As Healthcare Evolves, KI Highlights Four Considerations Shaping the Future of Healthcare Design
Conversations at Healthcare Design Conference + Expo 2026 highlight the growing importance of movement, adaptability, evolving care models, and human-centered design in preparing healthcare environments for the future.
GREEN BAY, Wis., October 21, 2026--Healthcare environments are being asked to support increasingly complex needs as care delivery models, technology, workforce expectations, and patient expectations continue to evolve. At Healthcare Design Conference + Expo 2026, conversations with healthcare architects, interior designers, and industry leaders reinforced several considerations that KI, KI Wall, and Pallas Textiles brought to the show: the importance of movement, the need for adaptable environments, and the role restoration and materiality can play in the experience of care.
As healthcare delivery shifts and emerging technologies reshape how care is provided, these conversations also underscored a growing challenge: designing spaces that meet today's needs while remaining responsive to changes that may be difficult to predict even five years from now.
Together, these perspectives point toward a more intentional approach to healthcare design, one that considers how the physical environment can support the people who move, heal, work, recover, and connect within it.
1. Human performance includes more than the patient
Patients, families, clinicians, caregivers, and staff experience healthcare environments, each with different physical, cognitive, and emotional needs. This broader perspective encourages designers to think beyond the intended function of a room and consider how spaces support the people who use them throughout the care journey, which is a notable shift from restorative to predictive design.
"Rather than focusing solely on spaces where patients and caregivers can recover from stress, designers are exploring how thoughtful planning can prevent unnecessary stress in the first place," said Trish Fedel, director of healthcare markets for KI. "Intuitive wayfinding, sensory considerations, reduced cognitive demands, and environments that anticipate human needs can contribute to a more supportive experience of care."
The Kiaura Collection™, built with Cognetic Technology™, designed and invented by Aaron DeJule, brings movement into that conversation by supporting responsive movement across a range of seated experiences, from work and collaboration to care and respite.
This approach received significant industry recognition at HCD Expo, where Kiaura and Cognetic Technology earned 10 Nightingale Awards, including Best of Competition for Kiaura and Best of Innovation for Cognetic Technology. These honors underscore the growing importance of movement-centered design and its potential to support comfort and human performance across healthcare environments.