This webinar provides a comprehensive view of the unique healthcare challenges faced in Indian Country and the opportunities that exist for AE firms to respond with a culturally-reflective design approach, regardless of client population. Attendees will learn the value of integrating culturally specific symbols into healthcare environments and the process of community outreach that can reveal unique patient needs that can become the basis of the building design. Case studies will highlight specific problems underserved populations face in the healthcare context, including context-driven barriers to access and chronic ailments symptomatic of incompatible lifeways. Examples will be discussed through the lens of how design and placemaking around holistic community wellbeing can positively impact patients belonging and health outcomes.
Experts
Steve VandenBussche is Vice President of Practice and Senior Healthcare Architect for Seven Generations Architecture and Engineering. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Architecture and has more than twenty-three years of experience in the architectural field. Steve guides high-level design thinking and A&E professional services, including visualization and implementation of program and project design. Steve is a leader in sustainable and biophilic design approaches.
Steve’s depth of experience with health and wellness clinics, including many tribal facilities, has made him a valuable knowledge source for healthcare publications and conferences throughout the United States, including the 2021 and 2020 AIA Health Facilities Conference, the 2019 PDC Summit, and Health Facilities Management Magazine. His discussions focus on understanding the historical context of Native American health services, how traditional native medicine practices can influence building design, and collaboration techniques for driving consensus among large diverse underserved constituent groups.
Alex Hokkanen is a Project Coordinator for Seven Generations Architecture and Engineering. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a Master of Architecture in 2017. Since then he has dedicated his professional career to understanding how cultural research can be an integral part of the design process in diverse built environments ranging from large health clinics to landscapes and educational institutions.
Alex is passionate about sustainable health environments, ecologically sound community planning and culturally appropriate design. He supports the Seven Generations team in all aspects of the architectural practice, including proposal writing, architectural design and production with a special focus on design research in the areas of indigenous planning and culturally reflective design.