Outstanding alumnus, Haas elevated as 2013 AIA Fellow

Anthony Haas ’79, a senior principal at WHR Architects and 2007 Outstanding Alumnus of the Texas A&M College of Architecture, has been elevated to the American Institute of Architects’ College of Fellows , one of the highest honors the AIA bestows on its members.

The AIA elevates architects who have made a significant contribution to architecture and society and who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession. Election to fellowship not only recognizes the achievements of architects as individuals, but also their significant contribution to architecture and society on a national level.

Haas, who earned Bachelor of Environmental Design and Master of Architecture degrees at Texas A&M, will be inducted with other 2013 College of Fellows honorees this June at the national AIA convention in Denver.

As a senior medical planner and project designer at WHR, Haas has programmed and planned more than $1 billion in projects across the U.S. during his three decade career, attracting many leading healthcare institutions as new clients through his approach of researching and testing new concepts in efficiency, performance and staffing models.

He led his firm’s design of Methodist Hospital’s new 1.6 million square-foot outpatient center at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, lauded by Medical Construction and Design magazine as a distinctive tower, its structural tiara of spires creating an identifiable landmark that can be seen from all directions of the city.

“Operationally, the outpatient center breaks new ground on several fronts,” said Haas. “More than a consolidation, the new facility represents an evolution in personalized patient service and convenience with state-of-the-art technology and treatment.”

He helps young and aspiring architects by working daily with junior staff at WHR, and by leading seminars on healthcare architectural design at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s Executive Education Program and the Master of Healthcare Administration program at the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Haas is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Architects, a member of the AIA Leadership Committee’s Academy of Architecture for Health and is a past member of the Texas A&M College of Architecture’s Health Industry Advisory Council.