Kurt Neubek is widely known for his expertise in programming, planning and managing complex healthcare projects. He frequently writes about these specialties and is often invited to give presentations at regional and national conferences as well as web-based seminars with audiences joining in around the globe. When asked about his successes, Kurt quotes an author who says, “Thorough preparation makes its own luck.”
Kurt’s drive for excellence was evident early on when he first earned distinction at the University of Illinois for graduating magna cum laude, and then again at Arizona State University where he received a Master of Architecture with highest honors. Thus, it’s no wonder he received the coveted designation of Fellow in the American Institute of Architects when he was only 42. That honor made him one of the youngest members of the College of Fellows, sometimes called the Architects’ Hall of Fame.
He has led projects and studies for numerous healthcare clients such as Baylor College of Medicine, the Chickasaw Nation, Dalian (China) Medical Center, HCA, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Children’s Hospital and dozens of others. Again, the range of project types is broad and includes clinics, freestanding emergency centers, greenfield hospital campuses, and senior living facilities.
While healthcare is often his primary focus, Kurt has programmed and planned tens of millions of square feet of space for a diverse array of building types across the U.S. and abroad. “I’ve had the honor of working on an incredible range of projects,” he says about pure strategic planning studies, workplace studies, strategic facility plans, campus master plans on multiple continents, corporate consolidations, wafer fabrication facilities, data centers, research labs, corporate headquarters, housing, and education spaces from K-12 and community colleges to universities and corporate training centers.
Kurt points out that collaboration is a fundamental basis for Page’s success across such a vast spectrum of project types. “One of the key benefits to our clients,” he says, “is the close collaboration of multiple disciplines working together toward a common goal with a clear understanding of each person’s role and with mutual respect for each other. A team of specialists working in this way can develop solutions and solve problems more effectively than any other combination of professionals.”
He carries this commitment to collaboration to the industry at large, serving as an instructor for both Construction Owner’s Association of America the Lean Construction Institute, representing the designers' perspective. Kurt also is a member of Healthcare Design magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board, sharing his perspective and industry knowledge to further the publication's mission.
His personal work ethic is – in his own words – “git-’er-done” through dedication and innovation. Those same traits, he says, are shared by his colleagues at Page. “Creativity runs through everything we do,” Kurt explains. “Commitment is about being trustworthy and true to our word. Once we commit to a client or a coworker that we will do something by a certain day, we do everything in our control to get it done—and we go out of our way to influence the things that are outside of our control. While this may be most visible in people working long hours and late nights, it is also apparent in subtler actions like identifying long lead items, communicating critical path decisions, and tracking down missing information.”
Over his long multidisciplinary career with Page, he’s worked with AT&T, Disneyland Paris, ExxonMobil, the FBI, Frito-Lay, Hewlett Packard, IBM, the IRS, Kodak, McDonnell Douglas, Microsoft, NASA, Texas Instruments, Tennessee Valley Authority, and Universidad de Monterrey, among scores of others.
Outside the office, Kurt is actively involved in his church, having served as a board member and longtime Chair of the Facilities Committee. He has also supported his sons’ interest in scouting through his roles as an active adult leader in both Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts for more than a decade. Kurt says he and his sons have learned together about giving back, helping the next generation, and making a positive difference in people’s lives.
