We’re going to find out….. I am immensely honored to be selected by the AIA President as a member of the newly formed Sustainability and Health Advisory Committee. The committee consists of some amazing talent from around the sustainable industry. These individuals have all been my mentors and inspiration for the past 8 years and I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with them on the future of sustainable education and training at the AIA. Although sustainability is becoming more and more of a mainstream design process, as an industry, we are not achieving our goals and we have A LOT of work to do. I know that …
When he was six years old, Todd Bertsch, AIA, moved with his family to Atlanta from Pocatello, Idaho. Through what he calls “serendipity,” Todd never left. He earned his architecture degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and has spent his entire professional career in Atlanta. In 2008, he joined HOK as design director in our Atlanta office.
Todd and his wife, also an architect, live with their 11-year-old daughter in a house they designed together near Piedmont Park in Atlanta’s vibrant Virginia Highland neighborhood.
“I have seen Atlanta undergo a tremendous transformation over the past 30 years,” says Todd. “It is still young compared to Paris or …
It has been nearly one thousand days since Earth Day 2010. I’m proud to be part of a firm that celebrates this day as passionately as we do. It means something. Our belief in and commitment to sustainability is unparalleled amongst our competition. Every year we campaign and rally around our messages as if an election was at stake. We’ve turned the lights out. We’ve recharged. We go above and beyond to prove to the world that we care about the world. I like this.
One thousand days ago, it was this passion and commitment that drove me to stop driving. On Earth Day 2010, I sold my car. For many of …
Like a proud father, Kenneth Drucker, FAIA, notes that two of his New York team’s projects that began more than half a decade ago have opened in recent months: Harlem Hospital’s new Mural Pavilion and a replacement hospital for the University Medical Center at Princeton.
While keeping an eye on all of the projects coming out of HOK’s New York studio, Ken is also designing a headquarters for Korean energy company Samchully in Seoul and the Singapore Chancery infill building in Manhattan. He recently began design of a new ambulatory care center for New York-Presbyterian Hospital on a prominent Upper East Side site. Finally, he just returned …
In this guest post, HOK Director of Sustainable Design Mary Ann Lazarus responds to a recent USA Today report by providing her take on the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating Systems.
USA Today just published a pair of articles about green building that are critical of the USGBC and the LEED rating system.
As early adopters of LEED, we are big supporters of this rating system. Since the late 1990s, we have watched it trigger a remarkable transformation toward designing and building more environmentally responsible buildings. This includes contributing to a broad public awareness about the importance of sustainable design.
LEED has sparked the development of completely new …
Greenbuild 2012, the world’s largest green building conference, is coming to San Francisco Nov. 14-16.
This year’s social media focus brings together technology and sustainability to advance the green movement. You can follow HOK’s activities on Twitter at @HOKNetwork. Be sure to also check out Greenbuild’s official Twitter feed – @Greenbuild – and conversation at #Greenbuild.
HOK’s sustainable design experts will be busy at Greenbuild, speaking at the conference and other related events. Read more below and visit the Greenbuild website to learn more about the conference and expo.
Greenbuild is finally making its way to San Francisco this November – and those of us in the Bay Area are pretty excited. The conference theme is aptly “@ Greenbuild,” referencing the astounding array of Internet, social media and technology companies headquartered here in the Bay Area. We also have our host of gaming companies, many of whom tap into social networks; gamejobhunter lists over 120 companies nearby, from tiny start-ups to titans like EA and Zynga.
“HOK is a firm often cited for making a difference. … HOK is recognized for breaking new ground with clear, practical and inspirational leadership. HOK staff is admired for its compelling case studies, engaging thought leadership, and insights that lead to making wise decisions to benefit the planet’s future condition.” James Cramer Co-Chair, Design Futures Council Founding Editor, DesignIntelligence
We owe much of our leadership status to our clients. It is our clients who bring their vision …
Why should we be concerned about sustainable design? Steven Danielpour, the director of specifications for our New York office, discusses what vehicles are available for implementing sustainable design and how to implement sustainable design in specifications documents. The presentation is from the 2012 ArchiSpec Summit in Henderson, Nevada. Enjoy:
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American produces about 4.4 lbs. of garbage every day. That’s 29 lbs. per week or 1,600 lbs. per year. This amount of trash could cover the state of Texas two and half times and also fills enough trucks to form a line to the moon.
So this Earth Day (Sunday April 22),….and every day:
1. REDUCE: Think if you need it, or just want it…and if it comes without all the packaging or if you can get the equivalent USED or refurbished, which also saves $$$$!
