range of sectors. Those sectors include advanced and complex markets such as aviation, transportation, science and technology, sports and recreation, corporate, and healthcare.

Founded in 1955, the firm brings with it the legacies of time-tested architectural methods while incorporating the modern and advanced healthcare technologies to achieve one goal: deliver architectural solutions that “inspire clients and communities.” The USGBC, AIA, Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), and other global organizations have recognized the firm’s architectural excellence, tech-smart, and sustainable contributions to a wide spectrum of markets.

One prime example of its capability is the Cedars-Sinai Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion (AHSP). Located in Los Angeles, the project champions green design through energy-efficient and environmentally friendly features. What makes the building stand out is how it combines the best of what world-class research, healthcare, medical education facilities have to offer: advanced medical technology, modern design, and a patient-centered approach to healthcare. Aside from passing LEED Gold certification, the 820,000-square-foot building’s outstanding design caught the attention of the AIA and awarded it the Academy of Architecture for Health Design Award.

Hord Coplan Macht

700 East Pratt St., Suite #1200, Baltimore, MD 21202

Hord Coplan Macht is one of the biggest architectural design companies in the country, providing multiple services and a geographic scope that includes multiple regions. The AIA-member firm has also established its roots across other US regions, including Virginia, Colorado, and North Carolina. These offices allow the company to cater to a wider clientele from a spectrum of sectors in neighboring states. Its portfolio features academic, multi-residential, commercial, affordable housing, landscape, and healthcare architectures.

One of its most significant planning and design projects is located in Michigan. The MidMichigan Medical System commissioned the firm to lead a comprehensive work that covers analysis, architectural design, interior, landscaping designs, as well as medical planning services for the client’s three-story facility. The building was an addition to the institution’s Midland campus.

The result is a modern building that stands out for its use of a contemporary cool palette, natural materials, its beautiful glass atrium, and soaring roofs. The building—designed to house the facility’s more holistic approach to patient care—was recognized by Healthcare Design magazine in 2018 as one of the leading design projects completed for the industry.

Huitt-Zollars

1717 McKinney Ave. Suite #1400, Dallas, TX 75202

Since its inception in 1975, the company has successfully established its brand as a time-tested trailblazer, especially for the world’s major markets that rely on complex built environments to serve and transform its communities. Through its 19 offices across the country and a competitive international presence, the multi-awarded firm has made its mark serving the most demanding clients, especially in the healthcare industry.

The Memorial Springs Medical is one of the most complex structures that the firm designed for Oklahoma’s healthcare community. The three-story, 58,000 square-foot medical building features different design and structural elements that can respond to the present and future demands of the building. The structure’s MEP system was installed to answer the functional and technical demands of a wide range of healthcare specializations. Clinical and administrative offices, treatment and procedure rooms, x-ray areas, and a laboratory all take up residence in this building. More importantly, since the medical center is located in an earthquake-prone region, the firm designed its structural frame to become structurally resilient and adapt to the growing intensity of earthquakes in the area.

One of the challenges for this project happened during the early stages of construction. A bedrock, which was not identified initially in the geotechnical report, tested the firm’s ability to solve complex structural and design problems. The firm succeeded in redesigning the foundation and slab while still managing to meet the client’s strict delivery schedule.

JLG Architects

322 First Ave. N Suite #600, Minneapolis, MN 55401

Over 30 years ago, JLG Architects completed its first project, a gazebo, for one of the most historic buildings in the region, the Myra Museum. The company was one of the first design firms to use computers using the RISC 1000 for drafting—a huge technological leap at that time that propelled the industry to new heights. That advancement—coupled with the firm’s architectural caliber—earned the company a much-coveted AIA design award in the following year.

From a small, local firm, the company expanded to welcome mergers with leading architectural firms in the country, including Schoen Associates, Davison Larson Architects, ACV2, and Studio Five Architects. Individually, these firms have established their reputation as innovators that cater to a wide spectrum of markets. As one organization, the merger dominated the Upper Midwest’s architectural scene. Today, the company is among Building Design+Construction’s Top 150 Architecture Giants and is one of Architectural Record’s Top 300 Architecture Firms in the US.

