International design firm Cuningham Group Architecture announced that NTD Healthcare has joined the company in a strategic expansion, with Phoenix being one of its new locations.

A practice of NTD Architecture, NTD Healthcare joins Cuningham Group with three principals — Maha Abou-Haidar in Phoenix; and Wayne Hunter Phillip T. Soule III in San Diego.

These principals, along with the entire healthcare staff and their healthcare portfolio, expand Cuningham Group’s reach, adding Phoenix and San Diego to the firm’s locations, which already include Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Denver, Las Vegas, Biloxi, Seoul and Beijing.

This new team will practice healthcare architecture in collaboration with Cuningham Group’s healthcare principal and market group leader, Lee Brennan, based in Los Angeles. The move reinforces Cuningham Group’s reputation as a global thought leader designing healthy communities for a more beautiful and balanced world.

“This is a major expansion of Cuningham Group’s geographic markets with a team very much devoted to our focus on designing healthy communities through research, innovation and experienced-enhanced solutions,” Brennan said.

“This is also a fruitful opportunity to combine both firms’ healthcare experience with Cuningham Group’s expertise in multiple markets, including hospitality, retail, entertainment, workplace, corporate, housing, urban design and landscape architecture. These combinations allow us to meet new performance measures demanded by hospital systems based on their Press-Ganey scores, the recognized guide for healthcare providers to measure and improve the patient experience.”

Among Cuningham Group’s recent projects that represent healthcare innovation is the International Health Sciences Campus at Knowledge City in Guangzhou, China. Recent experience-enhanced design solutions include the master planning for the Kaiser Baldwin Hills Medical Office Building campus in Los Angeles.

“We are grateful that we were able to achieve a win-win scenario with Cuningham Group in regards to the acquisition of our healthcare group. We feel that our team will prove to be a tremendous asset to their practice and are excited for the opportunities that this will provide the healthcare staff,” said Jay Tittle, NTD president.

The three NTD principals joining Cuningham Group combine 82 years of healthcare work between them and count among their recently completed projects: Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale; Diamond Children’s Medical Center in Tucson; Methodist Hospital of Southern California, in Arcadia, Calif.; and the Douglas & Nancy Barnhart Cancer Center at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

“With the continuing explosive growth in healthcare, Cuningham Group is excited to expand our reach even further, and to continue to unite healthcare with our focus on research, design leadership, marketplace knowledge and geographic presence,” said Cuningham Group President Timothy Dufault.

“We are committed to serving our expanded client base with a dedication to service and innovation. It is so satisfying to be able to work with the equally committed team of professionals from NTD Healthcare who are joining us today.”