2. REUSE: You know the saying, “One person’s trash is another’s treasure.” Donate things you no …
San Francisco has long been one of the world’s great tourist attractions, and this year it will have a great new set of offerings: 20+ tours developed for the Greenbuild Conference and Expo, plus many more that the USGBC Northern California Chapter will be able to offer in the future. The Greenbuild Host Committee recently put out a call for tour proposals – the outpouring of responses showed the embarrassment of riches that San Francisco has to offer for green building …
Thanks to HOK Director of Sustainable Design Mary Ann Lazarus, co-chair of the AIA IgCC Task Force, for this guest post.
Did you all feel the earth shake last Wednesday, March 28? Why? Because that’s when the International Code Council issued the new International Green Construction Code (IgGC). So what? Code language usually isn’t that exciting, and typically sets the low bar for design. Well the IgCC is different in so many ways.
The IgCC is the result of many years labor by the ICC, AIA, USGBC, IESNA and others to define a new baseline of sustainability that will apply to all commercial construction. It incorporates as an option …
Excitement for Super Bowl XLVI is building, and the Indianapolis Airport Authority and Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee’s preparations are already paying off. The Authority is prepared to accommodate an additional air-traffic load of 40,000 people at Indianapolis International Airport this week, with 75 additional commercial flights and 60 additional charter flights. Among the visitors are thousands of sports media members who are descending on Indianapolis to cover the world’s biggest annual sporting event.
The New Year always causes one to reflect on the recent past, but especially so today, the two-year anniversary of the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. I have been fortunate to work with a dedicated group of volunteers at HOK to design a children’s center and orphanage in Port-au-Prince. Earlier this week, we presented our latest design to the client, Fondation Enfant Jesus, as well as to the U.S. Green Building Council. The results were very positive.
Our collective goal to create a nurturing and restorative place is taking shape. In many ways, though, this project is more difficult than the large, …
As we look forward to 2012, we recently came across a video from Greenbuild 2011 in Toronto focused on what’s next for sustainable design. In this Greenbuild interview, HOK Chairman Bill Valentine talks about partnering with the USGBC for Project Haiti, designing affordable net zero carbon buildings and bringing new life to existing buildings.
2011 has been a great year for HOK’s competitive spirit – what with amajor competition win in the Metropolis Net Zero competition followed by our latest award:
HOK’s Entry Board for the Architecture at Zero Competition (Click to enlarge)
The project brief was to create a mixed-use building or set of buildings that includes housing, retail space and a new library branch on an industrial urban infill site in Emeryville, California. More importantly, the crux of the competition was the mandate that the …
The future of composting food and other biodegradable “waste” in large multi-tenant office buildings is unfolding in a pilot program orchestrated by HOK in its St. Louis headquarters at the One Metropolitan Square (Met Square) downtown.
HOK’s Terri Muckensturm and Mary Ostafi separate and discard food leftovers
A team in HOK’s St. Louis office is managing an $18,000 grant engaging eight Met Square tenants in the pilot program that began on October 26, 2011. Through December 12, 2011, the tenants have recycled 11.33 tons of food waste for composting, averaging more than 1.5 tons of food each week. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans discard more than 96 billion pounds of …
Sarah and a young boy at Fondation Enfant Jesus in Port au Prince (photo was taken by one of the children who discovered a new love for playing with Sarah’s camera)
When HOK was asked to partner with the USGBC on Project Haiti, a children’s center in Port au Prince, we decided immediately that the most appropriate approach to the project would require an integrated, multi-disciplinary team. So we assembled …
HOK is designing Porsche Cars North America’s new headquarters in Atlanta. The project includes a contemporary workplace for up to 400 people, a Technical Service and Training Center, and a Customer and Driver Experience Center with an integrated road handling track. The team is targeting a Silver or higher LEED rating.
“Our design goal was to capture the essence of the Porsche brand and performance,” said Todd Bertsch, director of design at HOK in Atlanta. “We have designed a movement-filled building with the same high-energy feel and performance as Porsche automobiles.”
“Our vision for our new U.S. corporate home is to create a bold and energizing environment where the physical elements are as memorable …
We just hosted a great group of Penn State design students who participate in a group called SEED. One of the participants reached out to me afterwards to ask for job advice and how to stand out in a crowd. I get asked this sort of thing a lot so I figured I would share here too. Please add any words of advice I forgot!
Highlight real job experience if you’ve got it. Student projects are nice but real experience will set you apart.
