The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) launched a new contest this year, the Healthcare Interior Design Competition, with the goal of recognizing original, relevant design within the walls of healing environments. And with more than 100 submissions from around the world, the jury had plenty to consider.

In four categories of facilities, three Best of Category winners were announced in August, and Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice in Kuwait was honored as Best of Competition. Says Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA, executive vice president and CEO of IIDA: “The project solutions in each category are true representatives of the power of design to promote and protect health and well-being.”

In upcoming online features, we'll take a closer look at the winners, which have in common an acute sensitivity to the physical and emotional needs of patients, families, and staff.

The winning projects

Ambulatory Care Centers

Best of Category:

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Brooklyn Infusion Center, Brooklyn, New York

Firm: ZGF Architects, Portland, Oregon

Honorable Mention:

Living Well Health Center, Redmond, Washington

Firm: NBBJ, Seattle, Washington

Honorable Mention:

Executive Medical Clinic, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Firm: Gow Hastings Architects, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Hospice Care

Best of Category, Best of Competition:

Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice, Sulaibikhat, Kuwait

Firm: NBBJ, Columbus, Ohio

Hospitals

Honorable Mention:

Advocate Condell Medical Center, West Tower Expansion, Libertyville, Illinois

Firm: HDR Architecture, Inc., Chicago, Illinois

Honorable Mention:

North Shore LIJ Katz Women’s Hospital and Zuckerberg Pavilion, New Hyde Park, New York

Firm: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, New York, New York

Senior Living and Residential Health, Care, and Support Facilities

Best of Category:

The Summit, Grand Prairie, Texas

Firm: Brinkley Sargent Architects, Dallas, Texas

The jury

Debbie Gregory, RN, BSN, Associate IIDA, Allied ASID, Co-founder and President, NIHD; Senior Clinical Consultant, Smith Seckman Reid Inc., Nashville, Tennessee

Amy H. Lopez, IIDA, AAHID, Vice President, Smith Seckman Reid Inc., Houston, Texas

Peggy Noakes, FIIDA, AAHID, LEED AP, EDAC, Vice President, Director of Consulting, American Art Resources, Houston, Texas

For an in-depth look at the Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice, please see Children’s Hospice Creates Normalcy Through Family-Friendly Design.To read more on the Best In Category winner for Ambulatory Care Centers, please see "An Innovative Approach to Infusion Clinics Sets up Shop in Brooklyn."