Beverley, England, United Kingdom
Specialist in healthcare architecture with a mission to design spaces that accelerate healing, reduce stress, and uplift patient recovery. Combining evidence-based strategies and sustainability, I deliver facilities that promote wellbeing while maintaining operational efficiency. I believe in sharing knowledge and best practice attending and/or presenting at conferences, conventions, colleges and universities. I have recently published my first book “Design & Meditation”. A life-altering motorbike accident in 1994 left me enduring six months in and out of hospital; exposed first-hand to the stresses of bleak, noisy, and clinical surroundings. After recovering, I became determined to enhance building environments for those who rely on them each day. This commitment led to ACA+I’s central mission: designing spaces that foster healthier, happier experiences for healing, learning, working, and living benefiting every individual who enters. Coherence is performance infrastructure. Every environment regulates the human system through light, sound, air, and form. When these elements are aligned, people think more clearly, recover faster, and perform better. Architecture is no longer about buildings, but about the conditions that shape human experience.
Alessandro is the Managing Director and Principal of ACA+I Ltd, an innovative architectural practice founded in 2014. Under his leadership, the firm delivers a broad spectrum of projects—including healthcare, research, office, residential, educational buildings, and masterplanning—for clients in the UK and internationally. With extensive experience as an Architect Lead Consultant in England, Spain, and Italy, Alessandro offers Project Management and Principal Designer services from inception to completion, successfully guiding projects of all scales through complex procurement routes. Passionate about design excellence and sustainability, Alessandro excels at translating spatial and operational analysis into intelligent, people-centered building solutions. He adopts a holistic, collaborative approach where innovation is integral, and his projects frequently feature in specialist journals and conferences to share knowledge and best practice. Alessandro’s commercial understanding and commitment to delivering quality service underpin his management strategy and organic business development. Fostering strong client relationships, he implements creative and proactive strategies that enhance the practice profile, expand sector influence, and strengthen ACA+I’s reputation for excellence and specialism.
When considering a construction project, the most important decisions are the ones made at the beginning, before the planning and design stages and long before work starts on site. RIBA Client Advisers are highly trained, experienced architects - construction professionals who can advise on how to get the best out of the procurement process and its product. Having a RIBA Client Adviser on board from the earliest stage can help bring certainty and maximise the value of your investment. A RIBA Client Adviser will work with you to help define and deliver the best long-term solution for your organisation, one that will fulfil all the aims and requirements of the project.
Medical School - Health and Environment Course. MSc projects collaboration including: guest lecturing, scoping of literature review relevant to health and/or the environment, regularly monitoring progress of projects.
Business School - Creative Growth Masterclass. Guest lecturing and mentoring relevant to business growth for creative industries.
Having adopted Hull as his home city since 2001, Alex is an active ambassador for the area by attracting investment from national clients and showcasing local projects with his global network. Alex advises on people-centred, accessible and sustainable design to achieve wellbeing.
The presentation explores how empathic, purpose-driven design can transform the hospital experience from one of stress to one that enhances wellbeing and evokes positive emotions. It proposes that understanding the desired outcome, wellbeing, should shape the journey of design, creating environments that foster joy, empathy, and psychological support for all users. By examining the interplay of space, relationships, and emotions, the presentation advocates for a multidisciplinary team and a process that blends observation, meditation, and deep listening to end-user needs. This holistic approach crafts meaningful spatial experiences, catalyzing wellbeing by connecting with each individual’s personal circumstances and encouraging innovative thinking. Ultimately, the method emphasizes the need to assess feedback from all users, ensuring the built environment fulfils its purpose: harmonizing form, emotion, and function to instigate creative, inclusive, and empathic healing spaces.