For the first time in three years, the European Healthcare Design Awards 2022, organised by Architects for Health and SALUS, returned in-person, sparking a jubilant atmosphere and providing a fitting conclusion to the 8th annual and biggest-ever European Healthcare Design Congress.
And this year, there was a surprise for the Awards compère, past chair of Architects for Health Christopher Shaw (pictured right with Alan Kondys, of lead awards sponsor IHP, and Architects for Health co-chair Stephanie Williamson), as he was honoured with the signature prize, the Susan Francis Design Champion Award. The accolade, named after one of the UK's great minds and practitioners in healthcare design, the late Susan Francis, is presented to a visionary healthcare leader who has championed, advocated and monitored the value of design across one or more major healthcare projects, working in close collaboration with multiple stakeholders to deliver excellence and set new standards in design quality.
Continuing an exciting innovation from last year, we ran live webinar presentations and judging of the shortlisted categories a month prior to the awards ceremony, offering delegates greater insight into the judging process and providing a valuable learning opportunity. Recordings of these webinar presentations are available on the event platform for 90 days from the end of the Congress, and will later be available on SALUS.
The Awards shortlist was announced in April, following a hotly contested competition. It featured organisations and multidisciplinary project teams considered by the judges to have achieved shining examples of design projects and innovations in healthcare, and which will help raise the bar in healthcare design and service delivery in Europe and across the globe.
Prizes were given in a number of categories across primary, community, secondary and tertiary levels of international healthcare provision and delivery.
Design firms from Nordic and Scandinavian countries were the big winners of the evening, picking up four of the nine main awards between them, along with a number of high commendations.
Winner of the coveted Healthcare Design (over 25,000 sqm) award was Finnish firm JKMM Architects, for Hospital Nova, commissioned by Central Finland Health Care District (pictured right: credit: Martin Sommerschield).
Norway and Denmark, represented by RATIO arkitekter and Karlsson Architects, teamed up to deliver the winner of the Mental Health Design category, Sikkerhetsbygget High Security Mental Hospital in Trondheim, Norway – a project commissioned by St Olavs hospital / Sykehusbygg HF.
Swedish companies came top of the field in two categories. Green Furniture Concept won the Product and Technology Design Innovation category with its Ascent series of seating, while White Arkitekter took home the Interior Design and Arts award for its work at Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital, in Gothenburg, commissioned by Västfastigheter.
White had a very successful evening, also picking up three high commendations, along with other design partners, in the Future Healthcare Design category, which was won by Joseph Bracops Hospital. Commissioned by Hôpitaux Iris Sud – Iris Ziekenhuizen Zuid, the hospital is designed by Belgian firm archipelago architects, in collaboration with NU.
Another European winner was the Maternity Ward at Punta Europa Hospital, Algeciras, in Spain. Commissioned by Hospital Punta de Europa, Servicio Andaluz de Salud, Junta de Andalucía, the new facility scooped the Design for Health and Wellness award, to the delight of the Spanish collaboration of Virai Arquitectura and Parra-Müller Arquitectura de Maternidades.
Outside of Europe, the Design for Adaptation and Transformation category was won by the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Surgical and Innovation Training Lab, which was commissioned by the University of Illinois College of Medicine and designed by CannonDesign and Bailey Edward.
Julie Bernhardt PhD, from Australia’s Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, along with a team of co-authors as part of the NOVELL Redesign team, came top of the pile in the Design Research category. The team’s winning paper was entitled ‘Redesigning rehabilitation: The NOVELL (Neuroscience Optimised Virtual Environments Living Lab) way’.
And the UK was also represented on the winners’ list with design studio Sonnemann Toon Architects picking up the Healthcare Design (under 25,000 sqm) award for the Sight and Sound Centre, supported by Premier Inn, and commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust.
Organisation and support
The European Healthcare Design Awards 2022 – which were kindly sponsored by Integrated Health Projects (IHP), a joint venture between Vinci Construction UK and Sir Robert McAlpine – celebrate and recognise professional excellence in the design of healthcare environments both in Europe and around the world. Other category sponsors were archipelago architects, CallisonRTKL, Gerflor Gradus, Hoare Lea, and Medical Architecture. Organised by Architects for Health and SALUS Global Knowledge Exchange, the awards attracted interest from architects, healthcare leaders, academic researchers, and innovative solutions providers from all over the globe. They will contribute towards the development of knowledge and standards in the design of healthcare environments around the world.
Full shortlist and judging process
The awards evaluation committee features international researchers, practitioners and policy advisors, who bring specialist multidisciplinary expertise to the specific categories they have been invited to judge. The shortlist and winner of each award are determined by a category chair, supported by panel judges with proven expertise in their field. This robust evaluation methodology ensures a balanced and transparent decision-making process.
