HKS at NeoCon 2026: Circularity, Neuroaesthetics and the Value of Experience
Commercial designers will convene June 8–10 in Chicago for NeoCon 2026. The annual industry event brings together leaders across design and business to share ideas, challenge norms and explore what’s next for the built environment. This year, HKS designers, researchers and leaders will contribute to key conversations around circularity, neuroscience-informed design and the evolving definition of value in healthcare.
Please join us for the following on-site and virtual sessions:
Squaring Off on Circularity
Tuesday, June 9, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. CDT, NeoCon Presentation Studio, FL 2
Speaker: Lisa Adams, Director of Citizen HKS & Sustainable Design Leader, HKS
Circularity in commercial furniture is increasingly being judged not by intention, but by outcome. This panel explores where circular strategies are working and where they fall short, comparing durable, high-quality solutions with lower-cost, disposable alternatives to better understand what true impact looks like in practice.
Neuroaesthetics, Neuroarchitecture & Intentional Spaces
Virtual CEU
Speaker: Upali Nanda, Global Sector Director, Innovation, HKS
As expectations for wellbeing and inclusion continue to rise, design must move beyond function and aesthetics to better understand how environments shape human experience. This session explores how neuroaesthetics and neuroarchitecture inform emotional, cognitive and physiological responses to space. Drawing on evidence-based research and cross-disciplinary collaboration, the discussion connects brain science and sensory research to practical design strategies that support health, belonging and human flourishing.
Return on Emotion: Reframing Value in Healthcare Experience
Virtual CEU
Speakers: Nick Tedder and Elisabeth Mejia, HKS
Healthcare design has traditionally been measured through efficiency, cost and operational performance. While necessary, these metrics no longer capture the full value of care environments. This session challenges the ROI-driven mindset and introduces experience mapping as an empathy-led, research-informed approach. By reframing experience as a deliberate and measurable outcome, the discussion explores how emotion shapes perception and performance across the care continuum, offering strategies to elevate value beyond cost alone.
Additional HKS Presence at NeoCon
HKS leaders will also contribute to the broader NeoCon program through industry recognition and participation. Emily Mernick, Eleana Lynch and Meena Krenek will serve as Best of NeoCon judges, and Winnie Lin has been selected by Interior Design magazine as a First-Time NeoCon emerging leader.