Aside from its multi-awarded projects for other complex markets in the industrial, aviation, hospitality, and sports sectors, among others, the firm and its partners share a legacy of completing significant architectures for the healthcare industry. Before merging with the firm Studio Five Architects helped give life to the Minnesota healthcare industry’s most vital medical facilities. Its partnership with the University of Minnesota Physicians and Fairview Health Services, for instance, produced a modern ambulatory care center, a trailblazing project that set the standards for the facility’s future medical structures. The work was named one of the Top Projects of 2015 by Finance & Commerce magazine.

Kirksey Architecture

6909 Portwest Dr., Houston, TX 77024

Integrated, collaborative, sustainable, and unique designs describe Kirksey Architecture’s multi-awarded portfolio. AIA, IIDA, USGBC, and ASID are just some of the most respected institutions that continue to recognize the firm’s growing influence in the region’s academic, religious, hospitality, commercial, and healthcare sectors.

Many of the firm’s projects stand out because of its complexity, value, architectural grandeur, and most importantly, its contribution to transform the lives and the communities that these buildings serve. One of the biggest projects that the company has taken on since its establishment in 1971 is Texas Medical Center’s (TMC) Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza. The structure covers an impressive 1.5 million-square-feet of area; it’s a stunning sight that reshaped Houston’s unforgettable skyline.

The 31-story building is a dense and complex project fitted into a tight urban landscape. The mixed-use facility provides commercial and healthcare services to the community. It houses ambulatory surgery services, professional office spaces, retail spaces, and 2,500 parking spaces. The project was a modern answer to the growing shortage of the much-needed physician lease spaces within the medical campus. In 2007, the project was awarded the Houston Business Journal Landmark Award under the Medical Development category.

LEO A DALY

8600 Indian Hills Dr., Omaha, NE 68114

By using approaches that provide a holistic response to the needs of its occupants, LEO A DALY designs architectures that center on innovation, curiosity, and social and environmental sensibilities. For over 100 years, the company has stayed true to these visions, completing projects not just in the US but also in 91 countries around the world. In order to provide these extensive, far-reaching solutions, the firm is supported by its subsidiary company, Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) to answer the engineering, program management, and infrastructure consulting demands of its complex, high-value clientele.

Industries in the aviation, civic, commercial, education, federal, food, gaming, entertainment, hospitality, residential, senior living, corporate, science and technology, and medical and critical markets rely on the company’s high-performance, solutions-based, one-stop approach to architecture and planning.

When it comes to the healthcare sector, the company provided medical planning, architectural and structural design, as well as civil engineering services for a leading medical facility in Omaha. The creation of the CHI Health Creighton Bergan Clinic completes the facility’s contemporary academic health system. The 138,500-square-foot facility was designed to house 136 exam and procedure rooms, ten specialty procedure rooms, seven ultrasound rooms, and two general x-ray rooms.

Little

615 South College St. Suite #1600, Charlotte, NC 28202

Little is a national design firm known for its diverse and collaborative approach to architecture. Founded in 1964, the firm has experienced steady growth, and it has expanded its services across the US. Today, it is supported by its multi-disciplinary team members that focus on developing exceptional design solutions that elevate the performance of their clients.

As a firm experienced in serving the healthcare sector, the company has a deep understanding of the design needs of the healthcare community. Its efforts to serve this specific market sector are well recognized by multiple AIA regional organizations. Its Adventist Health System Headquarters project earned the 2013 AIA Charlotte Citation Award, and the Castro Private Health Medical Office project was awarded the 2016 AIA Orlando Award of Merit. Levine Cancer Institute, a project with Atrium Health, received a Heavy Hitters Award in 2019, recognizing it as one of the best redevelopment projects in the Charlotte region. Another of the firm’s notable projects in Florida is South Lake Hospital’s Blue Cedar medical clinic.

The project is a 41,348 square feet project that houses a modern emergency department, an outpatient diagnostic facility, and an attached medical office building. The company led the project’s engineering, architecture, and interior design services to complete a medical center that answers the functional, structural, and holistic demands of its healthcare clients. A unique element of its interior is its use of biophilic design strategies, a design concept that creates a visual and effortless connection between occupants and the natural environment. The firm was able to provide an environment that embraces the calmness of the surrounding ecology, helping boost the observer’s mood and inspire positivity in anxious patients.

