D. Kirk Hamilton

Kirk Hamilton is a Fellow of the Center for Health Systems & Design and Beale Professor of Health Facility Design at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, where his research area is the relationship of evidence-based design of health facilities and measurable organizational performance. He is also a Founding Principal Emeritus, WHR Architects, Houston and Dallas, TX. WHR is an internationally recognized firm that specializes in healthcare architecture.

A board certified healthcare architect with 30 years experience in hospital design, he was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows for his advocacy for excellence in architecture for health, innovations in design, for research, and his visions for the hospital of the future. His experience includes professional training in facilitation, graphic recording, conflict resolution and small group dynamics through the American Leadership Forum, a Master of Science in Organization Development at Pepperdine University, and a PhD in Nursing and Healthcare Innovation from Arizona State University.

Professor Hamilton is a founding Co-Editor of the Health Environments Research & Design Journal (HERD). He is a past president of the AIA's Academy of Architecture for Health, as well as past president and a founding regent of the American College of Healthcare Architects. He served on the board of the Center for Health Design for two decades. He was the 2003 chair of the Society for Critical Care Medicine's design committee, and serves on the faculty of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's collaboratives on improving flow in the acute care setting and transforming care at the bedside.