Before saying goodbye to 2025, Healthcare Design magazine invited industry leaders to reflect on the past 12 months. Specifically, we wanted to know where they saw the most noteworthy progress in healthcare design in 2025.
Here are four areas that stood out:
Behavioral health design
“In 2025, the most exciting shift was seeing behavioral health design thinking finally break out of its traditional boundaries. We’re no longer treating mental and emotional well-being as something that lives in a dedicated ‘unit.’ Instead, designers are weaving behavioral health principles (considerations for neurodiversity, in particular) into every corner of the care continuum, from waiting rooms to staff respite spaces. This broader application is elevating the experience for everyone.”—Lauren Cole, system director of design strategy, Providence (Renton, Wash.)
“The pace of innovation has only quickened, namely artificial intelligence (AI) being used beyond generative rendering to identifying risks in psychiatric settings to modular manufacturing tackling more complex and challenging behavioral health environments. It’s a paradigm shift.”—Stephen Parker, architect and mental and behavioral health planner, Stantec (Arlington, Va.)
“Behavioral health has driven some of the most meaningful progress in healthcare design as it becomes more integrated and destigmatized. The upcoming 2026 Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) Guidelines for Design and Construction will codify this shift, introducing new sections for behavioral health crisis centers and medical complexity units. Designers are rethinking all healthcare environments through a behavioral health lens, introducing solutions like EmPATH [(Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing] units in emergency departments—therapeutic spaces that reduce ED boarding and unnecessary admissions.”—Craig Passey, director of health, SmithGroup (Phoenix)
Technology in healthcare environments
“One of the biggest leaps has been the rise of passive technology, systems that quietly integrate into the clinical environment without feeling intrusive. We’re seeing building-embedded tools that collect meaningful data in the background. For example, exam chairs that automatically capture a patient’s weight, instead of having them stand on a scale in a hallway or awkwardly take off their shoes and weigh in front of the medical assistant.
Or discreet gait-analysis systems that read how patients move as they walk. … Capturing that information passively in the lobby or on the way to the elevator unlocks more accurate clinical insight. All of this would be with the patient’s permission, of course. It’s the integration of technology you don’t see that’s becoming the real game-changer.”—Jennifer L. Storey, senior principal, health sector lead (U.S.), Stantec (Cleveland)
Evolving construction methods
“The biggest design progress felt like practical innovation: faster delivery models (prefabrication/modular), more renovation-focused capital planning, and stronger integration of tech-enabled care into space planning. Renovations continued to take a larger share of capital budgets, reinforcing the ‘modernize what you have’ mindset.”—Mary Frazier, principal, director of healthcare planning, EwingCole (New York)
“Modular design continues to evolve, with designers collaborating closely with construction teams to integrate prefabrication strategies during preconstruction. This approach allows for greater standardization, efficiency, and quality control. Automation also represents a major area of progress. Designers are working with manufacturers to create more efficient hospital environments through the use of automated guided vehicles and robotics.”—Randy Keiser, senior vice president, director of national healthcare, Turner Construction Company (Nashville, Tenn.)
“Implementation of prefabrication building components or systems to streamline construction schedules, pull construction staff off the site, and improve quality of the materials being built off-site (headwalls, electrical racks, patient toilets, alternative wall products, etc.). Most national healthcare construction managers are self-performing and/or subcontracting prefabrication systems on a larger scale than years before.”—Sam Burnette, principal, Earl Swensson Associates (ESa; Nashville, Tenn.)
Focus on staff wellness in facility design
“We’ve seen noteworthy progress in high-quality employee spaces to give staff, who are often overworked and stressed, respite space. With supply chain and economic pressures looming, it’s uplifting to see the investment in both the human and design and construction side.”—Travis Tyson, principal, healthcare market leader, DesignGroup (Columbus, Ohio)
“A continuation of the theme that healthcare is not just about treating physical ailments—mental health, preventative care, outpatient treatment, and staff wellness are equivalents and central to design solutions. The built environment continues to need to support a broader, more holistic model of care. … Recognizing that quality of care depends on staff, designers are paying more attention to spaces that support clinicians and staff: rest/break areas, efficient workflows, ergonomic design, and layouts that reduce staff burnout risk.”—Jason Schroer, global sector director, community, executive vice president, HKS (Dallas)
“Owners, physicians, and staff being more open and the driver behind holistic welcoming environments with natural light and patient comfort. Also open to providing similar spaces for staff to utilize for respite and recovery from hectic days.”—Jeff Sudman, senior principal, E4H Architecture (Dallas)
Anne DiNardo is editor-in-chief of Healthcare Design and can be reached at [email protected].
Image credit: Andreas Prott-stock.adobe.com
