10/20/2026
EwingCole’s Natalium: Reimagining the Architecture of Birth has been named the winner of Healthcare Design’s 2026 Breaking Through Design Competition!
Developed in response to the challenges facing modern maternity care, Natalium challenges traditional hospital design by imagining an entirely new environment for pregnancy, birth, and postpartum recovery.
Organized around nature, movement, community, and personal choice, the concept places dignity and human connection at the center of care while keeping advanced medical support close at hand.
The competition challenged designers to think beyond the constraints of budgets, schedules, and codes. Natalium gave us the chance to ask a fundamental question: What could the experience of birth become if we designed the environment around the people experiencing it?
Thank you to Healthcare Design and the live voting audience for the recognition, and congratulations to the bold and innovative Healthcare team!