Pickett Design Associates

07/25/2025

At Pickett Designs, we’re endlessly inspired by projects that challenge the status quo, especially when architecture, wellness, and sustainability intersect in bold new ways.

The newly opened Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville, AR, is more than a medical school. It is a transformative space that reimagines how doctors are trained and how environments can support healing from the ground up.

Funded by philanthropist Alice Walton, the school reflects her deep personal belief in preventive medicine, the idea that health care should focus on keeping people well, not just treating illness. That vision comes to life in a curriculum centered on whole health, nutrition, mental well-being, and lifestyle-based care.

Architecturally, the campus is just as forward-thinking. Nestled in the Ozarks next to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, it features rooftop gardens, woodland trails, and immersive green spaces that echo the school’s mission. It’s a model for how thoughtful, human-centered design can elevate education and healing.

As designers, we’re excited by what this signals: a future where buildings don’t just serve a function, they inspire wellness and resilience.

07/14/2025

Pickett Designs continues to marvel at the innovations possible, especially ones with a sustainability focus that yields deforestation reduction. Enjoy the read below to learn more about lab-grown wood from plant cell cultures.

"In cutting-edge laboratories nestled in British Columbia, Canadian scientists have achieved a transformative breakthrough in sustainable materials science: wood grown entirely in lab conditions without requiring trees to be felled. This biofabrication process produces sheets of wood with customizable shapes, grain patterns, and mechanical properties, all grown from live plant cells cultured in controlled environments, effectively decoupling wood production from deforestation.
The process begins with isolating cambium cells—the vital growth tissue from tree trunks responsible for wood formation. These cells are embedded within nutrient-rich hydrogel matrices and stimulated with carefully timed pulses of growth hormones that replicate the natural signals trees receive during their development. Over a period of weeks, the cells proliferate and differentiate, synthesizing lignocellulose fibers that self-organize into dense, sheet-like structures mimicking the natural grain and texture of wood.

The implications for global forestry are profound. By removing the need to cut living trees, this technology could drastically reduce habitat loss, protect biodiversity, and slow climate change. It signals a future where humanity harnesses the building blocks of nature directly, growing materials with precision and care rather than extracting and destroying." -Michael Wilds

06/13/2025

We had a great time touring the new UCI Health - Irvine Medical Center, which is on track to become the first all-electrical hospital in the nation. The building is designed to coalesce with the neighboring San Joaquin Marsh by strategically designing buildings to create animal buffers and bird safety, while ensuring proper runoff treatment. The facilities also provide scenic views of the marsh. The medical center is a brilliant example of sustainable design built by Hensel Phelps and designed by CO Architects. We enjoyed the chance to tour with many familiar faces. Thank you to the UCI team, including Campus Architect Brian Pratt, and AIA LA Healthcare for hosting this event!

06/11/2025

Barlow Respiratory Hospital opened its doors in 1902 as a dedicated tuberculosis treatment center. Today, it's a leader in respiratory health and specializes in helping patients transition off mechanical ventilators. Pickett Designs is proud to collaborate with Zakian Woo Architects on a complete renovation of Barlow's first floor, and we recently visited the site to observe the work in progress and coordinate with the team. We're excited to see the work come to life!

05/01/2025

05/01/2025

A unique project sometimes requires a unique approach, so here's a peak into our design process--sometimes you've got to see an installation at full scale to see how it will look!

04/23/2025

Happy belated Earth Day! This article lays out how crucial it is for interior designers to design with sustainability as a priority. It's important for the industry as a whole to commit to environmentally-friendly practices as we design spaces intended to be used by future generations.

A new report by the IPCC warns that sweeping changes must be made now to control global warming. Architects and interior designers can impact climate change by employing more ...

04/15/2025

We had a lovely time at Adventist Health White Memorial - Montebello's ribbon cutting event for their new donor-funded chapel. Pickett Designs provided the interior design for the chapel, and we were grateful for the chance to share renderings of the soon to be built space, as well as provide a virtual reality experience where attendees could preview the new chapel as if it were already built. A big thank you to Adventist Health for having us on this project, as well as the Hernan and Orfi Barros Foundation for generously providing the means to make this project a reality!

03/17/2025

We really enjoyed Sky Factory's recent visit to our offices, where we got a chance to see their virtual windows up close in their impressive portable showroom. A big thank you to Rebecca from Sky Factory for paying us a visit!

03/03/2025

Our team here at Pickett Designs toured the Academic Complex 1 at LA Valley College last week. We're proud to be on the design team of this new 80,000 SF building, which will contain space for curricula including Business, Computer Science, Information Systems, Math, Psychology, Sociology, Ethnic Studies, and Emergency Services.

Interior design considerations include:
• Color application based on current studies addressing how color relates to symbolism, culture, ethnicity, human behavior, and optimizing the learning environment
• Finishes selected to enhance the architectural design and serve to create the intended ambience, reducing stress, inspiring in design through color, texture, pattern, scale, and luminosity.
• Lighting levels to improve focus, ambience, focal points, architectural elements including art features and graphics, supportive of wayfinding, and as creative objects
• Placemaking – Design supports the building as an anchor building to the campus as revealed in the arrival experience and as seen from Burbank Blvd. as an academic destination in the community

Project Architect: QDG Architecture
General Contractor: Pankow Builders
Interior Design: Pickett Design Associates.

We're honored to be on the team, and excited to see the finished product!

02/05/2025

Another birthday celebration at Pickett--Happy Birthday Esperanza!

02/03/2025

A helpful look at some of the incredible structures we lost, and some that thankfully remain! LA is home to a variety of architecturally historic and innovative buildings, and we're certain it will continue to be as the city rebuilds.

LA, the city blighted by fires, had some of the most innovative houses in the world, writes a British-born expert who has lived there for half a century