The full set of winners and those highly commended in the EHD 2022 Awards are set out below:
Healthcare Design (Under 25,000 sqm)
Sponsored by: CallisonRTKL
Winner: The Sight and Sound Centre supported by Premier Inn, UK; Commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust; Designed by Sonnemann Toon Architects
Highly commended: Heatherwood Hospital, UK; Commissioned by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust; Designed by BDP; Main contractor: Kier Construction
Judges: Liesbeth van Heel, Erasmus MC, Netherlands; Bill Hercules, WJH Health, USA; Brenda Bush-Moline, Stantec, USA
Design for Health and Wellness
Sponsored by: Hoare Lea
Winner: Maternity Ward at Punta Europa Hospital, Spain; Commissioned by Hospital Punta de Europa, Servicio Andaluz de Salud, Junta de Andalucía; Designed by Virai Arquitectura / Parra-Müller Arquitectura de Maternidades
Highly commended: Grafton Way Building, University College London Hospital, UK; Commissioned by University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Designed by Scott Tallon Walker Architects in association with Edward Williams Architects
Highly commended: Assisted-living apartments OCMW Halle, Belgium; Commissioned by Openbaar Centrum voor Maatschappelijke Welzijn (OCMW); Designed by Gortemaker Algra Feenstra
Judges: Dr Liz Paslawsky, SALUS Global Knowledge Exchange, Australia; Charlotte Ruben, White Arkitekter, Sweden; Marte Lauvsnes, Sykehusbygg, Norway
Design for Adaptation and Transformation
Winner: University of Illinois College of Medicine, Surgical and Innovation Training Lab, USA; Commissioned by The University of Illinois College of Medicine; Designed by CannonDesign and Bailey Edward
Highly commended: Herston Biofabrication Institute, Australia; Commissioned by Metro North Hospital and Health Service; Designed by Hassell
Highly commended: Maternity Ward at Punta Europa Hospital, Spain; Commissioned by Hospital Punta de Europa, Servicio Andaluz de Salud, Junta de Andalucía; Designed by Virai / Parra-Müller Arquitectura de Maternidades
Judges: Mungo Smith, MAAP Architects, Australia; Marc Levinson, Murphy Philipps Architects, UK; Sam Shooter, Hoare Lea, UK
Future Healthcare Design
Sponsored by: IHP
Winner: Joseph Bracops Hospital, Belgium; Commissioned by Hôpitaux Iris Sud – Iris Ziekenhuizen Zuid; Designed by archipelago in collaboration with NU
Highly commended: Cambridge Children’s Hospital, UK; Commissioned by Cambridge University Hospitals; Designed by Hawkins\Brown and White Arkitekter
Highly commended: New Hospital Malmö VB, Sweden; Commissioned by Region Skåne; Designed by White Arkitekter
Highly commended: Oriel, UK; Commissioned by Moorfields Eye Hospital; Designed by AECOM, Penoyre & Prasad and White Arkitekter
Judges: Cliff Harvey, Union of International Architects’ Public Health Group, Canada; Mohammed Ayoub, HDR, USA; Paul Bell, Ryder Architecture, UK
Interior Design and Arts
Winner: Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital, Sweden; Commissioned by Västfastigheter; Designed by White Arkitekter
Highly commended: The Royal Brompton Diagnostic Centre, London, UK; Commissioned by rb&hArts; Interior Design by BAT Studio; Artworks by BAT Studio, Enya Lachman-Curl, David Lemm and Rumbidzai Savanhu; Architecture by Murphy Philipps Architects; Built by Kier Construction and BAT Studio
Highly commended: The Sight and Sound Centre supported by Premier Inn, UK; Commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust; Designed by Sonnemann Toon Architects
Judges: Ruth Charity, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK; Birgitte Gade Ernst, Arkitema Architects, Denmark; Kathryn Koran, Cleveland Clinic, USA
Mental Health Design
Sponsored by: Gerflor Gradus
Winner: Sikkerhetsbygget High Security Mental Hospital in Trondheim, Norway; Commissioned by St Olavs Hospital / Sykehusbygg HF; Designed by RATIO arkitekter and Karlsson Architects
Highly commended: Sligo Adult Mental Health Unit, Ireland; Commissioned by the Health Service Executive; Designed by Wejchert Architects
Judges: Alice Liang, Montgomery Sisam Architects, Canada; Beau Herr, CallisonRTKL, USA; Christopher Shaw, Medical Architecture, UK
Product and Technology Design Innovation
Winner: Ascent series, Sweden; Designed by Green Furniture Concept
Highly commended: The Leeds Innovation Popup, UK; Developed by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Highly commended: The Guldmann Trainer Module, Trafford General Hospital, UK; Commissioned by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust; Developed and designed by Guldmann
Judges: Christine Chadwick, CannonDesign, Canada; Jim Chapman, Manchester School of Architecture, UK
Design Research Project
Sponsored by: Medical Architecture
Winner: Redesigning rehabilitation: The NOVELL (Neuroscience Optimised Virtual Environments Living Lab) way
Julie Bernhardt PhD, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, on behalf of the NOVELL Collaboration
Co-authors: Marcus White, Aaron Davis, Maryam Banaei, Juan Pablo Saa Arancibia, Luis Pflaumer, Ruby Lipson-Smith, Heidi Zeeman, Marie Elf, Tianyi Yang, Michelle Shannon, Leonid Churilov, and on behalf of the NOVELL Collaboration
Highly commended: A post-occupancy evaluation framework to inform future investment in healthcare design
Shari Blanch, Jacobs, Australia, and Annabelle Fraser, Jacobs, Australia
Judges: Jonathan Erskine, European Health Property Network, UK; Goran Lindahl, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
Healthcare Design (Over 25,000 sqm)
Sponsored by: archipelago architects
Winner: Hospital Nova, Finland; Commissioned by Central Finland Health Care District; Designed by JKMM Architects (pictured above: credit: Martin Sommerschield)
Highly commended: First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine and Research Center, China; Commissioned by Zhejiang University; Designed by HDR and ZIAD
Highly commended: Maitland Hospital, Australia; Commissioned by Health Infrastructure NSW; Designed by BVN
Judges: Kate Copeland AM, Australian Health Design Council, Australia; Coen van den Wijngaart, archipelago architects, Belgium; David Powell, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Susan Francis Design Champion
Winner: Christopher Shaw