Kirsten Waltz, M.Arch., F.A.C.H.A.

Vice President, Architecture and Planning, Johns Hopkins Health System, Baltimore, Md.

Kirsten Waltz, MArch, FAIA, FACHA, joined Johns Hopkins Health System in 2022 as senior director of architecture and planning. She was appointed vice president of architecture and planning in October 2023, overseeing master planning, programming, and architectural design for Johns Hopkins Health System and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Kirsten has more than 25 years of architectural experience, including managing designs and leading projects. She served as director of facilities planning and design at Baystate Health, the largest health care organization in western Massachusetts, and managed the London office at Steffian Bradley Architects.

Waltz earned a master’s degree in architecture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She is actively involved with FGI and the Center for Health Design. She is a past president of the American Institute of Architects Academy of Architecture for Health, where she has direct insight into the latest health care design research across the country.

In addition, Waltz served as chair of the 2026 FGI Code for Planning and Design of Hospitals and a co-chair for the 2022 and 2018 Guidelines for Design and Construction of Outpatient Facilities.  Kirsten holds Evidence-Based Design Accreditation and Certification, and she is especially interested in using credible research to inform the design process to achieve the best operational and functional outcomes for each project.