Elmutaz Elrabaa has joined HDR’s architecture practice in Vancouver, B.C., as project principal supporting the firm’s work on large healthcare projects in Canada. As a key member of the healthcare leadership team, he is responsible for the day-to-day design and planning activities for the healthcare projects that he leads.

A staunch advocate of evidence-based and practice-based design, Elrabaa says that innovation, resiliency and sustainability are important principles that he has relied on throughout his career. “I am passionate about sustainability in the holistic sense of the word,” says Elrabaa. “I believe in designing spaces that are not only healthy for the users but that also promote a sustainable and holistic way of life—thus impacting the users and the community at large positively.”

Elrabaa has more than 20 years of professional experience on large-scale institutional and healthcare projects worldwide, including projects in Canada, the United States, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, The Philippines, and the Middle East. He has led multidisciplinary teams from project inception through all design phases to contract administration and completion.

Prior to joining HDR, Elrabaa served as director of healthcare for Perkins & Will in Dubai and as a project principal in Seattle, Washington. He was also a partner and healthcare principal at B+H Architects in Toronto and in Singapore.

Elrabaa often participates in industry panel discussions and is a frequent presenter at conferences including the Healthcare Design Conference, Singapore Architectural Expo, Healthcare Facilities Asia and various others.