Christopher Haedt, ACHA, Principal, healthcare practice group leader, DesignGroup (Columbus, Ohio)

Christopher Haedt has been focused on healthcare design for more than 17 years, rising through the ranks at DesignGroup to become healthcare practice group leader in 2022.

In his role, he serves as a thought leader at the firm and lead designer on projects for clients such as Norton Brownsboro Hospital new bed tower addition in Louisville, Ky., and Allegheny Health Network’s Neuroscience Institute at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

Balanced with his project load for regional and national clients is his dedication to advancing healthcare design—most recently illustrated by his efforts to spearhead the first-of-its-kind regional healthcare symposium in Columbus, Ohio—AIA-AAH Columbus Health[e] Symposium—in May 2023.

The 100-plus-person symposium included panel conversations and keynote sessions on gender and LGBTQIA+ rights and race and socio-economic equity and their impact on health outcomes, as well as a charette focused on the way that the community can adapt to support whole health for everyone, including the most marginalized neighbors. Through Haedt’s leadership of the AIA-AAH Health[e] Symposium, the group was able to bring to light some of the challenges exacerbated by the pandemic and create a call to action to address these challenges.

Continuing to share his knowledge, including his dedication to community health, he began serving as a guest lecturer at The Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture earlier this 2024. Working with industry leaders including Susan O’Hara, assistant clinical professor at The Ohio State University College of Nursing, Peter Bardwell, principal at Bardwell+Associates, and David Allison, director of graduate studies in architecture and health at Clemson University, his efforts are creating programs that foster the next generation of healthcare advocates. He was also invited to be a mentor for Kent State University’s Master of Healthcare Architecture students.

Nationally, Haedt shares his time serving as a board member of the Healthcare Facilities Symposium and Expo and a co-chair of the component’s council to the national Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH), helping to lead knowledge components across the country. He’s also currently focused on helping form an Association of Medical Facility Professionals chapter in the Central Ohio region, building another opportunity for discourse.

Through his work, Haedt is constantly helping to raise the bar of knowledge within the healthcare architecture community, support knowledge dissemination and fostering the growth of the next generation of healthcare leaders.

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