SmithGroupJJR VP, Healthcare Design Leader Elevated to AIA College of Fellows

Sam D’Amico, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, was recently elevated to the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows. D’Amico is a SmithGroupJJR vice president and design leader for the firm’s Health Practice. Based at its San Francisco, California office, he is now commencing his 35th year practicing architecture throughout the U.S. as well as parts of Asia.

D’Amico approaches every project with a specific architectural response that integrates the client’s culture, context and place. His design tenets include the integration of daylight, nature and art into the healthcare environment to improve the healing process. D’Amico has designed for world-class teaching institutions and national leaders in healthcare such as the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente and Barnes Jewish Hospital.

D’Amico is design principal for a new medical office building and bed tower, part of a multi-year expansion program for Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, California. His design of the new Robley Rex Veteran Administration Medical Center, a 1.2-million-square-foot replacement hospital to be constructed in Louisville, Kentucky, led to an AIA Academy of Architecture National Health Design Award in the Unbuilt Category. Another D’Amico design, for the Fuwai Huazhong Cardiovascular and Heart Hospital, Zhenghou, Henan Province, China, was the recipient of an AIA San Francisco Citation Award for Unbuilt design.

At SmithGroupJJR, D’Amico is a member of the firm’s National Design Committee. In 2016, he served as a featured panelist at firm’s public forum on design, Perspectives, for a program titled, “The Fusion of Art and Architecture.”