Healthcare Design Conference + Expo
October 17-20, 2026 | Ernest N. Morial Convention Center | New Orleans
The HCD Conference + Expo is where learning, innovation, and design converge. Discover the latest in healthcare planning and construction, connect with industry leaders, and find inspiration to design healing spaces that transform lives. Elevate your expertise, spark new ideas, and shape the future of healthcare environments—be where groundbreaking design begins.
AIA is proud to be an official supporting organization for HCD. Stop by the AAH counter in the Convention Center and attend our related sessions and events.
Friday, October 16
A01 - AIA-AAH STERIS Student Design Charrette and Work Room
8am-8pm CT
This exciting 38th annual event is designed to highlight the brilliance and innovation of our future healthcare architects. Students from Kent State University, Montana State University, Texas A&M University, and University of Tennessee at Knoxville will bring their creativity and ideas to this fun and evocative design charrette.
Saturday, October 17
A04 - AIA-AAH STERIS Student Design Charrette Mid Term Review & Critique
9am-12pm CT
The relaxed mid-term review and critique of this exciting this 38th annual event is designed to highlight the brilliance and innovation of our future healthcare architects. This is a chance for professionals to meet some of the next generation of healthcare designers and give feedback on their design progress at the midpoint of the charrette.
Sunday, October 18
E11 - Codes in Context: Understanding the Regulatory Landscape in Health Care Facility Design
9:45-10:45am CT
This session provides a clear, practical explanation of the role that the FGI Codes/Guidelines play in shaping safe, compliant healthcare environments, including how they are adopted, interpreted, and used by Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs). Using real‑world examples and scenario‑based discussion, attendees will learn a structured approach for interpreting, documenting, and communicating FGI Codes/Guidelines requirements throughout planning, design, and project review. Leave better equipped with owners and regulators and to navigate regulatory landscapes with confidence and clarity.
E35 - From Do No Harm to Do More Good: Regenerative Design in Healthcare
2:00-3:00pm CT
This session will introduce regenerative design as a framework that aligns with healthcare’s core mission to “do no harm” while actively supporting both human and ecological well-being. Through case studies, the presenters will explore the varying impacts of regenerative design–for people, place, and buildings–to examine how healthcare campuses can position themselves as active contributors to resilient, thriving environments. Attendees will learn how to integrate regenerative thinking into healthcare planning and design across multiple scales, from buildings to campuses and communities, while considering long-term adaptability to climate and environmental change.
E47 - Healthcare as Community Infrastructure: How AAH Design Excellence Measures Impact Beyond Care
3:15-4:15pm CT
Healthcare projects recognized by the AIA Healthcare Design Awards often demonstrate excellence beyond clinical function, revealing how healthcare environments can serve as vital community infrastructure. This panel invites members of the AAH design awards community, designers, and healthcare practitioners to reflect on how community impact is identified, evaluated, and embedded within award‑recognized healthcare design. The discussion will focus on the process behind recognized work, including early planning strategies, trade-offs, and constraints that influence a project’s community role. Panelists will also examine how contributions from emerging professionals and interdisciplinary teams shape community-centered outcomes long before awards submissions are developed.
A13 - AIA-AAH Update & Reception
5-6:30pm CT
Join AIA-AAH members, friends, and leaders for an update on the latest developments within AIA-AAH, followed by a relaxed evening to celebrate our 81st year, connect with old friends, and enjoy great food and refreshments. Attendees will also be able to meet and greet the talented and hard-working STERIS Student Design Charrette participants and the Miller Knoll Scholars.
Monday, October 19
E59 - The Business Case for Sustainable Healthcare: Cost, Risk, and Operational Benefits of a Carbon‑Neutral MOB
9:30-10:30am CT
This session reframes sustainability as a strategic investment by examining the financial, operational, and risk‑mitigation benefits of delivering a 160,000‑square‑foot carbon‑neutral medical office building. The project demonstrates how geothermal systems, high‑performance MEP strategies, modular construction, and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) collectively strengthen financial performance and organizational resiliency. Rather than viewing sustainability as a cost premium, this case study highlights how early collaboration and Lean decision‑making improved predictability, reduced risk, and aligned long‑term value with healthcare leadership priorities.
E71 - Bridging the GAP Between Benchmarking Research & Practice
3:45-4:45pm CT
The AIA-AAH Case Study Library of 50+ recent award-winning projects utilize the standard protocols and methodology established by Allison & Hamilton and includes site & floor plans, design intent, elevations, space programs, net-to-gross ratios, departmental adjacencies, key room diagrams, travel distances and other benchmarking metrics ready to implement on your next project, As the healthcare design industry becomes more analytic in decision-making, the AIA-AAH Research Initiatives Committee is answering the need for current benchmarking
- We'll focus on whole healthcare campuses and their hospital departmental metrics
- We'll use amblulatory benchmarking metrics to compare three distinct cinic care team typologies
- We'll present public space allocation metrics for waiting and circulation
Learn how to support data-driven decisions and the planning of high-performance ambulatory and hospital environments through a consistent benchmarking approach.
A18 - AIA-AAH STERIS Student Design Charrette Presentations
3:45-5:45pm CT
This exciting 38th annual event is organized to highlight the brilliance and innovation of our future healthcare designers. Four different schools from across the country are selected for an opportunity to exhibit their creativity and ideas in an explorative and challenging design charrette. This session showcases the design concepts generated during the 48-hour Charrette held over the previous weekend. Every year this charrette proves to be expansive with different students, universities, and advisees.
Tuesday, October 20
A19 - AIA-AAH Tuttle Fellowship and GMZ Fellowship Presentation
9:30-11:30am CT
The AIA Arthur N. Tuttle Jr. Graduate Fellowship in Health Facility Planning and Design supports graduate students to increase awareness of the needs and nature of healthcare facilities, and to advance the knowledge of planning and design for healthcare environments. The Griffin/McKahan/Zilm (GMZ) fellowship has been established by three leaders in healthcare planning and design through the Foundation for Health Environments Research to encourage research in healthcare programming and planning. Fellows of both programs will showcase their research projects and findings.