LS3P

205 1/2 King St., Charleston, SC 29401

Established in 1963, LS3P is a multidisciplinary firm offering architecture, interiors, and planning services to a wide variety of clients nationwide. Central to all regions of the Southeast with offices in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington, and Savannah, LS3P is committed to bringing state-of-the-art design, technology, and expertise of a strong regional firm closer to its clients on a local level. 

The firm’s broad, diverse portfolio of healthcare projects provides state-of-the-art spaces for healing across the continuum of care. Acute care, medical office buildings, behavioral health facilities, specialty clinics, laboratory and research spaces, and allied health learning environments all inspire our practice as the firm applies leading-edge best practices to healthcare challenges.

One of the firm’s recent behavioral health projects is the WakeBrook Behavioral Health Facility. Located in Raleigh, the building covers 60,000 square feet of a residential facility that was designed according to the industry’s best practices for mental health treatment. The structure’s architecture provides a tranquil, familiar, safe space that protects the dignity and privacy of patients and occupants. The building’s large windows provide an abundance of daylight and frame an uninterrupted view of the outdoors, and its human scale spaces make the facility “comforting without appearing clinical.”

Mascari Warner Dinh Architects

1717 Kettner Blvd. Suite #100, San Diego, CA 92101

As a company that has been practicing healthcare planning and design since 1989, Mascari Warner Dinh Architects has greatly contributed to California’s medical and healthcare community. Joe Mascari and Thai Dinh are the two company leaders that have guided the firm to continued success in the industry. Mascari, as the Design Principal, leads the firm’s architectural services. Dinh, on the other hand, serves as the Managing Principal and runs the company’s day-to-day operations.

Three major goals define the company’s approach to every project: increase the project’s value by carefully looking at factors of costs, design, performance, and schedule. Secondly, the firm aims to reduce risks for the built environment by anticipating problems and providing solutions early in the process. Finally, the firm delivers work with optimal performance built for sustainability and efficiency. These concepts can be observed in many of the firm’s projects, especially for its market specialization.

Its work for the Saint Mary’s Health Network – West Campus, for instance, displays the firm’s strategic planning and ability to master plan a campus. The project, built to answer growing patient and campus needs, spans a five-acre site. Since it’s located in Reno’s downtown, the project required a more urban approach in terms of design. The project was designed to exude a traditional university campus vibe and prioritize patient convenience. The clients also wanted to incorporate significant architectural references inspired by the facility’s historic 1930’s building façade. The completed work was featured in Healthcare Design magazine and the Southern California Healthcare Construction Executive Review.

Moody Nolan

300 Spruce St. Suite #300, Columbus, OH 43215

Moody Nolan opened its doors in 1982 as a two-man team led by founder Curt Moody. The firm has steadily grown into a multi-disciplinary company that covers a wide range of markets. Over the years the firm has secured a reputation as a multi-awarded company repeatedly listed by the industry’s biggest organizations. The firm has 40 AIA awards as well as 44 awards from the National Organization of Minority Architects. The firm has also been ranked 49th in the Architectural Record’s Top 300 Architectural Firms listing in 2019. In the same year, the firm secured the 27th rank in Building Design & Construction’s Top 150 Architecture Firms report.

A wide spectrum of industries, including hospitality, housing, mixed-use, sports and recreation, historic preservation, education, corporate, civic, and healthcare rely on the firm’s broad range of specialties. Those specialties include architecture, interior design, and experiential design services. As a designer for the healthcare sector, it has completed some of the most iconic facilities in the country.

One example of its work is the Rainbow Center for Women and Children, a flagship outpatient facility in Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. The 40,000-square-foot building was completed in 2018 and has received LEED-Platinum Certification. The company worked as its lead designer and provided comprehensive architecture and construction administration services.

NAC Architecture

1203 W Riverside Ave, Spokane, WA 99201-1107

Founded in 1960, NAC Architecture employs an architectural practice that embraces the culture of innovation, design sensitivity, and sustainability. Many of its projects have been commended for redefining design and how structures interact with its users: that innovation is evident in the firm’s projects, especially for the healthcare market. One example can be seen in its project for Marimn Health.

