"The best way to think of it is like a do not use ingredient list, similar to checking a food label — but for buildings." — Susan Suhar on HID2.0 Today on the podcast, Cheryl sits down with Susan Suhar — Design Principal- Interiors and Associate Vice President at HDR Architecture in Los Angeles — to talk about what's changing (and what's timeless) in healthcare design. With 25+ years designing award-winning environments across healthcare, workplace, and life science, Susan brings a rare mix of creative vision and real-world rigor — design...
"The best way to think of it is like a do not use ingredient list, similar to checking a food label — but for buildings." — Susan Suhar on HID2.0
Today on the podcast, Cheryl sits down with Susan Suhar — Design Principal- Interiors and Associate Vice President at HDR Architecture in Los Angeles — to talk about what's changing (and what's timeless) in healthcare design.
With 25+ years designing award-winning environments across healthcare, workplace, and life science, Susan brings a rare mix of creative vision and real-world rigor — designing for the whole ecosystem: patients and families, yes, but also the staff doing the caring every single day.
Susan helps lead the vision and growth of HDR's LA interiors practice, and she's been deeply involved in major healthcare work including Cedars-Sinai's Marina del Rey Hospital and the UCSF Helen Diller Hospital project in San Francisco (part of a collaborative design team).
In this conversation, Susan and Cheryl dig into the shifts shaping healthcare interiors right now — from behavioral health and outpatient growth, to sustainability, staff respite spaces, and why empathy still belongs at the center of every healing environment.
WHAT WE COVER
- Why healthcare interiors serve "one of the broadest ranges of humans in human emotion" — all at once
- Susan's origin story: how universal design shaped her purpose as a designer
- What's unique about designing healthcare in California (and specifically Los Angeles)
- Key shifts shaping healthcare design today:
-behavioral health
-the evolving patient + staff experience
-outpatient growth and the rise of same-day procedures - How shorter schedules are changing design + documentation — and where AI fits (supporting, not replacing)
- Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital: designing a community hospital that feels sophisticated, elegant, and not like a hospital
- The "sea change for healing" concept: waves, journey, light-on-water (and an unforgettable chapel + meditation patio)
- UCSF Helen Diller Hospital: iconic architecture, fog-response interiors, and major investments in respite, sustainability, and health
- "Red list free" in plain language — and why it matters in a hospital
- Why staff spaces are not optional: sleep rooms, respite, and protecting caregiver wellbeing
- Susan's guiding principle: empathy, and the questions that make design better
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Design empathy isn't a vibe — it's a practice. It shows up in how we listen, what we prioritize, and what we protect in the program.
- Staff experience is patient experience. If we don't design for caregiver wellbeing, we quietly erode care quality.
- Sustainability + health transparency are converging. Materials aren't just about durability and aesthetics anymore — they're about human impact, too.
- The pace is changing. Faster schedules are pressuring teams to get more efficient without losing the design story or the details.
RESOURCED MENTIONED
PROJECTS + IMAGES
• HDR – Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital (project page)
https://www.hdrinc.com/portfolio/cedars-sinai-marina-del-rey-hospital
• HDR – UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital (project page)
https://www.hdrinc.com/portfolio/ucsf-health-helen-diller-hospital
• UCSF Real Estate – Helen Diller Hospital project overview
https://realestate.ucsf.edu/projects/ucsf-health-helen-diller-hospital-hdh
• Herzog & de Meuron – UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital (project page)
https://www.herzogdemeuron.com/projects/547-ucsf-helen-diller-medical-center-2/
CEDARS-SINAI UPDATES
• Cedars-Sinai Newsroom – "New Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital Rises" (includes video/update)
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/new-cedars-sinai-marina-del-rey-hospital-rises/
• Cedars-Sinai Newsroom – "Construction Begins for New Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital"
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/construction-begins-for-new-cedars-sinai-marina-del-rey-hospital/
• Cedars-Sinai – "An Upgrade to Medicine in the Marina" (construction progress story)
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/stories-and-insights/advancing-our-mission/an-upgrade-to-medicine-in-the-marina
HDR SITE / PORTFOLIO SEARCH (as mentioned on the episode)
• HDR homepage
https://www.hdrinc.com/
• HDR portfolio (search/browse)
https://go.hdrinc.com/portfolio
SUSTAINABILITY + MATERIAL HEALTH TERMS (RED LIST / EPD / HPD)
• ILFI – Red List (Living Building Challenge)
https://living-future.org/red-list/
• ILFI – Living Building Challenge overview
https://living-future.org/lbc/
• EPD International – International EPD System (what an EPD is / program info)
https://www.environdec.com/about-us/international-epd-system
• HPD Collaborative (what an HPD is / material health disclosure)
https://www.hpd-collaborative.org/
CALIFORNIA HEALTHCARE FACILITY OVERSIGHT (OSHPD / now HCAI)
• HCAI – OSHPD became HCAI (official announcement)
https://hcai.ca.gov/oshpd-becomes-the-department-of-health-care-access-and-information/
• HCAI – Building Safety (healthcare facilities construction oversight)
https://hcai.ca.gov/facilities/building-safety/
CREDENTIALS REFERENCED
• IIDA
https://iida.org/
• NCIDQ / CIDQ
https://www.cidq.org/
• LEED (USGBC)
https://www.usgbc.org/leed
• WELL (IWBI)
https://www.wellcertified.com/
• Fitwel
https://www.fitwel.org/
MEMORABLE GUEST QUOTES
"We're creating an interior experience that is serving probably one of the broadest ranges of humans in human emotion simultaneously under one roof."
"Sometimes… I take the approach as a design therapist."
"You have to realize you can't make everyone happy with one solution — but if you can get the majority there, that's a success."
"It's not just a nice to do. There is purpose — it's to reduce the anxiety."
"If you can design healthcare in California, you can design pretty much anywhere."
"The first thing we wanted folks to feel when they walked in was that they were not in a hospital."
"The story of the concept was a sea change for healing."
"It was inspired by the hull of a boat, a wave itself, and the sunlight that dances and sparkles on top of water."
"The value in care to the patient begins with the value in care of the staff."
"The guiding principle is putting yourself in the environment… I would say it has to be empathy."
"You need to ask questions: how would people like it to be better or different? Where are the friction points?"
"Patient interviews, patient surveys, community engagement and input — those are critical to really having a successful healing environment."
GUEST
Susan Suhar — Design Principal for Interiors + Associate Vice President, HDR Architecture (Los Angeles).
CONNECT
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/susan-salvati-suhar-8811805
Email: susan.suhar@hdrinc.com
OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS
The world is changing quickly. The Center for Health Design is committed to providing the healthcare design and senior living design industries with the latest research, best practices and innovations. The Center can help you solve today's biggest healthcare challenges and make a difference in care, safety, medical outcomes, and the bottom line. Find out more at healthdesign.org.
Additional support for this podcast comes from our industry partners:
-The American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers
-The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design
Learn more about how to become a Certified Healthcare Interior Designer® by visiting the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers at: https://aahid.org/.
Connect to a community interested in supporting clinician involvement in design and construction of the built environment by visiting The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design at https://www.nursingihd.com/.
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