Fuessel Joins HKS Health Practice in Texas

HKS is expanding its health practice with the addition of Whitney Fuessel, vice president and health care architect. She will help lead the Houston-based health practice and continue to grow the firm’s client base in the south-central region.

For more than two decades, Fuessel has focused her efforts on planning and designing safe, efficient, life-changing facilities in the realm of health care design. Her portfolio includes more than 10 million square feet of health care environments throughout Texas and across the nation. In the south-central region, she has worked with Texas A&M, Central Health, Memorial Hermann Health System, The Methodist Hospital, Children’s Health, Cook County Health and Hospital System and The Texas Medical Center.

“I believe the tenets of health and wellness are at the center of health care as well as all other architectural building practice types,” Fuessel notes. “I engage the talents of hotel designers, urban planners, education architects and workplace experts to humanize the health care experience.”

Fuessel is currently providing her collaborative design experience on the CHI Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center McNair Campus Medical Office Building in Houston, Texas. She is also working with Citizens Medical Center on an emergency and critical care tower in Victoria, Texas.

“Whitney thoughtfully bridges planning, design and interior architecture,” said Jason Schroer, principal and office director, HKS Houston. “As a senior designer, she is always looking for the next opportunity to engage with clients and to drive their vision to a newly defined space. She partners with clients to understand the user’s journey, creating spaces that are easy to navigate and enhance the health experience through design.”

Noted for her health care design contributions, she was named Dallas Business Journal’s “Who’s Who in Healthcare” in 2015. A current Houston resident, she serves as the chair of the American Institute of Architecture of Health in Houston. She is bringing new ideas and innovations to the community by working with local clients and collegiate partners to create a new conversation about health.

HKS is one of the largest health architects in terms of volume both in the U.S. and internationally, according to Modern Healthcare and World Architecture. The firm’s celebrated health architecture experience includes over 4,000 unique projects representing 164,000 beds and 446 million square feet, garnering 255 design awards. The firm continues to play an instrumental role in many national health organizations such as The American College of Healthcare Executives, the Academy of Architecture for Health, the Society of Ambulatory Care Professionals, the American Society for Healthcare Engineering, the American Hospital Association, the American College of Healthcare Architects and the Health Facility Institute to elevate the practice of health architecture.