Formerly the Benewah Medical Clinic, the facility has a unique architecture that honors the cultural roots of the community it serves. References from the rich tribal and historical elements of Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation have been incorporated into the building’s designs. The building, which appears to be rising from the ground as a natural formation, represents a celebration of the tribe’s connection to the land and a nod to its surrounding ecology. The firm used natural materials that are locally sourced to blend with the palette and ambiance of the surrounding landscape.

To promote the institution’s goal of offering a space for wellness and holistic healing, a rooftop garden accessible to the staff and the community was added. And that garden is not only an extra feature, it’s a starting point for future expansion. Because of its structural significance and strategic use of materials, the Masonry Industry Promotion Group recognized the project with the Excellence in Masonry Design, Honor Awards, in 2013. The project was designed to adhere to USGBC’s LEED Silver standard.

NBBJ

223 Yale Ave. North, Seattle, WA 98109

Named by Fast Company as one of the most innovative firms in the world, NBBJ represents a unique architectural practice that disrupts the status quo and introduces design solutions that produce real, meaningful change for the people and communities it serves. Founded in 1943, the company has established its global presence across Europe and Asia. Its US offices can be found in California, Massachusetts, Ohio, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

The healthcare sector is one of the firm’s biggest markets. As a designer of spaces that promote healing and provide comfort, the firm has a deep understanding of the fundamental changes and demands that the healthcare sector currently faces. The firm always collaborates with medical planners, clinicians, healthcare professionals, and strategic consultants to deliver services that are rewarding and transformative.

One example of the firm’s work is the Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center built to support the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). The 64,000-square-foot facility serves as a one-stop hub for a wide range of government, health, and education services for the reservation’s native community. Design elements that resonate with CTUIR’s cultural background can be observed in the interior and exterior sections of the structure. Additionally, Compared to a typical building, the project was designed to be 60 percent more energy-efficient. The building is on its way to achieving net-zero energy use.

NELSON Worldwide, LLC

1201 Marquette Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55403

Since its inception in 1977, NELSON Worldwide has been delivering designs created to transform every dimension of the human experience through enduring designs and architectures that have a lasting impact on the lives and communities around them. The firm’s thousands of experts in 25 locations allow the firm to expand its reach across a wide range of market sectors, take on varying levels of project complexity. As a result, the firm has a global footprint.

The firm has gradually increased its influence as an architectural firm in the country. In 2019, it was included in Inc 500’s listing of the best firms in the US. It is also among the Top 100 Giants of 2020, according to Interior Design Magazine. In Boston, the company also secured its rank as one of the region’s Top 50 Architectural Firms, as awarded by Re-thinking The Future.

The firm serves a wide array of market sectors. Some of its most significant projects come from the healthcare industry. The company partnered, for example, with Baptist Health South Florida to complete the Miami Cancer Institute. The center was built to bring together all outpatient and inpatient oncological services into one building. The firm delivered a modern architecture that revolves around the experiences of its users and occupants. The four-story building houses clinics that are designed to optimize staff efficiency and visitor wayfinding. Given Florida’s vulnerability to hurricanes and other tropical storms, the structure was designed and built to withstand Category 5 storms.

Page

1615 M St., NW Suite #700, Washington, DC 20036

As one of the most enduring architectural firms in the county, Page can point to over 120 years of services supported by regional offices and global affiliates from the world’s major cities. For over a century, the firm continues to grow and stay relevant through design practices aimed at creating a more sophisticated, socially-relevant approach that integrates its civic involvement with its expertise in planning, urban design, and transformative architecture.

Inspired by the legacy of its founders—Charles and Louis H. Page—and its constantly evolving design practices, the firm has completed projects recognized by the national and regional AIA chapters, ASLA, Urban Land Institute (ULI), as well as by huge industry publications like the ENR and Building and Design Magazine. Its work in the academic, civic, commercial, corporate, science and technology, residential, sectors—as well as its work in the healthcare sector— includes some of the most iconic buildings in the country.

