Gretchen Kelly, AIA, associate, medical planner and architect, Gensler
Gretchen Kelly is making a name for herself, designing healthcare environments that don’t look or feel like traditional healthcare settings. A graduate of the University of Kansas (Lawrence, Kan.), where she earned her Master of Architecture with highest distinction, she joined Gensler (Chicago) in 2019 and has spent the past seven years developing a skill set across medical planning, interior architecture, and strategy.
She uses that range to approach projects from a different lens. When a client requested its imaging center feel like “Apple meets the Four Seasons,” Kelly embraced the challenge. She pushed past the conventions of traditional medical planning and architecture, creating hyper-personalized gowned waiting areas and introducing full glass walls in MRI rooms, opening exterior views to spaces that are usually closed off.
In 2024, Kelly and a small team at Gensler partnered with the C-suite of a confidential urban pediatric hospital to peer review a 3 million-square-foot campus revitalization. Working on a tight timeline, Kelly led the design iterations and data synthesis that identified the project’s sticking points, then repositioned the master plan at a critical inflection point. By resequencing the work to bring the most critical care online first and cutting early scope that no longer served the project, she reduced both the project schedule and cost.
More recently, she’s taken a role on one of the firm’s largest healthcare projects: a 1 million-square-foot confidential campus expansion in the Southwest. Working within a global team, Kelly helped guide the integration of two new buildings, serving as lead planner for a significant radiology expansion and a new ambulatory surgery center, contributing her cross-disciplinary skills to deliver complex work.
Here, Kelly talks about her career path, favorite project to date, and what industry challenge she’d like to tackle.
Q+A with Gretchen Kelly, 2026 HCD Rising Star
Healthcare Design: What drew you to a career in healthcare design?
Gretchen Kelly: When I graduated from architecture school, healthcare design wasn’t something I had pictured myself pursuing. But after being staffed on a healthcare project, I quickly discovered how rewarding the work could be. I discovered it was the perfect blend of everything I enjoy: analytical problem-solving, strategic thinking, design, and collaborating with users to solve complex challenges. What has kept me in healthcare is that no two days are the same. The industry is constantly evolving, and every project is an opportunity to learn something new while creating environments that have a meaningful impact on communities.
HCD: Describe your design approach in 10 words or less.
Kelly: Thoughtful, collaborative, strategic design grounded in the human experience.
HCD: What are you working on now?
Kelly: Currently, I am working on a confidential 1 million-square-foot hospital expansion project in the Southwest. Working alongside a team of medical planners, I helped guide the expansion and integration of two new buildings on the campus—a radiology expansion and the ambulatory surgery center.
HCD: What has been your most rewarding project to date?
Kelly: I had the opportunity to work on a small, 2,500-square-foot pediatric research clinic for a neurological disease, supported by a foundation dedicated to advancing treatment for the condition. Designing alongside the foundation’s donors, many of whom were parents of patients treated at the clinic, to deliver a space centered around hope and healing was one of the most meaningful experiences of my career. Because the project was local, I had the opportunity to be involved in every phase, from concept design through construction administration.
HCD: How do you define success?
Kelly: Designing a space that genuinely improves outcomes for patients, caregivers, staff, and the communities they serve.
HCD: What’s a challenge you’d like to see the healthcare design industry address in the coming year—and why?
Kelly: The pace of technology in healthcare delivery right now is incredible! From AI integration and remote patient monitoring to robotics and emerging care models we have yet to imagine, it’s an exciting time to be shaping the future of healthcare.
As designers, our challenge isn’t keeping up with any one innovation; it’s planning for the ones that don’t exist yet. That means designing for adaptability from day one, with flexible infrastructure spaces that can be reconfigured without a full renovation and systems built to accommodate change rather than resist it. If we get that right, we’re not just designing for today’s technology; we’re designing environments that can evolve alongside whatever comes next.
HCD: What’s a must-have skill you think any healthcare designer needs to succeed today?
Kelly: Listening. It sounds simple, but it’s the most critical skill in this work. Our clients, whether providers, staff, administrators, or patients, understand their unique challenges and operations better than anyone. Our job is to listen closely enough to understand what’s actually being said—and sometimes what’s left unsaid—and then translate those insights into design solutions that innovate and enhance their workflows and improve experience within space.
Recognition at the 2026 HCD Conference + Expo
The 2026 Rising Stars will be celebrated during an Awards Luncheon at the Healthcare Design Conference + Expo, Oct. 17-20 in New Orleans. Find updates and additional information on the event here.
Click here to read more about all of HCD’s 2026 Rising Stars.
