This past Friday the Architecture + Health team had the privilege of travelling 2 hours north to Gastonia, North Carolina to visit The Birthplace at CaroMont Health designed by our very own Scott Rawlings and his partner Robby Aull, Principal at SSOE.
A tour lead by Jennifer Sciba, Director of Women and Children’s Health Services at CaroMont Health, included exploring the optimized patient rooms and the NICU with lots of focus on staying family centered and escaping from the machine-like birthing processes and clinical spaces of older facilities. It was such an amazing experience witnessing the importance of family-centered design, natural movement, and priority to support mothers and new families in this space.
On the road to the Healthcare Design Conference and Expo 2025! The A+H studio had an amazing time traveling together (all 14 hours) to get to this year’s conference held in Kansas City, MO! With 2 big black vans, 14 eager students, and 30 plus bags, the group had a great time on the road gazing at the beautiful autumn Appalachian landscape to our first stop in Nashville.
ESa and TMP Office Tours | October 23-24
In Nashville, we had the chance to tour two local architecture firms: ESa Architects in the downtown and TMP in Franklin, a nearby suburb.
At ESa, the tour and presentation were led by Jason Cowan and Sam Burnette, highlighting key buildings and architecture from their firm in the hopes of inspiring the group for their studio project this semester. Their office was charming with big windows allowing the ‘golden hour’ sun to shine through while overlooking the Nashville skyline. A big thank you to Jason, Sam, and the rest of the ESa team for taking time out of their busy schedules to talk to the group (and treating us to some amazing quesadillas and margaritas later that night)!
TMP, located in a quieter part of the greater Nashville area, welcomed us with a Chik-fil-A breakfast and coffee. The tour and presentation lead by Josh Stewart and Michelle Goodman was equally as inspiring and exciting, as they showcased their new office, with amazing interior design, attention to private spaces, and impressive desk layout. A big thank you to Josh, Michelle, and the rest of the TMP team for being so welcoming and letting the group see their office!
The Road to Kansas City, MO | October 24
After a fun first night in Nashville, the studio hit the road again for the next stop. Day two of the trip was filled with plenty of roadside stretches, coffee runs, and spontaneous photo ops. From playground breaks under tall trees to crossing state lines, the group kept spirits high as we made our way through the Midwest. With good music, lots of snacks, and even more laughter, the long drive became very memorable. By the time we reached Kansas City, we were energized and ready for the Healthcare Design Conference to begin.
Kansas University Medical CenterTour | October 25 Morning
After finally arriving in Kansas City (a big thank you to our student drivers), the group had the amazing experience of touring the Kansas University Medical Center. This was such a pivotal tour for the A+H students as a majority of us have never been behind the patient hospital walls before.
ACHA 25th Anniversary Party | October 25 Evening
Its time to set up for the ACHA 25th Anniversary Party located in the stunning venue of the National World War I Museum. As the group mingled with professionals, it was obvious how close this group of healthcare architects are and how dedicated they are to designing environments that are safe, functional, and innovative. Each person we talked to had words of inspiration and motivation, revealing our importance to the next generation of healthcare architects. What an amazing way to start HCD with #25yearsofACHA!
The moment we’ve all been waiting for… Healthcare Design Conference 2025 in Kansas City, MO!
The group had amazing time attending the conference. It was a busy schedule packed with attending informative sessions, meeting colleagues, eating amazing food, celebrating with firms at their after parties, and collecting as much free merch from the expo as possible!
The sessions spanned from talks about historical buildings and key moments in the history of healthcare architecture to informative and precautionary tales of integrating AI into our daily practice. The sessions were inspiring, all with an underlying foreshadowing of big changes in the future of the profession which means a great motivation to us students.
It was great to meet alumni from those recently graduated to those who started the program as they lead talks and discussions, proving that the A+H program alumni are making big waves in the world of healthcare architecture.
HCD Day 3 | October 28
One insightful session was by recent graduate, Ana Sandoval, as she presented her thesis and led discussion on her design of a woman’s clinic in Honduras, inspired by the trials and tribulations women face in the medical field.
For a lot of the group, this was the first time in Kansas City and we had a wonderful time exploring the local bar scene and joining in on the Monday night football celebrations! It is always a wonderful time exploring the country!
A big thank you to David Allison, Scott Rawlings, Alexa Smith, and all the people that made this trip possible!
