Twenty-year architectural veteran Stan Chiu, AIA, LEED AP, an industry leader in lean design and integrated project delivery (IPD), joined HOK’s Los Angeles office on Sept. 4 as a new senior vice president and management principal.

After earning his B.A. from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., and a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in 1992, Stan was awarded a fellowship to study in Japan, with a focus on comparing traditional and contemporary creative processes. He worked for a black-cape architecture firm in Tokyo and also as a carpenter on an island off Kobe, Japan.

“I have always been interested in the creative process,” said Stan. “Especially how a …

Meet Alfredo Landaeta, the brilliant urban design director for the HOK Planning Group in Toronto. Alfredo, who is originally from Caracas, Venezuela, holds a Master in Urban Design from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Alfredo has this to say about doing business in Latin America: “It is very personal relationship-oriented. You need to know the person you are going to be dealing with. It is very hard to do business by sending a proposal, trying to get someone to sign it and send you a check based on how nice your website is or how many articles you have published — that is is a no-go. You have to take the effort of shaking hands and getting a personal …

Just came across the Green Building Resource site at Harvard University. This struck me as one of the most comprehensive sites I’ve seen from any university regarding green building practices. I like it because it provides a great model for any organization to consider when establishing green building guidelines, higher ed or otherwise. Harvard has put an immense amount of work into creating a transparent display of their ongoing greening of the campus.

Considering buildings alone, they have 13 LEED Certified and 38 pending certification. These help support their Office for Sustainability in its efforts to “engage the entire Harvard University Community in achieving all of its sustainability goals.” You can see absolutely …