18th February 2025
Every month, three different voices from the practice will share their ideas about the future of the built environment. Covering a range of typologies – from the workplace to stadiums and airports – we are building a picture of tomorrow.
To begin the series, we asked Chris West, Rebekah Hieronymus, and Marta Saniewska about healthcare. They put forward ideas about creating medical spaces that foster community and human connections, adapt to change, and accommodate complex emotions.
Chris West
“Working on the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital was a wonderful introduction to the world of healthcare. The whole community came together to make this project a success – so many people in Iowa have strong personal connections with the hospital and are incredibly proud of the work they do.
The hospital is right next to the university’s football stadium, so we knew from the beginning that we’d design a rooftop level where the children could watch the games from. But we were completely taken aback by the way the local community embraced the building. A new tradition started at the end of the first quarter – the entire crowd of 70,000 stood up, turned around, and waved at the hospital from the stadium. It was incredibly moving to witness.
I think the hospital of the future is all about community and enhancing these human connections. There will be even more of a focus on face-to-face interactions, as AI and robots take on the time-consuming procedural tasks. People talk about AI and robots as if they are the future – but it’s already happening in healthcare. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be working in the field.”
Chris is an architect and partner, who joined the practice in 1995. He has worked on a range of healthcare projects, including the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital, the Patient Pavilion for Penn Medicine, and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Rebekah Hieronymus
“In healthcare today, flexibility is one of the field’s most pressing needs. We're on the cusp of a huge medical revolution, driven by unprecedented data sets, new digital capabilities and AI, which will require clinical programmes to evolve rapidly over time. The practice has a rich history of designing buildings that can adapt to change, and it’s exciting to continue that exploration in healthcare buildings.
In addition, we must design for the emotional experience of patients and staff, to create spaces that can be part of the healing process. I believe that healthcare will become much more personalised, tailored to genetic profiles and biomarkers as well as individual needs and preferences. I’m interested in how we can help to transform healthcare from something that's happening to you, into something someone can feel connected with, have choice over, and can participate in. Our hope is that we can support emotional journeys through the buildings we create – providing healing, caring, and inspiring places for the many thousands of people and personal stories they encounter.”
Rebekah is an architect and partner, who joined the practice in 2012. She has worked on projects such as Apple Fifth Avenue, the Norton Museum of Art, and 50 Main Street, as well as masterplans for Atlanta and the Mayo Clinic. Rebekah is currently working on projects for the Mayo Clinic.
Marta Saniewska
“There is ample research that shows how architecture can positively impact our physiology and psychology. From views of nature reducing the need for pain medication to daylight and acoustics boosting quality of sleep and comfort. However, it’s the combination of applying these scientific findings and learning from the experiences of patients, doctors and visitors, which provides the strongest foundation for creating environments that truly care about health.
I recently conducted interviews at the practice’s Maggie’s Centre in Manchester, where both the visitors and volunteers highlighted the role that design plays in making people feel safe and cared for. Every centre provides a sheltered seating area – ‘a space for hesitation’ as one volunteer put it – which allows visitors to look inside before crossing the threshold. The same person explained that it usually takes two to three attempts to enter the building, because using Maggie’s means ‘admitting that I have cancer.’ The design accommodates these complex feelings and allows people to enter the building in their own time.
Architecture can help normalise vulnerability, provide safe spaces to open up, and reduce stress. Yet all too often these design strategies are missing from healthcare settings, despite requiring little to no additional costs. I believe that the future of healthcare lies in the recognition that the built environment is integral to the process of caring – and in ensuring everyone has access to these spaces when they need them.”
Marta joined Foster + Partners in 2022 and works as an environmental psychologist in the practice’s Urban Design and Landscape team. She has worked on several healthcare projects, including the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, public realm projects, and the post-earthquake reconstruction masterplan for Antakya.
Artwork by the Design Communications team at Foster + Partners.
