Pickett Design Associates

01/26/2026

Pickett Designs recommends attending the VITALS 2026 Conference hosted by the UCLA Anderson Healthcare Business Association on February 20th. This full-day conference will bring together healthcare leaders, innovators, and professionals to explore new ways of effectively navigating of an evolving industry — specifically around care access, delivery, and the role of new technologies.

This year’s theme, “Innovation Under Pressure: Healthcare at an Inflection Point,” will focus on adaptive strategies to meet rising costs, changing care delivery models, and rapid technological advances. Through insightful panel discussions and expert speakers, attendees will enrich their learning on topics related to funding and access, as well as proactive ways to empower patients in their health and recovery.

If you’re interested in healthcare innovation and leadership, learn more here: https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/about/clubs-and-associations/professional/healthcare-business-association-hba/hba-vitals-conference

12/23/2025

Happy Holidays from the PDA team!

12/01/2025

Giving Tuesday is tomorrow!
Want to join me in supporting a good cause? This Giving Tuesday, Pickett Design Associates is helping to spread the word of Giving Design's campaign. Your contribution will make an impact. Whether you donate $5 or $500, every donation helps. Thank you for your support.

Giving Design's mission is to connect the skills and resources of our design community with those who might not otherwise have access to design’s positive impact. Giving Design recognizes that design requires experience, skill and knowledge that ordinarily comes at a high price. Giving Design acknowledges that, for many, design seems like a luxury. Giving Design believes strongly that thoughtful design improves quality of life and imparts a sense of wellbeing to those who experience it. Giving Design knows that the design community is populated with generous and involved practitioners who are committed to expanding access to good design for everyone, especially for those to whom it may seem beyond reach.

https://www.givingdesign.org/donate-1

Want to join me in supporting a good cause? This Giving Tuesday I'm raising money for Giving Design and your contribution will make an impact. Whether you donate $5 or $500, every donation helps. Thank you for your support. I've included informati...

11/26/2025

10/20/2025

Stephanie and Michelle of PDA had the pleasure of visiting Jeff Tanaka's studio to see the Adventist Chapel pews in construction. Gaining insight into Jeff's craftsmanship was an enriching learning experience, and the visit added meaningful perspective to the final design. We are excited to see the vision start to come alive!

09/15/2025

Pickett Design Associates had the pleasure of touring the UC Irvine Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences alongside fellow architects and interior designers.

A special thank you to Michelle McCoy (Senior Director, Space Management, UC Irvine) and Brian Pratt (Campus Architect, UC Irvine) for leading such an inspiring two-hour tour and sharing their deep knowledge of these remarkable spaces. Their dedication to sustainable design is evident — yet another LEED Platinum building on the UCI campus!

We also extend our gratitude to Martha Ball (Principal, HED) and the talented S/L/A/M team for designing a facility that so beautifully supports education, research, patient care, and integrative health.

And of course, we are incredibly proud of our own Stephanie Ramirez, Studio Director at Pickett Design Associates, who led the interior design of the UC Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute — a project that embodies biophilic, uplifting, and innovative design at its best.

09/11/2025

The designers at PDA had a great time visiting the Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) site to see construction nearing completion. On our last visit, the interior framing had just been finalized and the vision for interiors was beginning to take shape. Now, with ceiling and wall treatments, art, graphics, signage, and furniture systems being installed throughout, we’re thrilled to see the design coming to life.

A huge thank you to the Pankow team, and Juan Ortiz (QDG), for leading the way.

08/26/2025

PDA's Principal, Christine Hardin, had an enriching experience at AIA Purposeful to prepare for our upcoming behavioral health projects. AIA's 7th Annual Purposeful event, Prevention, Attention, and Intervention: Linking Modalities of Behavioral Health, challenged conventional approaches to behavioral healthcare facilities. Speakers invited attendees to reimagine design strategies that increase patient accessibility and dignity, family involvement, and community integration. We are excited to apply this knowledge to new projects - especially needed during this time of public health cuts and rapid expansion of needs.

08/20/2025

The more our PDA team researches the psychological impact of the built environment in behavioral and mental health spaces, the more we believe in the value of good design.

As a support to our ongoing resource, Center for Health Design, we encourage participation in the following webinar:

Transforming Mental & Behavioral Health Spaces
Join tomorrow for a full day of insightful, inspiring, and impactful presentations focused on the future of behavioral and mental health environments. Architects and designers narrow their focus on reshaping care, safety, and stigma through evidence-based, empathetic design.
Register now → https://loom.ly/uQirfvw

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!