The Most Influential People in Healthcare Design 2012

Introduction

In 2009 and 2010, HEALTHCARE DESIGN’s December issue was home to a list of the 25 Most Influential People in Healthcare Design. The process was relatively straightforward: We accepted nominations from the general public via our website, and a short list was compiled based on the presented names. This short list was in turn presented to our Editorial Advisory Board, our publishing partners at The Center for Health Design, and our editorial team for final voting.

While we do feel that the list was representative of the best and brightest in the healthcare design industry, it was also missing something; we only asked for and published the most basic information on the nominees—name, title, organization. Readers would have no idea why these people were influential, nor would there be any compelling criteria outlined to the public as to who should be nominated or why. In short, we decided that our system needed an overhaul.

The voting body that chooses the list has remained the same, but the nomination form was made much more robust. We asked for reasons why the nominees were being presented, as well as evidence of recent projects that would show why the nominees were influential to today’s industry and not merely named out of respect or reputation. We did away with the default number of 25 and decided to merely let the final voters pick those they felt were actually worthy, rather than asking them to adhere to a dictated quota.

The results can be seen below: our list of the Most Influential People in Healthcare Design in 2012. There are eight names on the list, presented in alphabetical order and unranked. Each is accompanied by text justifying their placement here, and interviews with each member of the list will appear on our website over the coming days; each interview will also be linked in the text below as it is posted.

I invite you to read through this year’s list and join me in congratulating the eight people named therein. They are leading lights in the field, and I am proud to acknowledge their contributions to advancing the field of healthcare design.

-Todd Hutlock
Editor-in-Chief

  THE LIST THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN HEALTHCARE DESIGN 2012 

(Presented in Alphabetical Order)

David Allison, FAIA, ACHA

Professor of Architecture and the Director of Graduate Studies in Architecture + Health, Clemson University

As the leader of the healthcare architecture program at Clemson, David Allison has demonstrated ongoing leadership with his students while managing what is arguably the most comprehensive professional degree program concentrating on architecture and health. The program focuses on integrating design, scholarship, and research in healthcare environments, and has won many national awards, as have the students themselves. He has also taken a national leadership role among all of the universities that specialize in healthcare architecture, with the aim of providing a complete picture of healthcare design education in the United States.

A registered architect in three states, Allison was a founding member of the American College of Healthcare Architects and the Coalition for Health Environments Research, and is a member of the Leadership Council of the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health. Allison is training tomorrow’s healthcare architects and researchers today and, as such, his influence will be seen for generations to come.

Click here to read an interview with David Allison.