SimTigrate Design Center Rebrands with Bold Vision for the Future of Design and Health

Georgia Tech Center Rebrands and Expands to Showcase Interdisciplinary Innovation
Leandro Tonetto, Hui Cai, Eunhwa Yang
Leandro Tonetto, left, Hui Cai, center, Eunhwa Yang, right.
By Melissa Alonso | September 2025 – Atlanta, GA

The SimTigrate Design Lab at Georgia Tech has officially rebranded as the SimTigrate Design Center, reflecting its evolution into a cross-disciplinary hub redefining the intersection of health, design, and innovation. 

With a new name, a redesigned website, and an expanded research and teaching mission, SimTigrate enters its next chapter with a renewed commitment to collaboration, community impact, and design excellence to promote health and well-being. SimTigrate Design Lab was founded by Dr. Craig Zimring and Jennifer DuBose in 2012 to create an innovation hub to support design decisions in healthcare environments. The lab has cultivated a robust and impactful research portfolio through strategic partnerships and collaborations with industry leaders, healthcare systems, and non-profit organizations. It has long contributed to Georgia Tech’s leadership in evidence-based healthcare design.

In August 2024, Dr. Hui Cai, a Georgia Tech School of Architecture alumna, joined SimTigrate as the Executive Director, bringing with her a wealth of experience from her roles as Director of Research at the Institute of Health and Wellness Design and Chair of the Department of Architecture at University of Kansas. Dr. Leandro Tonetto from Industrial Design and Dr. Eunhwa Yang from Building Construction joined as Core Faculty Lead, forming a dynamic leadership team to advance Simtigrate’s Mission and shape its future together.

Since then, the faculty team has continued to grow, attracting many affiliated faculty from a wide range of disciplines, including Architecture, Industrial Design, Building Construction, Urban Planning, Health Systems Engineering, and other healthcare professions. Reflecting its dynamic growth and the increasingly trans-disciplinary nature of its work, the lab was officially renamed the SimTigrate Design Center in Fall 2025 by the Dean Ellen Bassett of College of Design.

“The rebranding of SimTigrate Design Center reflects the dynamic, interdisciplinary nature of our work,” said Cai. “It represents not only the breadth of expertise with our interdisciplinary team, but also marks a strategic evolution in our mission and approach. We have expanded our focus beyond the healthcare environment to a broader spectrum of settings that influence human health and well-being."

"This transformation signals a shift from a singular focus on the built environment to a comprehensive approach that integrates health services, medical devices, construction practices, and urban and rural planning,” she said. 

Designing Across Scales: Hospital Rooms to Healthy Cities

AI generated image of people sitting at a table with a building model, surrounded by a healthcare environment
AI-Generated Image

SimTigrate’s project portfolio spans everything from clinical space redesigns and infection control research to citywide health initiatives. Past projects have: contributed to the NYC Active Design Guidelines; partnered with numerous health systems includingEmory, Children’s Hospital of Atlanta, and Grady Health Systems; applied rigorous mock-up simulation testing to develop donning and doffing spaces and designing spaces for serious communicative diseases to reduce infection and improve safety; and used participatory design to engage various community stakeholders to build partnerships and use data-informed policy advocacy to improve healthy food access in Johnson County, Kansas. 

“Our work serves the community,” said Cai. “We bring together data, simulation, and participatory design to create innovative solutions that support diverse users—from children in hospitals to older adults in long-term care and homes.” This integrative approach, grounded in evidence-based design (EBD), positions SimTigrate as a national leader in advancing research-informed, human-centered spaces. 

One powerful example is the LUX Lab (Lighting User Experience Lab)—a full-scale mock-up of a patient room developed in partnership with Philips and Pacific Northwest National Lab to study the impact of lighting on health outcomes for patients and the work performance of nurses. Looking ahead, SimTigrate aims to extend these ideas further with initiatives like a Smart Transitional Home Lab and Smart Patient Rooms of the Future, blending technology, sensors, wearable devices, and immersive design. 

“What makes SimTigrate unique is that we’re at Georgia Tech,” said Cai. “We are in a close-knit community of top researchers in biomedical engineering, industrial and systems engineering, computing, neuroscience, and neurotechnology, and design. Our future is about integrating those technologies with human-centered design to redefine healthcare environments.”

A Founding Voice Reflects on Impact and Legacy

Dr. Lorissa MacAllister, a Georgia Tech alum and one of the early contributors to SimTigrate’s founding, shared reflections on the lab’s original vision and continued relevance today. 

“I was at Georgia Tech because of this interdisciplinary nature of SimTigrate,” said MacAllister. “I wanted to work with engineering, with clinical systems, with architecture and industry—all in one lab.” “We were modeling the built environment with product solutions, operational understanding, clinical understanding,” she added. “That became really important for me as a student and also helped shape the business model that I launched later in life.” 

Now President and Founder of Enviah, a healthcare and wellness design consultancy, MacAllister continues to champion the Center’s role in bridging research and practice. “It’s a trusted resource, and I would call it a source of truth. And in today’s society, in healthcare, we need an unbiased source that’s not necessarily academic for academic’s sake, but research that's valid, meaningful, and translated to application.” “It meets industry where they are, helps solve complex problems, and brings the best thinkers from multiple domains together. And that’s what’s unique.”

A New Platform for Education and Industry Collaboration

With its relaunch, SimTigrate is also bridging the gap between research and education. “We want our partners to have access to our students—future designers who will shape the next generation of healthcare environments,” said Cai. “Through studio projects, think tanks, and co-defined research initiative, these relationships will shape the future of design and health.” 

One such example is the launch of a new interdisciplinary course, Applied Design Methods for Community Well-being, created by Tonetto. Developed with SimTigrate and community partner A.G. Rhodes, the course offers students a hands-on opportunity to design for older adults experiencing cognitive decline. “These students are not just learning tools—they’re practicing ethical, participatory design in real communities,” said Tonetto. “We’re teaching them to co-create with care providers and residents, to develop products and environments that truly support well-being. It’s about shared authorship and social responsibility.”

Another example is the success of the Spring 2025 Senior Capstone Studio on Design and Health in the School of Architecture, taught by Cai. Through close collaboration with Grady Health System and Gresham Smith, the studio gave new energy to a rehabilitation and nursing home originally built in the 1960s and transformed it into a human-centered therapeutic home for older adults with rehabilitation needs.

Students learned to apply evidence-based design principles on sensible design strategies that support recovery and holistic health. 

 

 

“It is important for us to not only train experts who will provide care but to train those who design the places these providers work, as well as the environments for patients, visitors, and supporting staff,” said George Smith, Senior Architectural Project Manager, Design & Construction, Grady Health System.

A newly launched affiliate membership model will further strengthen the network partnership and invite strategic industry partners to collaborate not only on research but also on teaching and talent development. 

A Refresh and a Call to Action

SimTigrate’s redesigned website, launching this summer, is a reflection of its new identity—highly visual, interactive, and built to showcase the Center’s dynamic research and community partnerships. Visitors will find updated content on projects, publications, faculty expertise, and ways to get involved. “We want people to see the diverse range of our work—whether they’re prospective partners, students, or funders,” said Cai. “This relaunch is just the beginning of what’s next.”

To learn more about SimTigrate Design Center, visit simtigrate.gatech.edu and follow their journey on LinkedIn.

Media Inquiries

 
Ann Hoevel

Director of 
Communications
College of Design
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Melissa Alonso

Assistant Director of Communications
College of Design
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