Throughout her career as an architect, Stephanie Brick has maintained two primary passions in design: custom residential design and salutogenic design.

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Residential design is the most personal of design sectors: It affords a unique opportunity to work one-on-one with homeowners to translate their dreams into architectural realities. Residential also marries beauty and function, and Ms. Brick delights in the macro- to micro-scale creative/spatial problem-solving afforded by every project.

Salutogenic design, alternatively, is an emerging field mostly applied in new schools, hospitals, and (increasingly) offices: Salutogenic design is an evidence-based design strategy focused on improving people’s physical health and mental well-being through architecture. This specialty field overlaps Ms. Brick's lifelong fascination in the overlaps of architecture, psychology, and neuroscience and was the focus of both her undergraduate thesis and (later) Master’s degree.

 

Ms. Brick worked at multiple premiere custom residential firms across the Washington DC area in the first decade of her career. She was awarded as one of the top designers in the country under 30 by the National Kitchen & Bath Association, had multiple projects published, and was regularly bylined in The Washington Post as a design expert. All the while, she maintained active interest and research in salutogenic design on the side.

 

In 2017, she took the leap to transition from her robust career in residential and sustainable design to a new chapter focused on salutogenic design in the workplace. For nearly a decade, Ms. Brick was a leading expert in salutogenic design for the United States Federal Government (USFG), working as an architect in the public sector blazing trails to improve employees' well-being through facility design. She stood up global salutogenic design facility programs; is the recipient of multiple innovation awards; and published groundbreaking, peer-reviewed architectural solutions to the country's health and well-being crisis. But, unable to give up her love for residential, she continued to maintain her small side business, Stephanie Brick Design (est. 2009), working directly with clients on residential design, as well as other special interest projects. Partnering with the best installers in the industry, she has since expanded this business into Brick by Brick Kitchen Design & Remodeling.

 

Now, her independent practice is a hybrid of both of these design tracks: Salutogenic Design & Consulting Group focuses on education and improving workforce well-being, and Brick by Brick Kitchens focuses on residential kitchen design and renovations.

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Ms. Brick considers herself a lifelong learner. Her formal education includes a Master of Design Studies, with commendation, in the Design for Human Health & Wellness program from Boston Architectural College (2021) and a Bachelor of Architecture, with commendation, from the Pennsylvania State University (2010) with minor concentrations in International Arts and Italian. In her leisure time, she enjoys writing, cooking/eating delicious food, playing board games, traveling, kayaking, mentoring others, and maintaining a constant platform of extra endeavors and projects.​ She is also author of the national award-winning and internationally honored children’s book The Secret Doors of Cannondale (2024, Raritan River Publishing).

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For salutogenic design endeavors, please reach out via email here. For residential inquiries, please use the form here.

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Related links: Publications, Design Philosophy, SEED Student Award of Distinction