Architecture, engineering and planning firm, SmithGroupJJR, hired Michelle Acosta, AIA, EDAC, as project manager at the firm’s Health Studio in Phoenix.
Acosta returns to Phoenix after three years at HDR, Los Angeles, where she was a project architect/manager working on a variety of healthcare facility types in tandem with leading medical planning efforts and user group workshops.
“Michelle Acosta is recognized for her talent in healthcare facility design and project management,” said Craig Passey, AIA, ACHA, Health Studio leader at SmithGroupJJR’s Phoenix office. “Among her strengths is her skill in interacting with different user types and drawing from the conversations a deep understanding of their needs in healthcare environments.”
Acosta has worked with clients such as Banner Health and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. Among her most significant projects are the $457 million, 682,000-square-foot Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, the largest outpatient ambulatory care center the Department of Defense has ever built; and the $254 million Intermountain Healthcare Utah Valley Hospital replacement project, Provo, Utah.
Acosta is a registered architect in Arizona and California. An active member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), she is serving as the 2016 president of the AIA Pasadena + Foothill Chapter.
Acosta also sits on the AIA California Council Board of Directors and is a member of its Healthcare Facilities Forum and Procedures & Documents committees. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Design, Architectural Studies.
The SmithGroupJJR Health Practice provides clients with comprehensive healthcare design services from strategic planning to operational programming, integrated building design delivery and post-occupancy analysis. It emphasizes informed design solutions that support better patient outcomes. Operating from studios located in seven SmithGroupJJR offices, SmithGroupJJR is working with many of the nation’s top healthcare providers, including Kaiser Permanente, Banner Health, Sutter Health, Advocate Health Care, Trinity Health, Emory University Hospital, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
