A Passion for Healthcare Design

We are healthcare design specialists.  Since our founding in 1982, healthcare architecture has always been the focus of our practice. Our firm has gained a reputation for developing solutions that focus on the needs of the patient populations our clients serve.  This is best demonstrated by the fact that our firm is currently working on wide range of projects at more than twenty area hospitals and health systems.

Through this experience, our staff has cultivated an incredible knowledge base and thorough understanding of the requirements, functionality, and operational flow across all levels of the Continuum of Care. At CRGA, we understand the differences among various healthcare projects and the unique attention and planning each facet of healthcare requires. 

As healthcare designers, we are mindful that individuals are often experiencing life-changing events in the facilities we design – some trying, some joyous – so it is vital that each project is designed with the same care, precision, and innovation that patients and families expect of their own treatment.

Listen to what some of our team members have to say:

“Since I began working at CRGA, I have come to understand that the built environment can improve the outcomes of patients while they undergo some of the most challenging and stressful events of their lives,” explains architectural designer Marcus Wiles, EDAC. “Healthcare design matters deeply to the clinicians, patients, and visitors that we serve, so we work to create healing environments while navigating the complex project conditions associated with healthcare design.”

Just like the technologies and practices contained within the spaces, healthcare design is constantly evolving. CRGA stays on top of these new developments to ensure the most efficient, cost-effective, and innovative project solutions for our clients.

“Healthcare designers must keep up with modern technologies that are being developed and constantly research alternatives to improve the workflow and functionality of a system in its entirety,” explains architectural designer Juan Cárdenas.  “The industry is a collective process of ideas that come together to serve the greater good – it adapts with time as new challenges and design opportunities arise in the architectural world.”

CRGA has stayed on top of these opportunities by pioneering alternative design concepts that minimize patient wait time while increasing staff efficiency.  Our lean approach to design incorporates the latest VR (virtual reality) and 3D printing/imaging technologies to literally test our solutions before construction. This approach has led to a vast portfolio encompassing all facets of the healthcare industry, and our knowledge base continues to grow along with our portfolio. 

John Zierdt, CID, IIDA, Associate Principal and Project Manager at CRGA explains, “We get to bring our knowledge to the table when we design healthcare spaces, knowing that the product is a calming and healthy environment for patients – that is satisfying work.”

CRGA has no shortage of passion for healthcare design among our staff.

“My passion for healthcare design has grown out of a desire to work on a variety of complex multifaceted projects and the opportunities they provide,” explains principal and project manager David Peabody. “With healthcare design, I’ve found that each project presents a different set of challenges.  Whether accommodating intricate patient, staff, and visitor program requirements across several interdependent departments, upgrading to state of the art technology, or coordinating with complex structural, MEP, or code requirements, I’ve always found healthcare design to be anything but ‘cookie cutter.’ For me, each project comes with its own inherent set of challenges offering unlimited growth potential at all levels of the profession.  When considered alongside the fact that the end result of each project is space that has literally been designed to contribute to the wellbeing of all, it becomes very easy to stay passionate about what I do.”

Juan Cardenas, AIA
Principal

Juan received a degree in architecture from Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia and the Universidad Veritas in San Jose, Costa Rica.