The Children’s Medical Center Legacy, for instance, has some of the most recognizable features in Texas. The building features natural limestone that connects the building to its landscape. Its massive windows and abundant glazing provides an unobstructed view of the outdoors, bringing in the therapeutic power of its natural ecology. The design aim is to provide a center that gravitates towards patient-centered care, resulting in a structure that promotes curative spaces by tapping into and maximizing the healing powers of nature. The project, recognized in the past by the AIA Architecture for Health as the Best Hospital Project—in the over $25 million category—also won the Modern Healthcare Design Award and the Healthcare Design Magazine’s Citation of Merit.

Parkhill, Smith & Cooper, Inc

4222 85th St., Lubbock, TX 79423

With over seven decades of experience in the industry, Parkhill, Smith & Copper has worked with a number of communities to create inventive, relevant, and transformative built environments. Its multiple offices and 350-plus employees allow it to operate a multidisciplinary practice that has contributed to the region’s academic, corporate, government, civic, environmental, religious, and transportation sectors. The company has also designed structures that helped bring true change to the healthcare sector, especially to growing communities across the country.

As an answer to Abilene’s growing demand for modern healthcare facilities, the firm designed the 48,000-square-foot facility for the Hendrick Medical Center. The company introduced a layout specifically designed to address some fundamental aspects needed in a patient-centered facility: a design that enhances patient flow, lessens patient wait time, permits easier navigation, and ultimately boosts staff efficiency and encourages a more comfortable, private, patient experience.

The initial phase of the project included the design and construction of the Hendrick Medical Plaza. The building houses 44 exam rooms and 35,000 square feet of the freestanding clinic. The second phase involved an Emergency Care Center that covers 13,000 square feet. The facility was designed to meet Freestanding Emergency Medical Care Facility (or FEMCF) standards. Today Hendrick Wellness Center offers a number of amenities: a medical spa, a pharmacy, physician office suites, a health club, and additions to the facility’s emergency care center.

Payette

290 Congress St., Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02210

Payette’s design practice dates back to 1932 when it started out with a strong commitment to re-inventing the healthcare industry through an innovative approach to designing its facilities. The result was the 1942 Parallel Services Plan, a study that transformed and brought about a radical “rethinking of the hospital layout.” Today, the company deploys the same level of expertise and thoughtfulness in design through a collaborative, diverse, multi-generational crew that serves the healthcare market and contributes to communities.

The firm donates pro bono services that benefit the broader community. It regularly participates in public events and enrichment programs that cater to communities in low-income brackets. The firm also partners with a local urban camp that introduces teens to the interesting and creative facets of the architectural profession.

A project that represents the firm’s deep understanding of healthcare architecture is Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center’s Cancer Institute. Recognized by the AIA and the Boston Society of Architects, the building houses resources and spaces for research and patient care. The structure was designed to encourage collaborations among researchers and clinicians. The building promises to secure not just a learning environment for the practice and research of cancer-related care, but also provide a holistic and transformative patient experience by incorporating design elements that promote peace, relaxation, and protect patient privacy and dignity.

Perkins and Will

410 N Michigan Ave. Suite #1600, Chicago, IL 60611

Perkins and Will was established in 1935. The growth of the firm was guided by the design philosophy that was instilled by its founders, Lawrence B. Perkins and Philip Will, Jr. Perkins and Will emphasized that their organization’s “ideas and buildings” must always “honor the broader goals” of the society and communities that the firm serves. This approach—always putting the people at the center of the firm’s design practice—is evident in the firm’s portfolio of building designs curated and created according to the functional, design, and holistic needs of its occupants.

Many of its projects for the higher education, hospitality, civic, cultural, corporate, commercial, sports, and healthcare sectors—among many others—represents the culmination of the company’s decades of evolution. These structures that connect people to their cultures uplift lives, inspire happiness, and reinforce the spirit of communities across the country.

A notable project for the healthcare sector ideally embodies the firm’s people-centered approach to design. Commissioned by the University of Miami, the UHealth Lennar Foundation Medical Center is a 19,139-square-foot medical center that was completed in 2016. The company explored what water, natural light, and the transparencies across the building can offer in providing an inviting environment for patients and visitors. The firm also took into consideration its geographic advantage and positioned the facility to be accessible to the major communities and infrastructure in the city. The project earned multiple architecture, interior, and excellence awards from the industry’s design organizations, including the AIA, ASID, IIDA, and ULI.

