SmithGroupJJR Promotes Polhamus, Chung at San Francisco Office

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — SmithGroupJJR has promoted Joyce Polhamus to office director and Heather Chung to Health Studio leader at the firm’s San Francisco, California office.

Joyce Polhamus, FAIA, EDAC, LEED AP BD+C, is a 19-year veteran of the firm who most recently served as the office’s Health Studio leader. In her new role as

SmithGroupJJR’s Joyce Polhamus (left) and Heather Chung.

director of the 200-person office, she will focus on further diversification, development and retention of staff, while continuing to reinforce SmithGroupJJR’s reputation for design excellence. Polhamus succeeds Bill Diefenbach, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, who transitions back to practice in the office’s Workplace and Science & Technology Studios.

Polhamus is a specialist in design for the aging, having led the office’s Health Interiors and Senior Living Studio for more than a decade, serving clients in the U.S. and abroad. She is a strong proponent for utilizing alternative delivery methods, including Integrated Project Delivery. In May 2015, Polhamus was inducted into the American Institute of Architects’ College of Fellows. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture.

Promoted to assume Polhamus’ former role of Health Studio leader is Heather Chung, Assoc. AIA, EDAC, LEED AP BD+C. Chung had led the office’s Health Planning Studio since 2012. Now overseeing the 90-person Health Studio – combining healthcare architecture and planning professionals – Chung will direct the planning and design process for a wide-range of hospitals, outpatient clinics, wellness centers, senior living and other post-acute care facilities.

Chung has specialized in strategic planning and healthcare design for nearly 20 years. She is a LEED-certified planner and received Evidence-Based Design accreditation and certification from The Center for Health Design. Her passion is using design and design thinking to create the most intelligent and appropriate responses to the healthcare industry’s needs and aspirations. As a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Chung earned a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. She also possesses a Master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in strategy and entrepreneurism from the University of California, Los Angeles. She joined SmithGroupJJR in 2005.