Planetree Lifetime Achievement Award

Marc Schweitzer has always been passionate about the architectural and interior

design of healing spaces. While working on his Masters of Architecture at the

University of California, Berkeley, Marc studied with the renowned professor,

Roslyn Lindheim.  Roz served as advisor for his master's thesis on creating healing

environments. Roz later became a founding board member of Planetree and 

architect of the first Planetree model unit. Following her death, shortly after the first

unit opened, Marc volunteered to carry on her work, designing Planetree's four

additional model sites, including San Jose Hospital, Mid-Columbia, Delano

Regional and Beth Israel Medical Centers. Through his work he developed, defined

and expanded the Planetree design principles, translating them into a variety of 

settings, including emergency departments and critical care areas. He worked with

Candace Ford to design the second Planetree Health Library in a restored Victorian

house in San Jose. His work can also be seen at Bergan Mercy of Alegent Health

and at Highline Medical Center. 

Marc has also served as a Planetree consultant for

many additional sites, including Longmont and Fauquier, inspiring and educating

other architects and design teams in  Planetree's principles. 

In the tradition of Roz Lindheim, Marc often stayed overnight on the hospital units he designed to more

fully appreciate the patient's perspective. Marc has always believed that hospitals are emotional spaces

and need to provide places to both celebrate and grieve.

Marc is a senior architect with The Design Partnership, specializing in staff participation and consensus

building, as well as the human interface with design. He remains at the forefront of standards of evi-dence-based

design and current research.  

In addition to his outstanding work in healthcare, Marc is accomplished in the area of historic restora-tion.

He served as a director for the non-profit Foundation for San Francisco's Architectural Heritage and

has won numerous awards for his work. He also brings his expertise in healing environments into work-place

settings and has designed Charles Schwab Headquarters in Denver, San Jose International Airport

Corporate Offices and the Chancery Offices of the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco.

He has published many articles, including co-authoring the white-paper, “Healing Spaces: Elements of

Environmental Design that Impact Health,” published as a supplement to the Journal of Alternative and

Complementary Medicine in October, 2004. He is an international speaker on Planetree design.

Marc brings passion and compassion to his work, as well as wisdom and dedication. Please join us in

honoring the outstanding the contributions of Marc Schweitzer.