One of the comments we hear a lot is, “HOK’s such a big firm.  Don’t you feel lost there?” 

Coming from a very small firm (I was one of eight there; here I am one of 2,400 or so), I ’ll admit I was a little intimidated…but I’ve found the size issue is a misconception; HOK truly does provide great opportunities for collaboration that you wouldn’t find in a small firm.  In addition to having outstanding resources to help with project work (like the Denver project that used staff from San Francisco, St. Louis, and Washington, DC or the KAUST project that involved up to 400 HOK’ers at one point in time), it also gives us great opportunities for more personal endeavors.

Recently I’ve joined the ranks of the HOK bicycle commuter contingent (well, part time).  I was first recruited by Todd Buchanan in the Seattle office – someone I’ve never met, but apparently he read some of my posts on the Life@HOK blog.  I then passed the information on to Tim O’Connell and Vincent Ng in the DC office.  Tim guilted me into riding, so I promptly started harassing everyone I know that rides bikes for some advice (Blake Gallagher in Seattle, Antonia Cardone in San Francisco, Jim Rice in Atlanta, John Gilmore in St. Louis, Chris Ryan and Pamela Sams in Washington, DC to name just a few).

Could you get that kind of cross-country input on biking from a small firm?  Doubtful!