Architecture as Advocacy: Designing for Wellbeing, Experience, and Better Outcomes

What if healthcare architecture could support healing, shape behavior, and give patients and staff greater dignity and control?

Chase Miller speaks with Angela Mazzi, a board-certified healthcare architect, principal at GBBN Architects, and host of the Architecting podcast. They explore salutogenic design, human factors, user engagement, and how healthcare environments can either reinforce hierarchy or create more equitable and supportive experiences.

In This Episode

• Designing for health, dignity, and well-being
• Why every design is a hypothesis
• Involving patients, families, and staff early
• Using human factors to improve clinical workflows
• Testing ideas through mock-ups and post-occupancy evaluation
• Breaking down hierarchy through design
• Supporting emerging professionals through mentorship

Key Takeaways

• A space influences how people feel, behave, work, and heal, affecting performance and outcomes.
• Mock-ups, simulations, and post-occupancy reviews reveal whether a design works as intended.
• Patients, families, and frontline staff help teams identify the right problems to solve.
• Experience should inform better questions without limiting new ideas.
• Design can either restrict autonomy or help patients and staff feel respected and supported.
• Natural light, gardens, and views of nature can improve orientation, attention, and focus.
• Professional involvement builds leadership, advocacy, mentorship, and expertise.

Resources Mentioned

• Architecting podcast
• Time Builder by Angela Mazzi
• Choice Architecture by Avani Parikh and Prashant Parikh
• American College of Healthcare Architects
• AIA Academy of Architecture for Health
• Salutogenic design
• Human factors
• Evidence-based design
• Attention restoration theory
• Gemba walks
• Mock-ups, simulations, and post-occupancy evaluation
• Planetree
• "The Intersection of Human Factors and Evidence-Based Healthcare Design: A Conceptual Framework"
• HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal

About Angela Mazzi

Angela Mazzi is a board-certified healthcare architect and principal at GBBN Architects. Her work focuses on salutogenic design, human factors, and the relationship between the built environment, behavior, and well-being.

She also hosts the Architecting podcast, which helps design professionals challenge conventional thinking and define success on their own terms.

About the Podcast

The Architecture of Healing explores how healthcare environments, operational systems, and human experiences intersect to shape healing. Hosted by Chase Miller, the podcast features conversations with designers, clinicians, strategists, and healthcare leaders working to transform the future of care.

Learn more about the podcast or explore all episodes.