OI: Your session at HCD brought together several perspectives around “designing for joy” in healthcare settings. When you think back on that conversation, how do you personally define joy in the context of healthcare design, and why does it feel especially important now?
Suleiman: The theme of our session focused on the role of joy in healthcare design and how environments can support wellness, connection, and hope for patients, families, and staff. Cheryl Durst, Hon. FIIDA, executive vice president and CEO of IIDA, opened the discussion with inspiring reflections on joy and why it matters in both design and daily life. Through this panel discussion, we realized that joy in healthcare design means something different for everyone. For me, joy is “surprise and delight.” The unexpected, meaningful moments of human connection that help people feel seen, safe and cared for in vulnerable times. It feels especially important now, as patients, families and caregivers face higher levels of stress and burnout. Spaces that foster calm, connection, and lightness can help restore energy and build resilience.
OI: Many people still picture hospitals and clinics as sterile, somber places. What experiences or influences have motivated you to challenge that perception through your own design work?
Suleiman: I’m motivated by the idea that healthcare spaces should feel human first, clinical second. Small design choices, like light, color, art, and layout, can transform stress into comfort, and create moments of joy, connection, and dignity for patients, families, and staff. Healthcare design should feel alive and supportive.
OI: As you and your fellow panelists discussed, engaging all the senses can transform the healthcare experience. How do you think about using elements like light, sound, color, or scent to create more uplifting experiences for patients and families, and how has that shown up in your projects?
Suleiman: You’ll never forget being in an airport and hearing a stranger play a beautiful melody on the piano, an unexpected moment that stays with you long after you leave. As designers, we strive to create memorable, human-centered experiences in healthcare. Today, our clients are asking for a higher level of engagement through immersive graphics, thoughtful artwork, and technology, while also ensuring that clinical spaces truly support patient and family well-being. That can mean AI-enhanced voice controls in patient rooms, family lounges for quiet reflection and private conversations, community spaces that provide support, and access to outdoor views and nature opportunities for patients, families, and staff to pause, breathe, and restore.
OI: In your view, how can small, unexpected design moments that surprise or delight help shift patients’ and families’ expectations from anxiety or fear toward comfort, reassurance, or even joy?
Suleiman: These details can interrupt stress and anxiety, giving patients and families a brief sense of comfort or delight. They signal care and attention, show that the space is designed with people in mind, and can transform fear or uncertainty into reassurance.
OI: The emotional well-being of staff, especially nurses and frontline caregivers, emerged as a powerful theme in the panel. How do you see design playing a role in promoting joy, resilience, and renewal for healthcare workers?
Suleiman: Design can make a real difference in how staff experience their day. Simple things, like a quiet space to take a breather, access to natural light or outdoor views, or a comfortable break area, help nurses and frontline caregivers reset and stay focused. When the environment supports them, it shows they’re valued and makes it easier to do their best work.
OI: You referenced Gensler’s research on healthcare workplace amenities and staff well-being. Which insights from that work have most changed or deepened the way you think about designing for caregivers?
Suleiman: Gensler has conducted research on outpatient medical office buildings, healthcare amenities within clinical environments, and even a futuristic hospital model. Even after COVID, nurse burnout and turnover remain alarmingly high. Recent data show that 65% of nurses experience significant burnout or high stress, and many report they would not choose nursing again, underscoring the depth of dissatisfaction in the workforce. It’s also important to consider location and accessibility when planning healthcare amenities. Many hospitals are consolidating resources and reevaluating real estate, so we need to ask: how can amenities best support staff in serving patients and families? This might include flexible, unassigned workstations, easy access to outdoor spaces, convenient food and beverage options, or wellness-focused features like gyms and walking paths that encourage healthy habits.
OI: When you imagine a healthcare workplace that is truly restorative, what comes to mind in terms of how it looks, feels, and supports the people who spend their days there?
Suleiman: When I imagine a truly restorative healthcare workplace, I see bright, airy spaces filled with natural light, where staff can catch glimpses of trees, gardens, or outdoor courtyards. The environment feels quiet, uncluttered, and thoughtfully organized, with soft textures, calming colors, and artwork that brings warmth and human connection. It’s a place where the design itself signals care for the people who work there, helping them feel supported, focused, and grounded even during high-stress moments.
OI: The panel touched on the growing presence of technology and AI across the care journey. From your perspective, how can design help ensure these tools feel more human, intuitive, and even joyful for patients and staff?
