"If I can make a terrifying experience a little calmer and a nurse's 12-hour shift less exhausting—that's my why." –Andrea Kingsbury on HID2.0. Today on the pod, Cheryl sits down—virtually—with Andrea Kingsbury, RID, CHID, LEED AP ID+C, Creative Director of Interior Design at e4h | Environments for Health Architecture.With 18+ years in healthcare interiors, Andrea shares how she elevates design across a multi-office practice. She co-creates with clinicians so operations don't get value-engineered out. And on the Roper St. Francis Replacement Hospital, e4h is partnered with SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill)—SOM leads the exterior and first-impression spaces wh...
"If I can make a terrifying experience a little calmer and a nurse's 12-hour shift less exhausting—that's my why." –Andrea Kingsbury on HID2.0.
Today on the pod, Cheryl sits down—virtually—with Andrea Kingsbury, RID, CHID, LEED AP ID+C, Creative Director of Interior Design at e4h | Environments for Health Architecture.With 18+ years in healthcare interiors, Andrea shares how she elevates design across a multi-office practice. She co-creates with clinicians so operations don't get value-engineered out. And on the Roper St. Francis Replacement Hospital, e4h is partnered with SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill)—SOM leads the exterior and first-impression spaces while e4h leads the clinical environments. Together, they're translating a modern Low Country sense of place into calming, resilient settings from curb to bedside.
What We Cover
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Origin story & staying power: finding purpose where "every decision has a human consequence"
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Creative Director lens: mentorship, cross-pollination, and guiding principles that anchor projects over time
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Digital collaboration: whiteboards as living libraries (and bringing sketching energy back across offices)
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Clinician-led, patient-centered: turning design ideas into performance metrics (steps saved, time gained, errors reduced) so they survive VE
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Roper St. Francis with SOM: a curb-to-bedside thread; visioning early, system finish master plan, and "modern Low Country" as a unifying concept
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Arrival sequence by landscape: Tidelands → Dunes → Marshes (lobby, promenade, café) for orientation, calm, and nourishment
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Community over cliché: avoiding "postcard Charleston," engaging North Charleston's distinct neighborhoods and local artists
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Standardization vs. soul: prefabricated pods and modular systems without losing local materiality and identity
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Flexibility & resilience: designing for future unknowns (pandemics, hurricanes, seismic), right-sizing and pre-planning utilities
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Pathways for emerging designers: timing CHID/EDAC, why to test early, and the portfolio experiences that matter now
Key Takeaways
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Guide, don't dictate. A Creative Director cultivates mindsets and methods more than a single "house style."
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Metrics protect design. When choices map to operational outcomes (steps/time/errors), they're harder to cut.
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Place > postcard. Authenticity comes from community engagement, not clichés.
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Prefab ≠ generic. Standardization can speed delivery while finishes and details keep local soul.
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Design for tomorrow. Flexibility and resilience are now baseline program requirements.
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Invest early in credentials. CHID/EDAC/LEED are great signalers—easier to earn closer to school—and experience remains the difference-makers
Memorable Quotes from Andrea Kingsbury
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"We're designing the backdrop of some of our most vulnerable moments—birth, death, recovery, crisis. Every decision has a human consequence."
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"If I can make a terrifying experience a little calmer and a nurse's 12-hour shift less exhausting—that's my why."
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"Our role isn't to impose a singular style; it's to cultivate a mindset that leads to successful projects."
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"Guiding principles set early become the anchor when projects evolve—they hold the vision together."
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"When design choices map to time saved, steps reduced, and errors prevented, it's almost impossible to value-engineer them out."
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"We used the Low Country landscape—tidelands → dunes → marshes—to cue orientation, calm, and nourishment."
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"Prefab doesn't have to look generic. We keep the speed and quality without losing local soul."
- "The next phase is flexibility and resilience—designing for tomorrow when we can't predict it."
Resources & Links
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e4h | Environments for Health Architecture — Andrea's firm (Charlotte studio; healthcare-focused). https://www.e4harchitecture.com/
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Roper St. Francis Healthcare — Replacement Hospital updates, community newsletters, and media (including VR/renderings when available). https://www.rsfh.com/
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S.O.M. — Skidmore, Owings & Merrill — Design partner on exterior and first-impression spaces. https://www.som.com/
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CHID Certification (AAHID) — Certified Healthcare Interior Designer credential referenced in the episode. https://www.aahid.org/certification/
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EDAC (The Center for Health Design) — Evidence-Based Design Accreditation & Certification. https://www.healthdesign.org/certification-outreach/edac/
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Biophilic Design (Primer) — Background on nature-connected strategies that inform "tidelands → dunes → marshes" concepts. https://www.healthdesign.org/insights-solutions/biophilic-design
Connect with Andrea Kingsbury
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:
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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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:
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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