Take the LEED GA exam if you have the time to prepare and the money to pay for the exam. Everyone says they are into sustainability, but the credential
The world of sustainable design has truly gone global. I spent part of last week teaching at the University of the Donau in their International Master’s Program for Sustainable Building Design. The program is taught in English and attracts people from all over the world. Students spend a week in Austria, then return home for 3-4 weeks and then return for another intense week. There were no two people from the same country in the program this week. The class included architects and engineers from Russia, Denmark, Germany, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Spain among other locations. The diversity of homelands of the class brought a wonderful diversity …
Alright, alright, this was not a full scale blockbuster style alien invasion. Even better, it was the USGBC’s Greenbuild Conference 2011. And those little green people? They were 25,000 representatives of the sustainable community from around the world, including over two dozen of our own HOKers. Now, you might be asking yourselves, “But Brett, how can the UNITED STATES Green Building Council hold its national annual conference outside the US?” Well, it’s simple, the USGBC has embraced the notion that the sustainable revolution is not just here in the US, but a global movement. This international event, from October 3-7, was a showcase of avant-guard industry thinking, innovative new sustainable products …
HOK is the USGBC’s official design partner for Project Haiti, a pro bono effort to build a LEED-certified orphanage and children’s center in Port au Prince. Sustainable Design Director Mary Ann Lazarus and a team from HOK recently returned from Toronto, where they shared the Project Haiti story at Greenbuild 2011. Read on for Mary Ann’s guest post and an amazing video from the USGBC:
“Imagine it: 15,000 people in the Air Canada Hockey arena, lights flashing, music playing, Jumbotrons running. Cue USGBC CEO Rick Fedrizzi for the introduction of the new Project Haiti video. The video features the recent site visit by the USGBC and HOK team members and meeting with the terrific clients, Gina and Lucien Duncan from the children’s center.
At the opening charrette for Project Haiti, we asked a few of the designers about the challenges they anticipated for this unique project. Their responses covered everything from technology to materials to cultural considerations. See more:
Also, on the subject of Project Haiti, USGBC President and CEO Rick Fedrizzi recently penned a Huffington Post guest article on the project. Check it out to read Rick’s perspective on how efforts like Project Haiti are simply a matter of making a commitment and sticking to it.
HOK is the USGBC’s official design partner for Project Haiti, a pro bono effort to build a LEED-certified orphanage and children’s center in Port au Prince. The original structure was severely damaged in the January 2010 earthquake that caused mass destruction throughout the country. (Read the first post in this series here.)
When you’re used to seeing colleagues in work attire, it’s strange to see them on a weekend. But there we were – a conference room full of people in shorts and jeans, spending a summer Saturday volunteering for an extraordinary project: rebuilding an orphanage and children’s center in Haiti.
The design process began on June 25, when 14 HOK designers and one USGBC representative met in St. Louis, …
The 41-story Great American Tower at Queen City Square has been awarded LEED Gold certification. Gyo Obata led the design team in HOK’s St. Louis office.
“Great American Tower at Queen City Square is the greenest office building in downtown Cincinnati, in addition to being the tallest and largest,” said Mario San Marco, president of Eagle Realty Group.
HOK is USGBC’s official design partner for Project Haiti
Children at Fondation Enfant Jesus (image from HOK site visit, August 2011)
In January 2010, a devastating earthquake shattered the island country of Haiti. One of the countless destroyed buildings was that of Fondation Enfant Jesus, a non-profit, non-denominational orphanage and children’s center that cares for more than 250 children per year. A few months ago, theU.S. Green Building Council invited HOK to join a partnership to design a replacement facility on the same site. The project is now a Clinton Global Initiative commitment, an honor that will help provide support for …
Greenbuild 2011, the world’s largest green building conference, is less than a month away: October 4-7 in Toronto. Since Greenbuild began in 2002, attendance has grown from 4,000 to the nearly 30,000 people expected to assemble in Toronto in 2011. This year’s theme explores “What’s NEXT?” for green buildings and the growing green economy. Watch a preview here.
There’s lots of HOK activity at Greenbuild to tell you about – and even a big surprise that we can’t mention quite yet. But stay tuned! Sept. 21 update: We can now reveal that HOK is the USGBC’s design partner for Project Haiti, which is helping to rebuild an orphanage in Port …
During Colin + my time in Johannesburg, in addition to sharing KAUST, FIT, + Net Zero, we were able to learn a good deal about the state of the green building industry in Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically South Africa. We thought it only fitting to share some of the trends with you, our Life @ HOK community. Alive 2 Green hosts the conference, and their co-owners, Lloyd Macfarlane + Gordon Brown, were kind enough to participate in the following Q + A on Alive2Green, sustainability in the region, and what they believe is next.
I know that …
