15 October 2009 | Posted inFeatured
Celebrating One Year of Life at HOK
The world needed another blog like it needed another hole in the ozone layer. But, a year ago today, we went ahead and did it.
Here are some of the most popular posts from Life at HOK’s first 365 days, as selected by a top-secret panel of judges sequestered for weeks in a beachside bamboo cottage in Tahiti, with a little help from Google Analytics.
On This Episode of MTV Cribs Toronto
By Justin Zawyrucha
MTV@HOK
The Size of the Stimulus
By Jodi Williams
Viral
The Oscars, Slumdog Millionaire, Dharavi and HOK
By Steve Ma
Thought-provoking
Lighting Up Your Business Cards
By Jeremy Smith
Cool
From Architect to Artist: Andrew Reach Comes ‘Full Circle’ at Frost Museum
By Mike Plotnick
Inspiring
Architecture Meets Astrophysics
By Blake Gallagher
Spacey
Jason Hamlin Needs a Kidney
Poignant
The Perception of an Architect
By Justin Zawyrucha
Debunking
Another Office Productivity Blog Post
By Michelle Pinkston
DoNotDisturb
Empire State of Mind
By Kimberly Dowdell
New York!
William Wins Autodesk Live DesignSlam
By Emma Wharton
Revity
Eric Lewis – TEDx Atlanta
By John Cantrell
Profound
5 Questions – Derek Prior
By Michelle Pinkston
Derek!
Real Estate Industry Tries to Avoid the Scarlet Letter
By Anica Landreneau
Rant-astic
The Green Workplace Book Launches
By Leigh Stringer
Exciting
Bike to Work Month: Photo Essay
By Jodi Williams
Picturesque
Reflections on Today – Considering That I Am Still at Work
By Daimian Hines
Obama
The Green Dream
By Janet Jones
Gingerbread
Goodbye New York – Hello San Francisco!
By Elsye Alam
Exchange
Inspired by GreenBuild (And So Much More)
By Niall Cytryn
Optimistic
Biomimicry Workshop at Biosphere 2
By Yiselle Santos
Nature
And there were so many more. Thanks to all Life at HOK bloggers and readers for creating such a memorable first year.
A special shout out goes to blogger Justin Zawyrucha, who recently left HOK’s Toronto studio to continue his studies in England. Clients and peers know that Justin is a super-talented young designer, and he proved here on Life at HOK that he’s also an amazing writer and blogger. He seemed to intuitively understand more about where we were heading with Life at HOK than we did, and it wouldn’t be where it is (wherever that is) today without him. Thanks, JZ, for pouring your brown water-fueled Canadian heart into this thing. We’re keeping the (energy efficient) lights on for you, so come back soon.
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Happy Birthday! Well done bloggers, you brighten my computer screen just about every weekday morning.
I am so very proud of all who were a part of this VERY BIG EVENT in HOK’s history. Thanks for catapulting us into a new era for social media at HOK. You all are having such an enormous impact in the blog world and right here at your HOK home. Thank you.
Nikki
Congratulations!
It was great to be a part of Life at HOK…at least for a while!
Sometime ago … a long time ago, maybe even a year ago. The voices in our heads summoned us all to this magical place called St. Louis, Missouri.
Being as nervous as all of us were. Somebody, quite possibly a manager told us to go sit in a small, an airtight room. With no light, coffee, or connection to the outside world for 16 and a half hours. Where we got brainwashed.
Those managers smiled, and told us how great it was going to be. They cracked a joke, albeit probably not very funny anymore. As they told us how we we’re going to do this, blogging about our lives. I think it was Jodi that said they we’re nuts. I reluctantly just shook my head yes, and hoped for a free cookie.
But there were these 4 (possibly 6) people who stood at the side of the room. With this look of “I hope they buy into this, or it’s going to be a long winter.”
But the managers left the room, leaving us with the people standing at the sides. There was an awkward moment of silence, because I’m sure it was the thought of “now what.” And these 4 (possibly 6) people told us to do our best, and keep the content PG13. For some reason I actually believed them.
So now as a year has passed. I don’t think this celebration is about the top content. I think it’s about the hard work and dedication that John G, Mike P, Rachel P, Jeanette (and Jaki, and Nikki) have put into this website, and the daily communication they keep. I for one wouldn’t have written so much, or posted the content I was posting if it wasn’t for the St. Louis Team.
(I also find it very strange that John Gilmore hasn’t put any of his blog posts as one of the Top ones. I think more then anyone, his content has described Life at HOK in it’s fullest.)
Congratulations!