Overview 

Inspiring course for clinicians shaping ICU spaces. Collaborative, hands on and designed to spark ideas and confidence. 

Building for the Sickest – How Clinicians Shape ICU Design 

This two-day course puts clinicians at the heart of ICU design. It combines practical insight, real-world experience, and collaborative problem-solving to help you understand how spaces for the sickest patients are conceived, built, and improved—and how your voice can influence every stage. 

Throughout the programme, we’ll explore how design impacts staff well-being and patient experience, and how these perspectives can inform better environments for care. 

Why Join Us? 

Across both days, you’ll have unparalleled access to experts—architects, clinicians, engineers, and project leaders—combined with plenty of opportunities to ask questions, share ideas, and build practical skills. 

Ready to shape the future of critical care? Reserve your place now and start influencing the spaces where the sickest patients are cared for.

What You’ll Learn 

Over two interactive days, you’ll gain practical knowledge and skills to influence the design of critical care spaces, including: 

• How hospital building projects really work – from RIBA stages to delivery
• Using design as a strategic tool for patient outcomes and staff well-being
• Sustainability and engineering essentials for ICU environments
• Finance fundamentals – understanding budgets and business cases
• Reading and interpreting architectural drawings (1:50, 1:200 plans)
• Conducting post-occupancy evaluations and creating tools for your own unit
• Navigating national programmes like the New Hospital Programme and what they mean for ICU design
• Collaborating effectively with architects, engineers, and project teams
• Bringing the patient voice into design decisions 

• Practical strategies to stay involved and influence projects 

   

Day 1 – Understanding Design in Practice 

Morning: Foundations and Future Thinking 

• Why the built environment matters for patient outcomes and staff well-being
• How design can be used as a strategic tool in critical care 

Afternoon: Site Visits and Applied Evaluation 

• Sustainability principles in ICU spaces
• Visits to ICU spaces at King’s College Hospital and its critical care roof garden 

Wrap-Up: Practical steps for staying involved and influencing projects 

Optional Networking: Informal drinks and conversation with peers and faculty 

Day 2 – From Policy to Plans 

Location: BDP (Building Design Partnership), Clerkenwell 

• Fireside discussion: How the design and rebuild process really works
• Inside the New Hospital Programme – hear directly from those shaping national schemes and explore what this means for ICU design (a rare opportunity to engage with a programme that’s shaping the future of UK hospitals)
• Interactive workshops with architects, engineers, and clinicians who have led major projects Learn how to interpret architectural drawings (1:50, 1:200) and contribute meaningfully
• Explore RIBA stages, finance considerations, and sustainability challenges
• Problem-solving sessions to tackle real-world design issues together 

Bring your own project ideas—whether it’s a concept, a set of plans, or a draft business case—for tailored feedback and guidance from our expert faculty.