Perkins Eastman

115 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10003

At the center of Perkins Eastman’s practice is the philosophy of convergence. With all 17 interdisciplinary locations, supported by over 1000 employees, the company is proud of its diverse practices and a wide spectrum of perspectives that allow it to deliver modern, holistic, and practical solutions. Since its founding in New York in 1981, the company has contributed to the global market through architectures supported by research, inspired by innovation, and a desire to challenge the status quo.

The company serves some of the biggest industries in the country. Many of its projects from these markets have been recognized nationally and globally, for their technical, architectural, and social impact. Its portfolio for the healthcare sector, for instance, puts emphasis on the importance of designing buildings that not only answer to the needs of the present but are also flexible enough to stay relevant for centuries to come.

For example, the Stanford University Medical Center’s New Stanford Hospital is a state-of-the-art medical facility that was designed to evolve with future advancements in healthcare technology, research, education, and medical practice for the coming century. Even in its present state, the medical center is expected to elevate the quality of services and enhance the local community through its expanded services, capable of providing responses to the increasing healthcare needs of the surrounding community.

RSP Architects

1220 Marshall St., NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413

RSP Architects owns an extensive portfolio that showcases a long list of national and global markets with a varying range of complexities. Since its inception in 1978, it has completed works for emerging startups, small ventures, and influential Fortune 500 companies that come from a variety of market sectors. These include the corporate, hospitality, commercial, retail, education, institutional, science, technology, government, and healthcare industries.

The firm’s primary goal of creating “appropriate, quantifiable, and relevant designs” has allowed it to grow into a high-caliber, multi-faceted organization. Aside from its architecture and interior design practice, the firm also offers its clients specialty services in design and facility information management. Many of its projects benefit from creative and innovative solutions, producing unforgettable projects that combine architectural excellence and technical prowess.

The firm’s TRIA Woodbury project, for instance, combines the visions of three major clients that came together to provide the first exclusive orthopedic urgent care center in the region. Innovation and patient-centered solutions were applied to complete the overall design. Aside from its significance to the community’s demand for an orthopedic therapy and recovery facility, it is also an architectural marvel created to inspire healing. Its interiors enjoy an abundance of daylight, thanks to the unobstructed outdoor views accessed through its large, transparent windows. The firm also chose a neutral palette that exudes timelessness and hospitality. The project earned a well-deserved win in 2017: the Finance and Commerce 2017 Top Projects award.

Shepley Bulfinch

2 Seaport Ln., Fl. 12, Boston, MA 02210

For over 140 years, Shepley Bulfinch has built enduring relationships with the country’s biggest institutions. Many of its projects come from repeat clients, a product of the firm’s process of putting importance on the voices and insights of project owners. The result is architecture that represents their organization’s ideals.

The Yale New Haven Hospital, for instance, has partnered with the company since 1987. In the past, their collaborations included transforming the St. Raphael Campus in New Haven through its master planning and renovations services. The firm also completed renovation work for the institution’s York Street campus and the Bridgeport Hospital.

The two organizations’ most notable partnerships, however, were for Smilow Cancer Hospital. The 14-story, LEED-certified facility is recognized by the National Cancer Institute as one of the premier cancer facilities in the U.S. The project was designed to evolve with the future of healthcare, with flexible, modular rooms, and alternate main entrance and circulation pathways to allow uninterrupted services even during future renovations. The project won the 2014 Healthcare Facility Design Honor Award given by the Boston Society of Architects; it also brought home Connecticut’s Green Building Council’s Green Building Awards, Award of Merit in 2011.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

14 Wall St., New York, NY 10005

Established in 1979, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is composed of an international team known for employing environmentally-advanced design solutions through a highly-collaborative work environment. Its extensive portfolio features some of the world’s most technically-advanced and architecturally stunning structures and public spaces. Its projects in the aviation, government, cultural, education, hospitality, medical, and residential sectors have helped the company establish a reputation as a respected, award-winning firm.

The firm’s work for the healthcare industry, for instance, earned the firm several healthcare awards from the AIA for its Sheik Khalifa Medical City project. In 2016, the firm also won the Modern Healthcare Design awards and the Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH) awards for its contribution to the establishment of the Christ Hospital Joint and Spine Center in Ohio.

