Designing impact: Huntsville Center’s Carol Athnos earns top USACE interior design honor

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Long before a Soldier\, student or federal employee steps into a new building\, Carol Athnos is thinking about how that space should function for its occupants.

She considers how people will move through it, where they will collaborate, whether furniture and equipment will fit, which products can be procured and how every design decision can support the customer’s mission.

That combination of creativity, technical expertise and customer focus recently earned Athnos, an interior designer with the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, recognition as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Interior Designer of the Year.

Athnos said learning that she had received the Corps’ top recognition in her profession was unexpected and an amazing feeling.

“It was pretty overwhelming,” she recalled. “I’m very proud to have received this honor. It is the epitome of recognition you can receive in the Corps of Engineers as an interior designer, so it feels really good to be recognized by peers, leadership and my community of practice.”

The award recognizes Athnos’ individual accomplishments, but it also highlights the depth of interior design expertise available through Huntsville Center. The Interior Design Branch at Huntsville Center supports customers across the United States and overseas, offering a full complement of interior design services in addition to supporting procurement efforts as the integrated technical component of the Centralized Furnishings Program and the Medical Division Professional Development Teams.

Huntsville Center’s interior designers assist customers with programming, space planning, conceptual development, interior finishes, furniture layouts, product research and specifications, procurement packages, technical evaluation of projects, and other specialized design skills more.

The result is a comprehensive design capability that brings together these technical skills to support mission requirements in a one-stop package.

“There is so much expertise in the group that we have,” Athnos said. “I want customers to understand what we are capable of.”

Every project is different. A customer may come to Huntsville Center through an established program, another federal agency, a USACE district without its own interior design capacity or simply through word of mouth.

But regardless of how the work arrives, interior designers must first understand what the customer is trying to accomplish.

Athnos Carol’s process begins by gathering requirements and studying the facility, its occupants and type of work performed as well as any spatial or functional challenges to address in developing a design. She documents what she learns, develops potential solutions and returns to the customer for feedback. For her, it’s all about communication.

“I’m very consultative,” the designer said, delving into her process. “I can make a decision, but I would rather have someone’s input and know they are willing to go down that path with me. It is an iterative process where dialogue is key to success.”

That collaboration helps create early customer buy-in and provides points of discussion to make sure the design is in alignment with the project goals and with the customer’s needs.

It also reflects one of Athnos’ core professional principles: Be Adaptable.

“Your first attempt may not be the answer,” she said. “You can’t get caught up in one solution. You must be able to pivot to find the solution that best meets the customer’s needs.”

That adaptability has allowed Athnos and Huntsville Center’s interior design professionals to support a broad range of organizations, facilities and missions.

Through the Center, Athnos has contributed to projects in the United States, Germany, Belgium and South Korea, along with smaller efforts supporting facilities in Japan and Korea. Her overseas work includes furniture, fixtures and equipment designs for Department of War Education Activity schools in Böblingen, Spangdahlem and Ramstein, Germany.

Designing for overseas facilities requires knowledge that goes beyond product knowledge. Interior Designers must understand differences in construction, measurements, culture, product availability, as well as host nation considerations such as power delivery and workforce regulation, Athnos explained.

“When you’re dealing in an overseas world, there’s a different perspective, not just culturally, but in how people utilize space,” Athnos explained.

Developing that knowledge takes time, she said, but it gives Huntsville Center a valuable ability to support customers wherever their missions take them.

“There’s not a bigger customer than the Service Member,” she said. “One of the things that makes me really proud to be here at the Army Corps is to be able to impact their quality of life throughout the world.”

Whether the project involves a collaborative workspace at Redstone Arsenal, a school in Germany, a facility in South Korea or a mission requirement that has never been attempted before, Huntsville Center’s interior designers are prepared to listen, adapt and deliver.

“We’ve tried new things, done the research and gained the expertise we need to execute good design,” Athnos said. “We are always open to venturing into something new.”

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.