Healthcare Design - January/February 2021 - 88

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JOHN MAHER

D O G O R C AT ?

Senior associate, MASS Design Group, Chicago
After completing graduate school at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, John Maher joined MASS Design
Group in early 2014, spending his first two years working at the
firm's office in Kigali, Rwanda. Now based in Chicago, Maher has led projects
across the globe, including East Africa and South Asia. Additionally, he's designing a
line of behavioral health furniture and pursuing an MBA. In his spare time, he likes
to play soccer or visit his favorite local ice cream shop.-Anne DiNardo
W H AT D R E W Y O U T O A
C A R E E R I N H E A LT H C A R E
DESIGN?

IN ADDITION TO YOUR
ARCHITECTURE WORK, YOU ALSO
DESIGN AND MAKE FURNITURE?

I actually sort of fell into it. When I joined MASS,
the firm was just beginning the Munini District Hospital in Rwanda and creating design standards for the
hospital, so I was placed on the project. After that,
I worked on smaller clinics in Mali. I found healthcare design to be an incredible design challenge,
and as the firm designed more healthcare spaces I
decided to stay focused on the sector.

I've always been a maker. I think what draws me is the
almost instant gratification of using the furniture. I'm
currently working on a behavioral health furniture line.

W H AT L E S S O N F R O M T H AT
FIRST PROJECT DO YOU STILL
C A R R Y W I T H Y O U T O D AY ?
The spaces where people wait and the transition
spaces are just as important to the healing process
as the spaces where people are being treated.

W H AT D O Y O U L I K E B E S T
ABOUT WORKING IN
H E A LT H C A R E D E S I G N ?
Coming up with creative solutions that impact
access to care and delivery of care. I enjoy
engaging with care providers and learning about
how the spaces they work in can better serve them
while prioritizing the patient experience.

W H AT PAT I E N T N E E D S W O U L D
YOU LIKE TO SEE ADDRESSED
THROUGH PRODUCT DESIGN?
In behavioral health, I'd like to see products that allow
patients to control their environment and their experience. Product design should enable healing experiences and not simply meet safety requirements.

Definitely a dog person.
Dogs seek your attention
and are much more fun
to play with. My parents'
dog is like having
another sibling.

H O W D ID YO U
M A KE YO UR F IR ST
D O LLA R ?
Scoring a goal in a
soccer game when I
was little. My pop-pop
would pay me a dollar
a goal after every game
through high school.

F IR ST A LBUM YO U
EV ER BO UG H T
I think it was Jay-Z's " The
Blueprint " when I was in
8th grade.

C O C KTA IL O F
C H O IC E
Old Fashioned.

F AV O R I T E ...
WEEKEN D ACTI VI TY Soccer and anything outside.
GUI LTY PL EASURE Ice cream. In Chicago, there's a
Jeni's less than a block away from our house, and when
I'm in New Jersey I try to get Thomas Sweet every day.
B AN D/M USI CAL ARTI ST J. Cole and Drake White.
COL OR Most people who know me would say gray,
but it's actually blue.
TV CH ARACTERS Ted Lasso and Ron Swanson.
TEAM Manchester United.

YO UR H ID D EN
TA LENT
I can fix pretty much
anything. My dad is a
contractor, so growing
up we never called a
handy man or mechanic
and I was always right
there learning.

B OOK " Fall of Giants " by Ken Follett.

T H R E E H E A LT H C A R E P R O J E C T S
YOU'VE WORKED ON IN THE
LAST YEAR AND YOUR ROLE

1

Redemption Hospital in Caldwell, Liberia, with
the Ministry of Health of Liberia and the World
Bank, project manager.

2
3

YO U H AV E A N
IR R AT IO NA L
F EA R O F ...
My wife packing the
car incorrectly for
long car rides.

Samajik Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh,
design advisory group for the project.

IF YO U W ER EN'T
A N A R C H IT EC T
YO U'D BE ...
NFL kicker (dream job).

88

J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 1

HCDMAGAZINE.COM

MASS DESIGN GROUP

Yirimadio Health Center with Muso Health in
Bamako, Mali, project manager.
http://www.HCDMAGAZINE.COM
Healthcare Design - January/February 2021

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