Carly Gertler
Senior ArchitectHerzog & de MeuronCarly Gertler is a leader in the design and delivery of Herzog & de Meuron’s institutional and cultural projects worldwide. She joined the firm in 2015 and relocated from Basel to San Francisco in 2021 to help launch the firm's West Coast studio. She served as Interior Team Lead and on the donor support group for UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital for over five years, contributing from concept through implementation design and partnering closely with UCSF end-user, community, and donor relations teams.
Carly holds a BSArch from the University of Michigan and an MArch with Distinction from Harvard GSD, is a registered California architect, and is a frequent guest juror and lecturer.
E73 – From Brief to Building: The Journey from Client Aspirations to Delivery in Switzerland, Denmark, and California
Hospitals are typically evaluated as machines for care: tightly regulated, risk‑averse, and optimized for clinical performance. In that context, archi…Hospitals are typically evaluated as machines for care: tightly regulated, risk‑averse, and optimized for clinical performance. In that context, architectural ambition is often treated as secondary. Yet the University Children’s Hospital in Zurich, w…Hospitals are typically evaluated as machines for care: tightly regulated, risk‑averse, and optimized for clinical performance. In that context, architectural ambition is often treated as secondary. Yet the University Children’s Hospital in Zurich, which opened in 2025, has been recognized not only for supporting holistic patient care, but also for achieving the architectural quality we expect of our strongest civic institutions. This session exa…Hospitals are typically evaluated as machines for care: tightly regulated, risk‑averse, and optimized for clinical performance. In that context, architectural ambition is often treated as secondary. Yet the University Children’s Hospital in Zurich, which opened in 2025, has been recognized not only for supporting holistic patient care, but also for achieving the architectural quality we expect of our strongest civic institutions. This session examines how such outcomes begin with a client vision that extends beyond the conventional brief and remains legible through design and delivery. Through three acute-care hospitals—the University Children’s Hospital in Switzerland, New North Zealand Hospital in Denmark, and UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital in California—we will analyze what makes a client’s aspirational vision achievable: the priorities it sets, the trade-offs it accepts, and the governance structures that protect it under schedule, budget, and regulatory pressure. We will show how vision translates into concrete design principles—hospitals conceived as permeable “cities” with streets and courtyards; modular planning for flexibility; and material and daylight strategies that support warmth, dignity, and orientation in high-acuity environments. Attendees will leave with takeaways for stewarding aspirational briefs, translating them into design principles, and sustaining those principles from concept through delivery.Show MoreClick the title to see all detailsShow More
