Meghan Hartwell, AIA, NCARB, EDAC, Principal, ESa (Nashville, Tenn.)
As a principal and senior project manager at ESa, Meghan Hartwell successfully led the completion of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta – Arthur M. Blank Hospital (AMBH), a 2 million-square-foot project that opened ahead of schedule and under budget in September 2024.
Her leadership extended beyond project management to hands-on engagement with stakeholders, shaping the facility to prioritize patient safety, experience, and operational efficiency.
Specifically, her leadership in design simulation initiatives played a pivotal role in refining operational workflows and spatial layouts for AMBH. She co-led the design of “Cardboard City,” a full-scale, 100,000-square-foot hospital mockup where key patient care and staff support areas were built entirely out of cardboard.
This immersive data-driven planning tool allowed interdisciplinary teams, including physicians, nurses, and support staff, to test real-world scenarios in a simulated environment, uncovering design challenges and refining spatial layouts before construction. This methodology reduced costly post-construction modifications and ensured that patient care spaces were optimized for safety, efficiency, and experience.
Another design simulation included Mission Center, a fully finished prototype of key patient spaces such as an emergency department trauma room, operating room, and patient rooms, which enabled teams to evaluate design elements at a granular level, bridging the gap between conceptual planning and real-world application.
Hartwell’s leadership in this initiative helped identify small but impactful refinements, which, when scaled across hundreds of patient rooms, significantly enhanced user experience while maintaining cost efficiency.
Additionally, she used the AMBH project as a mentoring opportunity in elevating the skills and knowledge of colleagues new to the industry. She encouraged young professionals to lead end-user meetings, coordinate meetings with design and trade partners, and communicate with the owner and the contractor within the planning process.
Her emphasis on technology-driven project coordination, using various work management platforms, also streamlined multiteam collaboration, setting a precedent for more efficient and integrated design processes.
Hartwell’s leadership on the AMBH project showcases her diverse skillset and focus on pioneering mockup-based design validation and strategic project oversight, further driving innovation in pediatric facility design.
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