For years, the company has proven its significant role as a comprehensive provider of architectural, design, and structural and civil engineering services. Another notable project for this market is Emory Healthcare, a 450,000-square-foot facility designed to reinvent American cancer care. The initial vision of the designers focused on creating a hospital that has “never before seen nor imagined” because of its potentially extensive scope of medical services. and patient capacity. These potentials were completely realized. The firm also set two major sustainability goals for this work: to achieve USGBC’s LEED Silver Certification and pass the most stringent 130 Energy Use Intensity (EUI) standard.

SLAM

80 Glastonbury Blvd., Glastonbury, CT 06033

SLAM’s long history of tackling some of the most challenging and complex projects for a wide range of industries has earned it a solid reputation as a comprehensive firm that offers interior design, architecture, structural engineering, and integrated construction services. Since its founding in 1976, the firm has expanded its reach to serve multiple regions in the country. Its work can be found across Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, California, and Connecticut.

Three major markets benefit from the company’s technical and creative expertise: the education, corporate, and healthcare sectors. Regardless of size or complexity, it has delivered state-of-the-art facilities through its use of construction and design technologies as well as innovative delivery methods. As an architect for healthcare facilities that adhere to the industry’s highest standards, it has secured different wins from respected organizations, such as the DBIA and the AIA.

We were especially impressed with the UMASS Medical, a cancer center commissioned by Marlborough Hospital. The project will make cancer therapy more accessible to the local community. The company partnered with Massachusetts firm Tocci Building Corporation to complete the 4,500-square-foot facility using the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) contract. This was the first building in New England that was completed under this delivery method, a method that focuses on efficiency and collaboration among all the participants throughout the stages of the planning, design, and construction process.

SmithGroup

500 Griswold St. Suite #1700, Detroit, MI 48226

As one of the oldest multidisciplinary architecture and design companies in the world, SmithGroup has completed a number of historically-significant projects over the years. Since its inception in 1853, it has partnered with revered institutions such as Ford and NASA. The firm completed the automobile company’s first manufacturing plants and it designed the space agency’s Lunar Sample Receiving Laboratory.

The company is spread among 15 offices but operates as one organization. Its 1,300-plus employees work together to complete responsive, socially responsible architecture for a wide range of industries. Its main clients include organizations from the higher education, science, technology, and healthcare sectors. Most importantly, the company understands the unique needs of every region, employing individuals and design solutions that specifically address the healing, learning, and working needs of the communities it serves.

The firm is a trailblazing designer in the healthcare sector and many of its projects have been recognized for their innovation and social relevance. Its work for the Holy Cross Germantown Hospital centered on the mission of providing the county’s northern region a much-needed high-caliber healthcare facility. The 237,000-square-foot project was initially put on hold during the 2008 recession but was later on revived. It was the first hospital built for the town in 35 years—a huge boon for the underserved Germantown community. The project has been repeatedly recognized: to name just two, it earned the Gold Team Award from Design + Construction and the ENR-MidAtlantic Award of Merit.

Stantec

101 East Diamond Street, Suite 400, Butler PA 16001

Designing “with the community in mind” has been Stantec’s guiding principle since its establishment over six decades ago. Today, the firm operates 400 locations. Many of its projects have helped enhance communities, not just in the US, but across six continents, thanks to its diverse teams of over 22,000 experts with established reputations in design, engineering, management, architect, science, and innovation.

Some of the firm’s most unforgettable projects can be found in its Healthcare portfolio which includes a comprehensive list of services for varying medical infrastructure requirements. Its contribution to the global Cancer Care industry is represented by award-winning architecture that promotes spaces for healing, compassion, and transformation. Some of these projects recently won the IIDA Healthcare Design Awards and the Building Better Healthcare Awards.

Its work includes an iconic cancer facility in West Virginia. The firm designed the Charleston Area Medical Center’s (CAMC) New Cancer Center, a high-performing healthcare facility valued at $50 million. The project covers 110,000 square feet and was created to accommodate all forms of cancer diagnosis and treatment, including clinical trials, radiation, oncology surgery, medical oncology, a CAMC Breast Center, and medical office space. Additional amenities can be found in the facility, designed to reinforce an ambiance of care and convenience, including outdoor healing gardens, a fireplace, and artwork created by local artists.

