Charlotte Alumnus Damian Huneycutt Elevates The Human Experience
When you consider what is driving the future of health care, the first thought might not be architecture — but Damian Huneycutt ’01 ’02 AIA ACHA is proving how critical design can be to patient outcomes. As Charlotte’s health care sector continues to expand, UNC Charlotte alumni like Huneycutt are playing a pivotal role in shaping the city’s future. A principal at DLR Group, Huneycutt uses a patient-first approach to create environments that support healing, optimize care delivery and enhance human experience.
“Our guiding principle is to elevate the human experience through design,” said Huneycutt, an award-winning architect. “I’ve never been one to design buildings for myself, but I’ve always been the architect to design the space for those who use it.”
A forward-thinking perspective
Huneycutt’s largest project to date was leading the design team, which included architecture, interior and engineering members, for Atrium Health Pineville’s Phase III bed tower. The $120 million-plus build came with a unique requirement by the owner who embraced innovation — 25% of the project had to utilize prefabrication.
“I consider myself an engineer in an architect’s body, so I love how things fit together. I’ve been a huge proponent of prefabrication and modularity, which are two separate concepts,” said Huneycutt. “Whereas modularity is having system components that can be separated and recombined, prefabrication essentially means portions of the build are constructed offsite in a controlled environment then shipped to the construction site where they are installed, piece by piece, much like a large Lego set.”
Huneycutt and his team of designers, engineers and contractors worked with subcontractors in Arizona, Georgia and New Jersey, which required a high level of coordination and collaboration.
“We had never tackled a project of this scale, but we were excited to partner with Jeff Schroder, Atrium’s assistant vice president of planning, design and construction, and his team to bring it to life. We had a budget of $130 million, and as a team, we were able to save the project $10 million. We used new ideas that resulted in 36% of the build accomplished through prefabrication, which saved construction costs and time. Our collective efforts allowed Atrium to take occupancy of the facility 90 days sooner than anticipated,” he explained.
The innovative efforts on this design resulted in Huneycutt winning Healthcare Design Magazine’s Team MVP award.In accepting the honor, Huneycutt stressed the importance of surrounding oneself with “the right team. They are going to pull the rope in the same direction you are.”