Celebrated Architect Michael Graves to Keynote HEALTHCARE DESIGN.09 Conference

Renowned architect and product designer to open industry's best-attended and
most respected conference on evidence-based design for healthcare in Orlando,
Florida, October 31 - November 3, 2009.

NEW YORK, April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Vendome Group, publishers of HEALTHCARE
DESIGN magazine, and The Center for Health Design (CHD), a nonprofit research,
education, and advocacy organization, today announced that architect Michael
Graves will be the opening keynote speaker at the HEALTHCARE DESIGN.09
conference.
HEALTHCARE DESIGN provides educational opportunities and forums for those who
design, build, and renovate healthcare facilities. It is the largest and most
comprehensive educational conference of its kind, and was attended by more
than 3,500 people in 2008.

Mr. Graves, FAIA, who has been in the forefront of architecture and design
since he founded his practice in 1964, has been credited with broadening the
role of the architect in society and raising public interest in good design as
essential to the quality of everyday life, most commonly recognized through
his designs for domestic products that are sold at Target stores throughout
the United States. A native of Indianapolis, he received his architectural
training at the University of Cincinnati and Harvard University. In 1960, he
won the Rome Prize and studied at the American Academy in Rome, of which he is
now a Trustee. In 1962, Graves began a nearly 40-year teaching career at
Princeton University, where he is now the Robert Schirmer Professor of
Architecture, Emeritus. He has received 12 honorary doctorates and is a member
of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as a Fellow of the
American Institute of Architects. His practice has evolved into two firms:
Michael Graves & Associates, which provides architecture, master planning, and
interior design services, and has designed over 350 buildings worldwide, and
Michael Graves Design Group, which specializes in product and graphic design,
as well as branding services.

In 2003, a sudden illness left him paralyzed from the waist down. Now confined
to a wheelchair, Graves' designs continue to combine simple utility,
functional innovation, and formal beauty with his now deeper understanding of
the importance of accessibility and patient-centered design in the healthcare
sector. Five years after the illness that changed him forever, Graves and his
team are hard at work on many healthcare design projects, including a line of
home healthcare products that fuse one-dimensional medical utility with style,
multifunctional elegance, and beauty.

"We are delighted and honored to have someone of Michael Graves' stature to
keynote this event," says Debra Levin, President and CEO of The Center.
"Michael's stated design philosophy -- that healthcare settings need to serve
those who work and receive care in them -- is very much in alignment with The
Center's mission to transform healthcare environments through design research.
We look forward to what we know will be an engaging, dynamic, not-to-be-missed
keynote presentation that will set the tone for the rest of the event."

"Michael Graves' participation in this year's HEALTHCARE DESIGN Conference
shows the importance that we, as well as our partners at CHD, AIA AAH, and
ASID place on this event, and our commitment to ensuring that we continually
search for those people that are not only promoting, but improving, the
healing environment," says Eric Woods, Vice-President and Managing Director of
Vendome Group. "Michael brings a wealth of knowledge and insight, setting the
stage for what will be not only the best HEALTHCARE DESIGN Conference to date,
but the most significant design conference this year."

In addition to HEALTHCARE DESIGN, Vendome Group and The Center produce
Environments for Aging, a conference designed to educate architects,
designers, builders, owners, and government agencies on the planning and
design of next-generation, elder-friendly environments, and X3 Summit, a
unique event that focuses on the fusion of technology, clinical care, and
facility design, and explores how to financially maximize their interaction.

Those interested in learning more about HEALTHCARE DESIGN.09, and how they can
be a part of this illustrious event can visit the HEALTHCARE DESIGN Web site
at www.hcd09.com.

About Vendome Group, LLC
Founded in July 2004, Vendome Group is led by seasoned publishing executives
with the passion and drive to achieve Vendome's mission of serving as one of
the most trusted sources of information for business executives and
professionals in the healthcare, real estate, chemical, and construction
industries. Vendome provides critical information products designed to improve
the efficiency and productivity of its business and professional customers.
This information is disseminated in print and online products, including
magazines, conferences and seminars, newsletters, databases, webinars, and
research reports. Vendome Group is headquartered in New York City, with
offices in Cleveland, Dallas, and New Hampshire.
www.vendomegrp.com.

About The Center for Health Design
The Center for Health Design (CHD), formed in 1993, is a nonprofit research
and advocacy organization of forward-thinking healthcare, elder care, design,
and construction professionals and product manufacturers who are leading the
quest to improve the quality of healthcare facilities and create new
environments for healthy aging. Its voluntary board of directors guides the
work of paid staff that manages and directs the organization's research,
education, outreach, and advocacy efforts. For more information, visit
www.healthdesign.org.

About Michael Graves & Associates and Michael Graves Design GroupMichael
Graves and his design firms have received nearly 200 awards for design
excellence. In 2001, the American Institute of Architects awarded Michael
Graves its Gold Medal, the highest award bestowed upon an individual. He also
received the 1999 National Medal of Arts from President Bill Clinton and the
2001 Frank Annunzio Award from the Christopher Columbus Society, a prestigious
award sanctioned by the U.S. Congress in recognition of broad contributions to
society. In 2007, Michael Graves received the Courage Award from the National
Courage Center and the Health and Design Award from the Paralyzed Veterans of
America, both awards recognized his outstanding contributions on behalf of
people with disabilities, as well as his leadership and innovation in the
creation of quality medical devices, He received the inaugural Russel Wright
Award for product design and, in recognition of his distinguished teaching
career, the William Howard Taft Medal from the University of Cincinnati and
the Tau Sigma Delta Gold Medal.

Vendome Group Headquarters
149 5th Avenue, 10th floor
New York City, New York 10010
Tel: 1-800-519-3692, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday

The Center for Health Design Headquarters
1850 Gateway Boulevard, Suite 1083
Concord, CA 94520
Tel: 925-521-9404, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. PT, Monday through Friday

Michael Graves & Associates
Michael Graves Design Group
341 Nassau Street
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
Tel: 609-924-6409, 9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday

SOURCE Vendome Group

Natalie Zensius, Director of Marketing and Communications, The Center for
Health Design, +1-925-521-9404 or nzensius@healthdesign.org; or Abbegayle
Hunicke, Conference and Webinar Marketing Manager, Vendome Group,
+1-212-812-8429, ahunicke@vendomegrp.com; or Ben Saltzman, Marketing and
Communications Coordinator, Michael Graves & Associates, Michael Graves Design
Group, +1-609-924-6409, bsaltzman@michaelgraves.com