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Media Contact: Sara Marberry 847.475.0427 tel.

ROBIN GUENTHER HONORED WITH 2005 CHANGEMAKER AWARD

November 15, 2005 -- Healthcare green design advocate and architect Robin Guenther, AIA, LEED AP, Principal, Guenther 5 Architects in New York, N.Y., is the recipient of the 2005 Changemaker Award from The Center for Health Design (CHD). Selected by CHD's Board of Directors, The Changemaker honors individuals or organizations who have demonstrated exceptional ability to make change happen.

"Robin is a strategic thinker who is now at the crossroads of design, policy, and market segments," said Changemaker Award Sponsor Sonny Flink of MechoShade Systems, who presented the award to at the Healthcare Design conference in Scottsdale, AZ. "She has successfully linked her architecture practice with wider advocacy efforts and made a difference by pushing beyond the norm, offering better solutions than what society had come to expect were possible."

In addition to tackling healthcare projects and strategic visioning for clients, Robin dedicates much of her time to numerous organizations focused on sustainable design practices. Collaborating with others, she has contributed to many influential publications and standards in the field, including the LEED module for healthcare construction, sustainability chapter for NYC's revised building code, "Green Guide for Health Care," "Environment of Care" chapter in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2005 "Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospital & Healthcare Facilities," "Green Guidance Statement," and the "AIA Architectural Graphic Standards."

Named by Interiors & Sources magazine as a "Champion of the Environment," Robin is actively involved in several organizations focused on the regulatory environment and healthcare construction standards, including The Center’s own Environmental Standards Council, AIA 2005 Guidelines for Healthcare Construction, AIA-NY Health Facilities Committee.

Besides being an advocate for the built environment, Robin also runs a thriving architecture and consulting practice. The Patrick H. Dollard Health Center she designed in upstate New York was one of the first healthcare facilities to achieve LEED certification from the U.S. Green Buildings Council. Her projects have received national design awards and have been published in Architectural Review, Contract, Healthcare Design, Interior Design, Interiors, Interiors & Sources, and Metropolis.

The Center for Health Design is a nonprofit research and advocacy organization whose mission is to transform healthcare settings into healing environments that improve outcomes through the creative use of evidence-based design.

Download head shot of Robin.