SALUS - Article - EHD Awards 2022: Winners revealed

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 celebratory atmosphere and a fitting conclusion to our biggest-ever Congress.

And this year, there was a surprise for the Awards compère, past chair of Architects for Health Chris Shaw, as he was honoured with the signature prize, the Susan Francis Design Champion Award. The honour 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 the 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. Christopher Shaw (centre), winner of the Susan Francis Design Champion Award, with Alan Kondys of lead awards partner IHP, and Stephanie Williamson, co-chair of Architects for Health -

The Awards shortlist was announced in April, following a hotly contested competition and intensive judging process. 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 awards between them, along with a number of high commendations.

Winner of the coveted Healthcare Design (over 25,000 sqm) award was Finnish firm JKKM Architects, for Hospital Nova, commissioned by Central Finland Health Care District.

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, 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 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)

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