Roof & Façade Asia (December 2010) published a Q&A with HOK Asia-Pacific Managing Director Riccardo Mascia, AIA, LEED AP. Riccardo leads HOK’s offices in Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore.

“My contribution to HOK has been to use my skills as a designer and entrepreneur to transform parts of our business,” says Riccardo. “I see my job as designing HOK for the next 25 years and there is no place more influential for that project than Asia.”

The story begins with an overview of HOK and its major clients in Asia, who according to Riccardo include “China Construction Bank, Banglalore International Airport, Credit Suisse, Greenland, Government of Brunei, Parkway Novena and Shimao to name a few.”

The rest of the interview focuses on the challenges involved with doing sustainable, eco-friendly projects in the APAC region. In one answer, Riccardo responds to five common misconceptions clients have about incorporating sustainable design solutions into projects:

1. Everything that is sustainable cost too much: “Placing your building properly on the site has a huge impact on energy consumption and it doesn’t cost a thing.”

2. Any architect can do it: “It’s complicated and it requires design thinking in every aspect of the project.”

3. Any engineer can do it: “The connection between architect and engineer is extremely close and the engineer’s ability to think laterally is critical. Not everyone can do that.”

4. It adds time to the schedule: “No more than good design should.”

5. It’s optional: “A building designed today and built in three to five years must incorporate sustainable design or it will be obsolete the day it opens. There’s really no option.”

To read the whole Roof & Façade Asia story on Riccardo Mascia, open this PDF and go to page 14.

Here’s Riccardo talking more about sustainable design at HOK: