Stephanie Story, CHID, NCIDQ, LEED AP BD+C, Principal, interior design director, Array Architects (Conshohocken, Pa.)

Since taking the helm of Array Architects’ largest interior design studio in 2021, Stephanie Story has been at the forefront of multiple projects, merging her behavioral health subject matter expertise with her interior design knowhow to advance the firm’s projects. Taking a community driven approach to interior design, she includes patient and family advocates during project planning stages to provide input from their unique perspectives, informing better built environments that meet the needs of the communities that they serve.

As the lead interior designer for Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters’ Children’s Pavilion in Norfolk, Va., which opened in 2022, Story went beyond empathy and persona mapping to full-fledged community events that influenced the design. Engaging patients, family members, staff members, and community organizations in the project through a series of design workshops, Story helped lead an exploration of the impacts of color, sound, light, texture, and patterns for the inpatient behavioral space of the facility. Her approach continued to expand as the team moved through early schematic and design phases into creating mockups that allowed the whole community to engage in shaping the direction of the project.

Story was also the senior interior designer for Cooper University Health Care’s Moorestown Campus, a 166,000-square-foot outpatient center that opened in 2023. The campus was meticulously designed to weave into the town center and foster community, connecting visitors with iconic local landmarks, each other, and restorative design. Story brought this vision to life through the integration of technology and artistry. Immersive screens throughout the facility transport patients to local natural scenes, taking them on a vibrant, calming, and memorable journey while they wait.

Adding to this sense of ease, a café marketplace invites patients and visitors to gather, connect, and recharge with inviting seating arrangements, soft lighting, and carefully curated décor.

In addition to her project work, she’s also been instrumental in shaping the firm. Specifically, when Array acquired an interior design practice in 2023, Story helped ensure seamless integration of the teams to enable a cohesive design direction and advance the firm’s healthcare interior design practice.

Through her work, Story is advancing healthcare design meaningfully by pushing the boundaries of interior design for behavioral health facilities, drawing their visibility to the forefront and connecting with patients to create empathetic, functional designs.

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