Steven Warlick, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, recently joined the ranks at HFA as a Vice President. He will be calling on his background knowledge of the healthcare industry to establish and cultivate a design team focused on reimagining industry norms in the healthcare sector.
With more than 24 years of industry experience, the Bentonville-based architect aims to grow and diversify HFA's healthcare portfolio, with a focus on reimagining industry norms. He joins Don Ness (AIA, NCARB), who has served for the past year as HFA's Healthcare Project Director / Senior Architect.
An alumnus of Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, Warlick spent nearly 20 years at Bates Architects, where he served as president before selling the company in 2019. He says design firms need to bridge the gap between design intent and fabrication while streamlining workflows and data in construction and from construction into lifecycle.
"Much like other sectors, healthcare design requires an understanding of our client partners' end game with data being used for real-time analytics that can assist in understanding project costs," Warlick explained. "This can be integrated with ERP ascertaining issues to improve overall efficiency and margin."
The executive continued: "We reside in the most fascinating profession of creating life experiences for all people through the built environment, and we are doing so during a moment in time when our entire industry is ripe for epic disruption."
With a strategic outlook on the future of healthcare design and a passion for empowering his teammates, Warlick is well-positioned to grow and diversify HFA's client and project portfolio in the sector, said Ryan Ray (P.E.), HFA's Chief Operating Officer.
"We're excited to bring in someone with not only Steven's leadership background but also who aligns with HFA's empowered company culture," Ray said. "Steven is dedicated to challenging and changing the AEC industry. He brings a fresh perspective that we believe will benefit our clients and design teams well into the future."
Warlick says he's excited to build a team from the ground up, infusing his leadership strategies with the foundational vision of HFA, which includes leading client partners through design thinking and project delivery excellence.
"HFA's leadership team stands behind that vision each and every day, which allows me to fit into something much bigger than myself," the architect concluded. "I envision my impact to simply be an accelerator of something special at HFA that's already in place."