Suleiman: It’s really about balance. AI can’t replace humans, but it can support the work we do. AI tools that are intuitive, seamlessly integrated into the environment, can help reduce cognitive load for both patients and staff. Interfaces can be digital displays, and can easily be used to interpret and patient rooms can use smart technologies to adapt lightning, sound, or alerts without disrupting comfort. Artwork can also be used for playful interactions by being interactive in the patients room. Thoughtful design turns AI from a technical presence into a human-centered partner, enhancing clarity, restoring energy, and creating moments of calm and joy within the care journey.
OI: “Designing for joy” can take very different forms across project types. How does your approach evolve when you are working with a large academic medical center versus a smaller community clinic or outpatient setting?
Suleiman: Designing for joy looks different depending on scale and context. In large academic medical centers, joy comes from reducing complexity and stress through clear wayfinding, access to daylight and nature, and restorative spaces that support staff and families in high-acuity environments. These are patients who are either very ill, have long treatment plans, or are dealing with an unexpected crisis. Creating pause moments and providing the necessary amenities that allow them to relax and focus on their loved one is critical. We see examples of family resource lounges, libraries, food delivery locker service, and technology support hubs becoming the norm in AMC’s. In smaller community clinics, joy is shaped through education rooms, visible care team zones, family-friendly waiting areas, and resource hubs that support patients beyond clinical visits and build trust. While the tools differ, the goal is the same: using design to support emotional well-being, connection, and healing at every point of the care journey.
OI: Despite differences in scale and context, what core principles guide you when you are trying to embed joy into healthcare environments?
Suleiman: I have three main principles that always guide my design strategies. Empathy, Clarity and Connection.
Empathy: Put yourself in the patient’s shoes and try to understand their lived experience. Every design decision should reduce stress, preserve privacy, and help people feel respected and supported from arrival to recovery. Clarity: Joy grows when spaces are intuitive, light-filled, and easy to navigate, so patients, families, and staff can focus on care rather than confusion. Connection: Design should encourage positive interactions between patients, caregivers, and the community through welcoming public spaces, access to nature, and moments for pause and reflection.
These are not new concepts, but within healthcare, it advocates on both the client and design sides to keep these “north stars” top of mind during planning and designing, otherwise, they can easily get lost.
OI: Reflecting on both the HCD panel discussion and your broader experience, what shifts or developments in healthcare design make you most optimistic about where the field is headed?
Suleiman: There is growing recognition that healthcare environments are not just clinical containers, but active participants in healing, culture, and well-being. I’m encouraged by how human-centered design is being applied more intentionally. We’re seeing stronger integration of human-centered design principles, trauma-informed design and inclusive-designed spaces that support dignity, comfort and belonging. Designers are asking deeper questions about how environments reduce stress, restore energy, and create moments of joy for patients, families, and staff. I’m optimistic about the expanding role of healthcare campuses as community anchors. There is more attention on welcoming public spaces, access to nature, art, education, and partnerships that extend care beyond the building. These developments signal a future in which healthcare design supports not just treatment but also connection, equity and everyday well-being.
OI: If you could pose one “what if” question to the healthcare design community to spark new thinking around joy, what would you ask and why?
Suleiman: What if we designed healthcare environments to restore caregivers and families emotionally, not just support them functionally? The Why: Healthcare design has traditionally prioritized efficiency, safety and throughput, which are essential, but it rarely asks how space can actively give back to the people inside it. This question challenges the industry to move beyond problem-solving and towards an experience-shaping approach: spaces that reduce cognitive load, encourage moments of pause, foster connection, and re-energize staff and families. By reframing design from “How do we make this work?” to “How do we help people feel whole here?” The conversation around joy shifts from a soft concept to a measurable design outcome tied to performance, resilience, and human-centered care.
Editor’s Note: Stasia Suleiman, IIDA, NCIDQ, LEED GA, is Regional Healthcare Practice Area Leader, Interior Design Director at Gensler. This Q&A is taken from a larger conversation at the HCD Conference + Expo, where she was part of a panel with: Jordan Sawyer, CHID, NCIDQ, Senior Interior Designer, Pulse Design Group; Heather Crespy, NCIDQ, CID, Associate, Interiors Associate Principal, HDR; and Suzen Heeley, IIDA, CDF, Executive Director, Design and Construction, Memorial Sloan Kettering, who acted as a moderator.