Stephen N. Parker, AIA, (M.ARCH, HISP ‘13) is making quite the name for himself in healthcare design.
The 2018 national AIA Young Architects Award winner recently returned from a two-week trip to Central India, where he led master planning efforts for a brand-new community hospital and nursing college. The 150-bed hospital near the city of Abilabad will provide free or subsidized health care for thousands of patients each year once completed.
Parker worked with the non-profit design agency Engineering Ministries International—which provides pro-bono services to developing nations—while partnering with local practitioners to sustainably build capacity in-country for future projects. He, along with 12 other architects and engineers, designed the health center while living together in a bungalow.
“It’s the type of purpose-driven design work that really feeds one’s soul,” he said.
The team completed a 25-year phased masterplan, and the initial phase of concept design for work slated to be constructed first.
Parker has extensive experience in healthcare facility design as an architect at SmithGroupJJR’s Washington, D.C., Healthcare Studio. He has been involved in creating design templates for the firm’s U.S. Veteran’s Administration’s VA Pharmacy Design Guide and the Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center bed tower in San Diego.
Parker was recently named one of Healthcare Design magazine’s 2019 Rising Stars, which is awarded to healthcare design professionals new to the field and positioned to be the industry’s next leaders. He is being recognized for his work on Kaiser’s Autism Spectrum Disorder clinic, as well as his contribution to the VA design guide as well as his work in India.
Read Parker’s 2018 interview with the magazine. He will be featured in the November 2019 issue along with other Rising Star award winners.