Blog

The 11th European Healthcare Design 2025 Congress, Exhibition, and Awards will take place at the Royal College of Physicians in London from June 9-11, 2025, bringing together over 600 healthcare design leaders from 30 countries to explore the theme "Beyond the hospital: Form, function and the future health ecosystem" through presentations, workshops, exhibitions, and study tours of benchmark healthcare facilities.

Climate-Smart Healthcare Infrastructure
Climate change presents a dual challenge for healthcare facilities: increasing demand for services while simultaneously disrupting energy supplies and infrastructure. Climate-resilient health systems must be able to anticipate, respond to, cope with, recover from, and adapt to climate-related shocks and stresses. The WHO operational framework identifies ten components for building climate-resilient health systems, covering everything from leadership and governance to essential medical products and service delivery.

Key strategies for developing climate-smart healthcare infrastructure include:

• Enhancing healthcare infrastructure to withstand extreme weather events while reducing the sector's carbon footprint
• Implementing low-carbon approaches that minimize environmental impacts while equipping facilities with resilient technologies
• Ensuring reliable and clean electricity sources, especially critical in the Global South where nearly 1 billion people are served by healthcare facilities with unreliable or no electricity
• Addressing both physical damage from climate events (floods, storms) and increased energy demands (for cooling, emergency services)
• Protecting patients and hospitals from climate-related hazards through initiatives like LIFE RESYSTAL, which aims to safeguard 31,000 patients and 46 hospitals annually by 2025

AI-Driven Hospital Innovations
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing hospital design and operations, creating environments that are not only more efficient but genuinely therapeutic. AI-assisted architecture empowers designers to craft spaces that reduce stress and catalyze healing by processing vast datasets to unearth critical insights into patient needs and preferences. The integration of predictive maintenance systems leverages data from occupancy and daylight sensors connected to centralized Building Management Systems, enhancing energy efficiency while prolonging the lifespan of critical healthcare infrastructure.

The healthcare landscape is witnessing transformative AI applications across multiple domains:

• Virtual assistants and AI chatbots that help patients identify symptoms and recommend actions in primary care settings
• AI-powered medical imaging that increases accuracy and enables early detection of conditions like cancer and heart disease
• Predictive analytics that identify disease risks before symptoms appear by analyzing electronic health records and genetic information
• Ambient sensing technologies that monitor patients without peripherals, including sleep patterns and heart rhythms
• Optimization of hospital operations through AI-driven patient flow management, resource allocation, and administrative task automation
• Cellular hospital designs that use AI and Big Data to create reconfigurable layouts where multiple ailments can be treated in one place, reducing patient movement between departments

Rehabilitation Design in War Zones
Rehabilitation facilities in conflict zones require specialized design approaches that balance immediate medical needs with long-term recovery goals. In Ukraine, the government is establishing inpatient rehabilitation departments with assistive technology units in 24 hospitals nationwide, staffed by multidisciplinary teams providing comprehensive care despite ongoing hostilities. This decentralized approach aims to fundamentally transform rehabilitation service delivery, benefiting both war-injured patients and the broader population requiring such services.

The architectural design of rehabilitation facilities in war zones faces unique challenges, including:

• Protection from attacks through underground or reinforced construction, with many hospitals relocating critical services to lower floors and reinforcing upper levels with sandbags and concrete
• Modular and mobile designs that can serve as temporary replacements for damaged facilities in frontline communities
• Integration of physical therapy, mental health care, and specialized services like prosthetics in one location to support comprehensive recovery
• Incorporation of spaces that promote psychological healing alongside physical rehabilitation, recognizing that approximately 90% of war-affected patients experience trauma reactions, sleep problems, and panic attacks
• Adaptation of existing buildings when purpose-built facilities aren't feasible, including retrofitting vacant structures with basements to provide protected medical spaces

Accommodation Information – Mercure London Paddington Hotel
Mercure London Paddington Hotel – Your Perfect Base for European Healthcare Design 2025 Located just minutes from Paddington Station, the Mercure London Paddington Hotel offers the perfect blend of comfort, convenience, and connectivity for delegates attending the European Healthcare Design 2025 Congress, Exhibition, and Awards at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), London.

With easy access to the RCP via a short taxi or Underground journey, the hotel provides 4-star accommodation featuring:

• Stylish, modern rooms with free high-speed Wi-Fi
• On-site fitness centre
• 24-hour room service and a contemporary restaurant
• Meeting spaces and business services if needed

Whether you're attending workshops, presentations, or networking events, Mercure London Paddington ensures a relaxing stay in the heart of the city.