Episode 74, Susan Suhar, NCIDQ, IIDA, LEED AP, WELL AP, Fitwel Amb, Design Principal – Interiors, Associate Vice President at HDR Architecture

"The best way to think of it is like a do not use ingredient list, similar to checking a food label — but for buildings." — Susan Suhar on HID2.0 Today on the podcast, Cheryl sits down with Susan Suhar — Design Principal- Interiors and Associate Vice President at HDR Architecture in Los Angeles — to talk about what's changing (and what's timeless) in healthcare design. With 25+ years designing award-winning environments across healthcare, workplace, and life science, Susan brings a rare mix of creative vision and real-world rigor — designing for the whole ecosystem: patients and families, yes, but also the staff doing the caring every single day. Susan helps lead the vision and growth of HDR's LA interiors practice, and she's been deeply involved in major healthcare work including Cedars-Sinai's Marina del Rey Hospital and the UCSF Helen Diller Hospital project in San Francisco (part of a collaborative design team). In this conversation, Susan and Cheryl dig into the shifts shaping healthcare interiors right now — from behavioral health and outpatient growth, to sustainability, staff respite spaces, and why empathy still belongs at the center of every healing environment. WHAT WE COVER Why healthcare interiors serve "one of the broadest ranges of humans in human emotion" — all at onceSusan's origin story: how universal design shaped her purpose as a designerWhat's unique about designing healthcare in California (and specifically Los Angeles)Key shifts shaping healthcare design today: -behavioral health -the evolving patient + staff experience -outpatient growth and the rise of same-day proceduresHow shorter schedules are changing design + documentation — and where AI fits (supporting, not replacing)Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital: designing a community hospital that feels sophisticated, elegant, and not like a hospitalThe "sea change for healing" concept: waves, journey, light-on-water (and an unforgettable chapel + meditation patio)UCSF Helen Diller Hospital: iconic architecture, fog-response interiors, and major investments in respite, sustainability, and health"Red list free" in plain language — and why it matters in a hospitalWhy staff spaces are not optional: sleep rooms, respite, and protecting caregiver wellbeingSusan's guiding principle: empathy, and the questions that make design better KEY TAKEAWAYS Design empathy isn't a vibe — it's a practice. It shows up in how we listen, what we prioritize, and what we protect in the program.Staff experience is patient experience. If we don't design for caregiver wellbeing, we quietly erode care quality.Sustainability + health transparency are converging. Materials aren't just about durability and aesthetics anymore — they're about human impact, too.The pace is changing. Faster schedules are pressuring teams to get more efficient without losing the design story or the details. RESOURCED MENTIONED PROJECTS + IMAGES • HDR – Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital (project page) https://www.hdrinc.com/portfolio/cedars-sinai-marina-del-rey-hospital • HDR – UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital (project page) https://www.hdrinc.com/portfolio/ucsf-health-helen-diller-hospital • UCSF Real Estate – Helen Diller Hospital project overview https://realestate.ucsf.edu/projects/ucsf-health-helen-diller-hospital-hdh • Herzog & de Meuron – UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital (project page) https://www.herzogdemeuron.com/projects/547-ucsf-helen-diller-medical-center-2/ CEDARS-SINAI UPDATES • Cedars-Sinai Newsroom – "New Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital Rises" (includes video/update) https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/new-cedars-sinai-marina-del-rey-hospital-rises/ • Cedars-Sinai Newsroom – "Construction Begins for New Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital" https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/construction-begins-for-new-cedars-sinai-marina-del-rey-hospital/ • Cedars-Sinai – "An Upgrade to Medicine in the Marina" (construction progress story) https://www.cedars-sinai.org/stories-and-insights/advancing-our-mission/an-upgrade-to-medicine-in-the-marina HDR SITE / PORTFOLIO SEARCH (as mentioned on the episode) • HDR homepage https://www.hdrinc.com/ • HDR portfolio (search/browse) https://go.hdrinc.com/portfolio SUSTAINABILITY + MATERIAL HEALTH TERMS (RED LIST / EPD / HPD) • ILFI – Red List (Living Building Challenge) https://living-future.org/red-list/ • ILFI – Living Building Challenge overview https://living-future.org/lbc/ • EPD International – International EPD System (what an EPD is / program info) https://www.environdec.com/about-us/international-epd-system • HPD Collaborative (what an HPD is / material health disclosure) https://www.hpd-collaborative.org/ CALIFORNIA HEALTHCARE FACILITY OVERSIGHT (OSHPD / now HCAI) • HCAI – OSHPD became HCAI (official announcement) https://hcai.ca.gov/oshpd-becomes-the-department-of-health-care-access-and-information/ • HCAI – Building Safety (...