"If I can make a terrifying experience a little calmer and a nurse's 12-hour shift less exhausting—that's my why." –Andrea Kingsbury on HID2.0. Today on the pod, Cheryl sits down—virtually—with Andrea Kingsbury, RID, CHID, LEED AP ID+C, Creative Director of Interior Design at e4h | Environments for Health Architecture.With 18+ years in healthcare interiors, Andrea shares how she elevates design across a multi-office practice. She co-creates with clinicians so operations don't get value-engineered out. And on the Roper St. Francis Replacement Hospital, e4h is partnered with SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill)—SOM leads the exterior and first-impression spaces while e4h leads the clinical environments. Together, they're translating a modern Low Country sense of place into calming, resilient settings from curb to bedside. What We Cover Origin story & staying power: finding purpose where "every decision has a human consequence" Creative Director lens: mentorship, cross-pollination, and guiding principles that anchor projects over time Digital collaboration: whiteboards as living libraries (and bringing sketching energy back across offices) Clinician-led, patient-centered: turning design ideas into performance metrics (steps saved, time gained, errors reduced) so they survive VE Roper St. Francis with SOM: a curb-to-bedside thread; visioning early, system finish master plan, and "modern Low Country" as a unifying concept Arrival sequence by landscape: Tidelands → Dunes → Marshes (lobby, promenade, café) for orientation, calm, and nourishment Community over cliché: avoiding "postcard Charleston," engaging North Charleston's distinct neighborhoods and local artists Standardization vs. soul: prefabricated pods and modular systems without losing local materiality and identity Flexibility & resilience: designing for future unknowns (pandemics, hurricanes, seismic), right-sizing and pre-planning utilities Pathways for emerging designers: timing CHID/EDAC, why to test early, and the portfolio experiences that matter now Key Takeaways Guide, don't dictate. A Creative Director cultivates mindsets and methods more than a single "house style." Metrics protect design. When choices map to operational outcomes (steps/time/errors), they're harder to cut. Place > postcard. Authenticity comes from community engagement, not clichés. Prefab ≠ generic. Standardization can speed delivery while finishes and details keep local soul. Design for tomorrow. Flexibility and resilience are now baseline program requirements. Invest early in credentials. CHID/EDAC/LEED are great signalers—easier to earn closer to school—and experience remains the difference-makers Memorable Quotes from Andrea Kingsbury "We're designing the backdrop of some of our most vulnerable moments—birth, death, recovery, crisis. Every decision has a human consequence." "If I can make a terrifying experience a little calmer and a nurse's 12-hour shift less exhausting—that's my why." "Our role isn't to impose a singular style; it's to cultivate a mindset that leads to successful projects." "Guiding principles set early become the anchor when projects evolve—they hold the vision together." "When design choices map to time saved, steps reduced, and errors prevented, it's almost impossible to value-engineer them out." "We used the Low Country landscape—tidelands → dunes → marshes—to cue orientation, calm, and nourishment." "Prefab doesn't have to look generic. We keep the speed and quality without losing local soul." "The next phase is flexibility and resilience—designing for tomorrow when we can't predict it." Resources & Links e4h | Environments for Health Architecture — Andrea's firm (Charlotte studio; healthcare-focused). https://www.e4harchitecture.com/ Roper St. Francis Healthcare — Replacement Hospital updates, community newsletters, and media (including VR/renderings when available). https://www.rsfh.com/ S.O.M. — Skidmore, Owings & Merrill — Design partner on exterior and first-impression spaces. https://www.som.com/ CHID Certification (AAHID) — Certified Healthcare Interior Designer credential referenced in the episode. https://www.aahid.org/certification/ EDAC (The Center for Health Design) — Evidence-Based Design Accreditation & Certification. https://www.healthdesign.org/certification-outreach/edac/ Biophilic Design (Primer) — Background on nature-connected strategies that inform "tidelands → dunes → marshes" concepts. https://www.healthdesign.org/insights-solutions/biophilic-design Connect with Andrea Kingsbury Email: andrea.kingsbury@e4harchitecture.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreahkingsbury/ Our Industry Partners The world is changing quickly. The Center for Health Design is committed to providing the healthcare design and senior living design industries with the latest research, best practices and innovations. The Center can help you solve today's biggest healthcare challenges and make a difference in care, safety, medical outcomes, and the bottom line. Find out more at healthdesign.org. Additional support for this podcast comes from our industry partners: The American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design Learn more about how to become a Certified Healthcare Interior Designer® by visiting the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers at: https://aahid.org/. Connect to a community interested in supporting clinician involvement in design and construction of the built environment by visiting The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design at https://www.nursingihd.com/ ------------ The world is changing quickly. The Center for Health Design is committed to providing the healthcare design and senior living design industries with the latest research, best practices and innovations. The Center can help you solve today's biggest healthcare challenges and make a difference in care, safety, medical outcomes, and the bottom line. Find out more at healthdesign.org. Additional support for this podcast comes from our industry partners: The American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design Learn more about how to become a Certified Healthcare Interior Designer® by visiting the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers at: https://aahid.org/. Connect to a community interested in supporting clinician involvement in design and construction of the built environment by visiting The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design at https://www.nursingihd.com/ FEATURED PRODUCT Porcelanosa are at the forefront of sustainable manufacturing – clients not only expect this of their suppliers but are increasingly asking to see the receipts. Let's unpack this, did you know that hundreds of preeminent members of The American Institute of Architects – The AIA – have signed the AIA Materials Pledge? The Pledge is aligned with the Mindful Materials Common Materials Framework – the CMF. This is just one, very impressive example of how the movement to support decision making for building product selection has reached new highs. We can see these explained as 5 pillars of sustainability: (The first) - Human Health: Focusing on avoiding hazardous substances and promoting well-being. (Then) - Social Health & Equity: Addressing human rights and fair labor practices throughout the supply chain. (The third) is Ecosystem Health: Supporting the regeneration of natural resources and habitats. (This is followed by) Climate Health: Reducing and sequestering carbon emissions. (And the fifth pillar) is The Circular Economy: Promoting a zero-waste future through design for resilience, adaptability, and reuse. I mentioned the receipts -How do we track the progress of these principles and values? Without measurement, there's no clear path to improvement or accountability. The Mindful Materials CMF maps a framework of over 650 sustainability factors across those five key areas. A cornerstone of material health transparency is an Environmental Product Declaration EPD report. The best are independently verified for accuracy by third party certification bodies – a company cannot mark their own report cards. EPDs are highly technical documents containing scientific information on the embodied carbon used to manufacture products. I have just read and included here an EPD for a Porcelanosa Tile – there are upwards of 1000 data inputs to quantify its climate impact. Porcelanosa offer the confidence and certainty of knowing that every tile, every slab of XTONE porcelain or KRION solid surface has a Product Specific EPD – when architects and designers work with these materials they are making a robust decision to meet their sustainable design goals. To learn more about how Porcelanosa help their customers design for resiliency, here is a link to their comprehensive Corporate Social Responsibility Report: https://www.porcelanosa.com/en/corporate-social-responsibility/.
