Healthcare Design - November 2019 - 60

AFTER SHE earned bachelor's degrees in archi-

accessibility within the built environment. Inclusive design is the outcome of collaborating with
the right representation as well as understanding
that even the smallest detail can have a profound
impact on creating a holistic and healthy solution
for everyone.

tecture and visual communications from Ball
State University, Emily McGowan's interest
in healthcare design brought her to Washington, D.C., where she expanded her experience
at SmithGroup. She next pursued a Master's
of Architecture + Health degree from Clemson
University. In 2016, she was awarded a fellowship with Global Health Corps, a leadership
development organization focused on health
equity, and worked at MASS Design Group developing prototype hospitals and infrastructure standards with the Ministry of Health in
Kigali, Rwanda. She continues to support her
passion for global health equity in the built environment through her work at HOK.

W H AT D O Y O U T H I N K I S T H E
N U M B E R O N E I S S U E FA C I N G T H E
HEALTHCARE DESIGN INDUSTRY IN
2019?

I believe now more than ever we are seeing disruptive technological innovation, fractured
political frameworks, and environmental acceleration completely change the way healthcare
is experienced worldwide. We also are witnessing the rapid forces of globalization and retailing of healthcare impact how services are delivered and to whom. As the competing demands
for personalized care and collective agency in
healthcare grows within a shrinking world, gaps
continue to widen. This carries profound implications on equity and the way we craft our future
healthcare delivery environments.

H E A L T H C A R E D E S I G N : W H AT
DREW YOU TO A CAREER IN
HEALTHCARE DESIGN?

Assoc. AIA, LEED GA,
medical planner, HOK
(Washington, D.C.)

W H AT ' S

ONE

RECENT

W H A T ' S O N E I D E A Y O U H AV E F O R
O V E R C O M I N G T H AT P R O B L E M ?

PROJECT

T H AT Y O U ' R E M O S T P R O U D O F ?

While at HOK, I've had the privilege of working on the design of UPMC's Vision and Rehabilitation Institute in Pittsburgh. The
410,000-square-foot facility is currently under construction and will serve some of the
region's most vulnerable patient populations
needing physical rehabilitation and those
with visual impairment or eye disease. My
role on the team as a medical planner involved
meeting with various user groups to translate their complex needs into a building that
thoughtfully addresses the patient experience
at all scales.
One of the highlights in my career is working
on the project with consultant Chris Downey,
who lost his sight as a practicing architect 10
years ago. He continues to design and advocate for environments that are navigable for
people within all spectrums of physical and
visual ability. The most valuable lesson UPMC
taught me was to actually "unlearn" a lot of preconceptions I had about the design process and

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UPMC Vision and
Rehabilitation
Institute, Pittsburgh

HCDMAGAZINE.COM

As architects, we need to look beyond our built
products and critically examine our role as designers, builders, collaborators, and educators
through a lens of empathy and advocacy. While
our profession can't solve all the problems outlined head-on, recognizing our designs and the
industries and institutions constructing them
as accountable and critical improvement levers
can greatly improve outcomes and lead to innovative, effective, and replicable solutions.
We can continue to advance our own approach
by designing for flexibility and allowing the built
environment to adapt to a rapidly changing
world. By leveraging technology and appropriating solutions rooted in place-making reconciliation, healthcare designers can better serve to
mitigate these competing factors and close gaps.

RENDERING BY HOK

Emily McGowan

McGowan: Designers make consequential
decisions about which resources are leveraged
and who is empowered within the design process. From the materials we source to the system components and technology we specify,
the values that drive our agency also hold us
accountable to the impact created, which continues far beyond a built product and into the
lives and communities of the people it serves.
Understanding that our role as architects extends beyond traditional practice and viewing it as an opportunity to advocate for social
change is what drives me to choose this profession every day.

http://www.HCDMAGAZINE.COM

Healthcare Design - November 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - November 2019