The Beck Group

1601 Elm St. Suite #2800, Dallas, TX 75201

The Beck Group provides an extensive range of services that cater to the architecture and construction needs of different organizations, including the developers, corporations, and other organizations from a long list of market sectors. Its portfolio features projects designed to adhere to USGBC and AIA COTE sustainability standards. Its work has been commended for its use of advanced technologies to reduce risks, manage costs, and upgrade the quality of every project through the latest in design and building solutions.

The firm is an award-winning organization that caters to the arts, business, aviation, academic, entertainment, residential, retail, religious, and healthcare sectors. The Texas Society of Architects, IIDA, AIA, and DBIA are some of the institutions that have recognized the firm’s role in shaping the region’s infrastructure. As a provider of healthcare design and building services, the firm secured the 2018 DBIA National Award of Excellence and a TEXO Distinguished Building Award.

A project that caught the industry’s attention is the 79,330-square-foot Texas Health Wellness and Recovery Center. It was commissioned by the Texas Health Resources and was meant to provide a safe, trusted, and confidential space for those in need of professional, medical help to fight addiction dependency. The designers considered how the facility will perform and function every day. They built custom-designed rooms for group sessions, recreational spaces including swimming areas, a basketball court, a fitness center, a dining area, and massage therapy rooms.

Tsoi Kobus Design

60 State St. Suite #1800, Boston, MA 02109

Founded in 1983, Tsoi Kobus Design is a nationally-recognized firm that has extensive experience in healthcare, proton therapy, science and technology, higher education, and commercial development. Healthcare is the firm’s foremost specialty. Over 70 percent of its projects are for healthcare systems, academic medical centers, cancer care, translational medicine, proton therapy, ambulatory care, pediatrics, community hospitals, and specialty clinics. 

Over the years, the firm has created notable environments that advance the discovery of new knowledge and accommodate cutting-edge technology in a humanistic, adaptable, and creative framework. University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, for example, is a six-story healthcare center designed to provide an advanced, child-friendly pediatric care center to Minneapolis’s nearby communities. The hospital is home to 96 single-occupancy in-patient rooms, exam rooms, a resource center for visitors and family members, a gift shop, and an underground parking structure. 

The project won AIA’s National Healthcare Design Award, the Boston Society of Architects Healthcare Award, and the IIDA New England’s Best Healthcare Project recognition. Leading industry publications such as Interior Design Magazine and Contract Magazine also awarded the facility with the Best of Year Honoree and Health Environment Award, Honorable mention, respectively.

ZGF

1223 SW Washington St. Suite #200, Portland, OR 97205

ZGF believes that the physical environment can greatly influence human performance, well-being, and inspiration—and this philosophy has guided the company throughout its over seven decades of history as a designer and leading architectural firm in Oregon. ZGF also has offices in Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C. and Vancouver, BC. The company has been constantly evolving to provide a more responsive, humane, and timeless architecture for the academic, hospitality, science, technology, residential, civic, and healthcare sectors.

How the firm continues to transform the region’s architectural scene hasn’t gone unnoticed. The AIA honored the company with its highest recognition, the Architecture Firm Award, commending its ability to, in the words of the organization, “creatively transform client needs and aspirations into an elegant, inventive architectural form.” The company was also commended for its role in setting a standard of excellence that can serve as a model for other firms in the country.

Photo by Aaron Leitz

The company headed the planning and design for the 36,600-square-foot Seattle Children’s North Clinic. The outpatient facility is designed to offer a wider range of outpatient medical services, and make them more accessible to local communities. The firm used the existing South Clinic prototype, including the same number of exam rooms, treatment rooms, and physical therapy sections; they design, in other words, a slightly altered northern counterpart. The project won the 2019 Masonry Institute of Washington – Excellence in Masonry Awards.

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This list takes a range of ranking criteria into consideration, including but not limited to: work history, customer satisfaction, awards and recognition, geographic area of work, cost, building permits, and clientele. We spent over 40 hours researching local contractors before calculating the final ranking for this post. If there is additional information about your business that could affect these rankings, please fill out this form and we will take it into consideration.

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