Brooke Horan is a senior interior project designer for Perkins+Will, a leading interdisciplinary, research-based architecture and design firm in New York City. Having worked with a variety of clients all over the world, ranging from Korea, UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA, and Canada, she has come up with a universal language building a design palette and visioning session with her clients. Brooke enjoys partnering with clients to create design solutions that make a difference in people’s lives; in how they live, work, learn, and heal.

How do you bring your professional life into the classroom?
Our healthcare projects are always collaboration with our own team of interior designers, architects, specwriters, management – as well as clients, owners’ reps, manufacturers, contractors. I try to bring the larger perspective of what it means build a project, to work on a large team with diverse perspectives. The intent of the course is to combine coursework and reading with specialized guest lectures from a variety of perspectives from within the industry.

Which trends and movements in healthcare interior design have influenced your curriculum?   I’m pleased and hopeful that with our help as designers, more of our clients are realizing that the health of the buildings they are creating, via the materials and products used inside, directly affect the health of the patients and staff occupying them and are becoming more conscious consumers; pushing the industry toward safer chemistry and more transparent disclosure of product ingredients.

What was the last thing that inspired you?
From within our industry I am always inspired attending events such Neocon and Healthcare Design, learning about new product innovations, and what our peers and clients are working on. I also love to travel, I try to get out of the US at least once a year (Most recent this year: India and Colombia). Even more than the monuments and museums, I enjoy discovering side streets, the in-between spaces, the every-day touchpoints (transit, retail, signage, graphics) and how people engage with space. It changes up my mindset, makes me more observant and in turn more creative.