The 2026 Healthcare Design Conference + Expo rounded out its second day with a full slate of award presentations, expo hall hours, and educational sessions at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.
Here are some highlights from Day 2. For more details and the full schedule, visit hcdexpo.com.
Nightingale Awards highlight healthcare product innovation
Healthcare Design announced the winners of the 2026 Nightingale Awards in a morning keynote at the HCD Conference + Expo. This year, 26 products across 17 categories are recognized for their contributions to the healthcare built environment.
KI earned Best of Competition for its Kiaura Collection built with Cognetic Technology, a seating and clinician support furniture line designed to promote movement and restoration. The product also took home the Best of Innovation Award for Cognetic Technology.
Armstrong World Industries earned the Best of Sustainability Award for its Templok Energy Saving Ceilings.
For more on the 2026 Nightingale Award winners, read here.
Industry experts discuss sustainability and resiliency in healthcare design
A breakfast keynote panel brought together a diverse group of industry leaders across architecture, engineering, interiors, and healthcare operations to explore the topic of sustainability and resiliency.
Jennifer Kovacs Silvis, vice president and HCD brand director, moderated a panel featuring Karthik Ramadurai, West Region design director, HDR (Los Angeles); Robert Feldbauer, chief program delivery officer at Children’s Health (Dallas) and 2026 Association of Medical Facility Professionals (AMFP) national president; Mark Bryan, chief research and strategy officer, International Interior Design Association (IIDA; Chicago); and Walt Vernon, chief executive officer, Mazzetti (San Francisco).
The panelists discussed resiliency and sustainability through four lenses, including the building and project, the community, the human experience, and global policy. A central idea throughout the discussion is that resiliency and sustainability should not be treated as competing priorities. “A sustainable building need to function even in times of difficulty,” said Ramadurai.
Breaking Through competition presents healthcare design concepts
In the finale of Healthcare Design’s biennial conceptual design competition, Breaking Through, EwingCole won the top prize of $10,000 for Natalium: Reimagining the Architecture of Birth. The concept positions maternal care as a flexible, community-centered experience rather than a purely clinical hospital event.
The finale included presentations by the four finalist teams. Audience members then voted for the concept they found most innovative via live polling. Read more about the Breaking Through finale here.
Networking at The Big Easy Social
Monday night wrapped up with the HCD Conference + Expo’s annual networking event. Under the theme “The Big Easy Social,” attendees gathered at Mardi Gras World, where they could walk through Kern Studios’ working float den and see past carnival floats and props. Entertainment, food, and drinks rounded out the evening in the adjacent antebellum bayou mansion.
More news from the 2026 HCD Conference + Expo
Check out Healthcare Design’s November/December issue for more coverage of the 2026 HCD Conference + Expo. In the meantime, you can find conference news and updates here.