SmithGroup, Payette, Perkins&Will, and Gensler, among winners of the 2023 AIA Healthcare Design Awards

The annual Healthcare Design Award recipients have been announced by the American Institute of Architects (AIA)’s Academy for Architecture and Health (AAH). This year's awardees feature a selection of ten designs from across the country that heralds a coming seachange in the typology industry-wide. 

Last year saw a continuance in the rise of certain design trends within the healthcare sector that reflects a growing concern for social issues such as mental health, wellness, and gender/racial equity and were reflected in the list of 2023 awards winners. The AIA shares, "The awards recognize cutting-edge designs that help solve aesthetic, civic, urban, and social problems while also being functional and sustainable."

Winners were selected in three categories by a six-member jury panel. Each winning project from 2023 can also be viewed below with jury citations. 

CATEGORY A: Built: Less than $25 million (construction cost)

Broadway Youth Center by Wheeler Kearns Architects (Chicago)

Jury comment: “This is a great program and mission housed in a beautiful building. We need 50 more of these everywhere.."

Family Tree Clinic by Perkins&Will (Minneapolis)

Jury comment: "This is a culturally competent project that engages the community with artwork inside and out. It’s a fully functional clinical building that certainly does not look like one. It offers a welcoming and person-forward space that meets patients who are ready to engage in their healthcare."

Fora Health by Holst Architecture (Portland, OR)

Jury comment: "Faced with a challenging program, the building, from its exterior, feels like home. The design team did a fantastic job of integrating the building into the site and nature.” 

OhioHealth Neuroscience Wellness Center by Gensler (Columbus, OH)

Jury comment: "The building expression and siting of the center are absolutely wonderful, and it clearly addresses the needs of the clientele it’s serving. It also captures the idea of beauty so well, and who doesn’t want to play outside all the time?"

CATEGORY B: Built: More than $25 million (construction cost)

Allegheny Health Network Wexford Hospital by HKS (Wexford, PA)

Jury comment: "I’d venture to use the term ‘exquisite’ to describe this project. I was impressed by the level of stakeholder participation, which pervaded the project through the entirety of the design process. This is a fine example of how a design team can set the stage at the beginning and fully see it through to completion."

Parkland Moody Outpatient Center by HKS (Dallas)

Jury comment: "The fact that it’s built on a former parking lot, adjacent to public transportation, is remarkable. It brings dignity to the patients it serves, is sophisticated, and brings standardization to another level. This project is commendable from that standpoint."

Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice by Flad Architects (Venice, FL)

Jury comment: "There is a strong, consistent approach from beginning to end in this project, and there’s a certain elegance to be found throughout, even in material selection. It’s impressive that the team was able to design something this resilient to look like this."

Seattle Children's Building Care: Diagnostic and Treatment Facility by ZGF Architects (Seattle, WA)

Jury comment: "The exterior of the building is memorable, and you will certainly not forget what you see. The interiors are playful but not childish, which is difficult to pull off in such an emotionally demanding environment."

VA Worcester Community-Based Outpatient Clinic by SmithGroup (Worcester, MA)

Jury comment: "One thing that is unique about this project is that the team relied on the Framework for Design Excellence as a serious design tool. In its modest way, the clinic also enhances the overall campus, demonstrating the team’s careful consideration from a campus-planning standpoint." 

CATEGORY C: Renovations/Remodeled 
*Primarily built within an existing hospital or clinical space or adaptive reuse of an existing building to a health care use.

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Children's Hospital Vertical Expansion by Payette (Hershey, PA)

Jury comment: "It’s also a children’s hospital that doesn’t look childish or like a playground. It takes children seriously and doesn’t pander to them. It’s also remarkable that the team was able to accomplish this project in an accelerated time frame with no excessive costs and while maintaining the operation of all services below."

A Case Study Library of past winners can be found here. Learn more about the AIA Healthcare Design Awards here.