Leading Architectural Design Firm NBBJ Launches Healthcare Practice in China

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Aug 26, 2014, 11:32 ET

SHANGHAI, Aug. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Global design and architecture firm NBBJ announced today the expansion of its healthcare planning and design services into China. Principal Rudy Widjaja will lead planning and design teams from NBBJ's Shanghai office, where he will draw on his experience with healthcare clients in China, Taiwan, Korea and the United States, as well as the firm's global network of healthcare experts.

The launch of NBBJ's China healthcare practice comes at a time when the scope of the firm's healthcare practice in Asia is increasing, with work for Shanghai Children's Medical Center in China; the Koo Foundation Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center in Taipei, Taiwan; and the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, Korea, among other projects.

Joan Saba, AIA, FACHA, Partner at NBBJ and the leader of its global healthcare practice, said: "We've successfully extended our innovative healthcare facilities concepts across the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. While we have long been serving select healthcare clients in China, we are very excited to deepen our practice by building a strong China team for future clients."

"By formalizing our healthcare practice, we are now able to bring NBBJ's renowned healthcare design expertise to our Chinese clients more readily. We can adapt best and future practices to the specific technical and cultural needs in China as new private healthcare models emerge," added Principal Rudy Widjaja.

For seventy years, NBBJ's vision and compassion have helped shape many of the world's most progressive academic medical centers, teaching hospitals, specialty hospitals, community hospitals, ambulatory care centers, medical office buildings and specialty facilities. NBBJ has worked with 11 of the top 17 U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll Hospitals. Clients include American University of Beirut Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital (a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School), Cambridge University, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, the Kuwait Ministry of Health, Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, NYU Langone Medical Center, the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Virginia Mason.

The firm successfully blends healing environments with efficient, evidence-based design and research. This approach has earned NBBJ notable accolades, including being named "Firm of the Year" and "Healthcare Architect of the Year" (for Joan Saba) by Healthcare Design and "Most Admired Healthcare Firm" by Interior Design for seven consecutive years. NBBJ is ranked as the second-largest healthcare architect in the world, according to BD World Architecture, and by Engineering News-Record as the "#1 Green Architecture Firm." The firm has been the recipient of more than 300 healthcare design awards.

In the late 1990s, NBBJ formed a team to meet clients' demand for services in a rapidly growing Asia market, which led to the opening of the Shanghai office in 2005. In China, NBBJ is currently designing corporate offices for Alipay in Hangzhou, Suning in Nanjing, Tencent in Shenzhen and WeChat in Guangzhou. Commercial mixed-use developments include Yanlord Landmark in Chengdu and Eton Place in Xiamen. Recent sports and convention centers include the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center in Hangzhou, the Asia World Expo in Hong Kong and the Qingdao Aoshan Bay International Exhibition Center. The firm's master planning work spans the country, from the waterfront redevelopment of the Shanghai Bund to the 25,000-hectare city master plan for Karamay. NBBJ is the recipient of multiple MIPIM Asia, Cityscape and ASLA awards for its work in China.

To celebrate the expansion of the Chinese healthcare practice, NBBJ Partners Joan Saba and Timothy Johnson as well as Principal Rudy Widjaja are hosting a salon event, "Healthy China: What's Next for Healthcare and Cities," which will take place at The Langham, Xintiandi Shanghai, September 15, 2014, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm.

The invitation-only salon is a platform for discussion and knowledge sharing among leaders, thinkers and builders of health practice and health facilities. The format for the evening will be a panel discussion moderated by the Editor-in-Chief of Forbes (China) magazine, Jiangong Zhou. Panelists include John Cai, Director, Centre for Healthcare Management and Policy, and Adjunct Professor of Economics, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS); Hongyang Wang, Professor, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University; Joseph D. Tucker, Director, UNC Project-China; and Joan Saba, Healthcare Design Partner, NBBJ.

For more information:
US: Helen Dimoff, Director of Communications, NBBJ, [email protected]
China: Stella Ye, [email protected]

For more information on the event:
http://www.nbbj.com/news/2014/8/11/healthy-china-whats-next-for-healthcare-and-cities/

To request an invitation to the event:
Cindy Wu, [email protected]

About NBBJ
NBBJ creates innovative places and experiences for organizations worldwide, and designs environments, communities and buildings that enhance people's lives. Founded in 1943, NBBJ is an industry leader in healthcare and corporate facilities and has a strong presence in the commercial, civic, science, education and sports markets. The firm has won numerous awards and has been recognized as one of the world's "Top Ten Most Innovative Architecture Firms" by Fast Company magazine. NBBJ has more than 750 employees in ten offices worldwide, including Beijing, Boston, Columbus, London, Los Angeles, New York, Pune, San Francisco, Seattle and Shanghai. Clients include Alibaba, Amazon, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Boeing, Cambridge University, Cleveland Clinic, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, Massachusetts General Hospital, Microsoft, Reebok, Salk Institute, Samsung, Stanford University, Starbucks, Telenor, Tencent and the Wellcome Trust.