Atelier
Completed patient tower at dusk, glass facade reflecting amber sky
Healing garden handrail detail in brushed steel beside planted beds
Aerial view of hospital campus master plan rendered in watercolor
Nurse station bathed in circadian-tuned warm light at dusk
Private patient room with large window and natural wood accents
Behavioral health facility corridor with soft indirect lighting
Ambulatory care center exterior with planted entry canopy

Architecture is the
first medicine.

Designing hospitals, clinics, and behavioral health facilities
where every spatial decision carries clinical consequence.

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Principles we refuse to compromise.

Healthcare architecture carries a moral weight other building types do not. These are the beliefs that shape every engagement — from master plan to material specification.

Principle 01

We design for the 3 a.m. nurse, not the ribbon-cutting photo.

Operational logic before architectural gesture. Every circulation route is stress-tested against shift-change traffic, supply runs, and emergency response.

Acute care corridor with soft indirect lighting and wayfinding integrated into wall panels

Riverside Health System

Acute Care Tower — Cedar Falls, IA

Principle 02

Every room earns its daylight.

We model circadian light exposure across every patient room before a wall is drawn. Daylight is a clinical input, not a luxury.

Patient room with floor-to-ceiling window and adjustable circadian lighting system

Meridian Medical Center

Behavioral Health Pavilion — Tucson, AZ

Principle 03

Infection control is a design discipline, not an afterthought.

Surface selection, air pressure differentials, and hand hygiene sight lines are embedded in schematic design — not added during construction documents.

Ambulatory surgery center reception with warm wood tones and natural stone

Valley Ambulatory Network

Ambulatory Surgery Center — Boise, ID

Principle 04

The building should reduce cognitive load on clinical staff.

Wayfinding, supply proximity, and visual clarity lower decision fatigue. Staff who navigate confidently make fewer errors.

Healing garden courtyard with planters, benches, and shaded walkways

St. Clair Regional

Healing Garden — Pittsburgh, PA

Principle 05

Phased construction is a clinical problem we solve in design.

We sequence expansions so operating rooms stay live, sterile fields stay intact, and patient experience is uninterrupted.

Methodist West Tower exterior at dusk with illuminated patient floors
42%reduction in patient falls

Methodist West Tower — Des Moines, IA · 480,000 SF

Community health center corridor with natural light and wayfinding signage
31%faster nurse response time

Northgate Community Health Center — Portland, OR · 94,000 SF

Every project type demands a different clinical fluency.

Patient tower exterior with glass curtain wall at dusk

Patient Towers & Critical Care

Inpatient units, intensive care, emergency departments, and surgical suites designed around acuity-adaptable care models. We have delivered over 4.2 million square feet of acute care since 2004.

4.2M

sq ft delivered

38

completed towers

Ambulatory surgery center corridor with natural light

Outpatient & Surgical Centers

MOBs, ASCs, and multi-specialty clinics that keep procedure volume moving. We design for throughput first — patient experience follows from operational clarity.

112

ambulatory projects

18 min

avg room turnover improvement

Behavioral health facility with soft lighting and therapeutic garden view

Therapeutic Environments

Inpatient psychiatric units, residential treatment facilities, and crisis stabilization centers where anti-ligature design and de-escalation space are primary clinical tools — not compliance checkboxes.

0

ligature incidents post-occupancy

29

behavioral facilities

Hospital campus aerial view showing phased expansion plan

Campus Strategy & Phasing

Long-range facility plans that account for aging infrastructure, regulatory evolution, and care delivery shifts. We work with health system boards and bond counsel — not just architects.

22

campus master plans

$4.8B

in capital programs managed

Words from health system leaders.

"
Atelier understood that keeping our surgical suites operational during the expansion wasn't a preference — it was a non-negotiable. Their phasing logic was the most rigorous we'd seen from any firm. We didn't lose a single scheduled procedure.
Dr. Margaret Calloway, CEO of Methodist Health System

Dr. Margaret Calloway

Chief Executive Officer, Methodist Health System

Des Moines, IA

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Hospital corridor with healing-oriented design elements
Healing garden detail with planted beds and natural materials
Nurse station with circadian lighting and efficient layout

Every project begins with a conversation, not a contract.

We don't begin engagements with a spec sheet. We begin by listening — to the clinical staff who will live in the building, the board members who will answer for the bond, and the patients whose recovery will unfold inside walls we haven't drawn yet.

22

Years of practice

200+

Healthcare projects

$6.2B

Capital programs