There is so much that can be said about the Idiotarod that it just won’t fit in this space. So, I’ve decided to give you the condensed version. Here, you’ll have, the who, what, when, where, and why of the St. Louis Idiotarod! [--Video (my team 27 secs in) --]
IDIOTAROD: Idiotarod pays homage to the Alaskan tradition of the Iditarod (going on right now) in which dogs pull a sled and musher across the Iditarod Trail. Idiotarod is similar, except replace the dogs with people and the sled with a shopping cart, put it in a downtown city, and add a heavy dose of weirdness. [This sounds exactly like my kind of …
Here’s my new minimalist start page. Somehow Life at HOK isn’t one of the choices, but you can pick from a list of popular sites and make your own at Fav4.org.
I thought with all of the recent Earthly activity, I’d give a small lecture on earthquakes via the blog. I’d like to make it clear that I am no seismologist. I simply went to the Unites States Geological Survey (USGS) to get some info to share with you! It’s a great resource of information!
Some Interesting Things To Look At…
This “animation” map shows where earthquakes are happening over a period of time, worldwide.
The USA Earthquake map shows earthquakes in (you guessed it) the US.
By going to the USGS site, you can find out about earthquake myths, like “earthquake weather” and “California falling into the ocean”.
You can even …
HOUSTON, TEXAS – The Green Workplace Booksigning Tour made its long awaited stop in the Lone Star State, after multiple stops in St. Louis, NY, WDC and Chicago. HOK along with Hines and Knoll sponsored the one night booksigning event which proved to be a lively yet intimate green evening. The event took place Wednesday, February 17, 2010, in the KNOLL showroom and in the lobby of the recently certified LEED Gold Williams Tower.
Leigh Stringer from Advance Strategies Washington DC, was the special guest to present findings and sign her book, The Green Workplace: Sustainable Strategies that Benefit Employees, the Environment and …
This is a little advertising that IBM does at the end of some of the sponsored TED talks, but it’s absolutely inspring on a number of different levels.
1. The Big Idea: I’ll start of with the quote in the beginning. “US traffic accounts for 45% of the worlds air pollution.” That in itself is staggering, but not surprising. The big idea behind IBM’s technology is that they have developed a way to charge (toll-booth free & convenient for the driver) a “congestion charge” for Stockholm, Sweden. This is to ensure that those who drive are paying for the convenience (and pollution) that they account for. It’s like sub-metering energy or water consumption. Once people realize that others aren’t …
This month’s First Friday Event (which is usually not on a Friday nor the first week of the month – we like to keep things following organically) took place at the DC office on Thursday, February 18th. The event, Design by Designers, besides being a resounding hit, showcased the design projects our talented HOK’ers work on when they are not at their 9-5.
I must confess I wasn’t able to exhibit at the event, so I’m putting my 2 cents in by showcasing my writting “flair” through the blog, and I’m very happy to say I will gladly participate in the next exhibition!
You …
Ever wonder how people get to work in your city? Planetizen sent me to a fabulous graphic representation of commuting patterns by graphic designer Martha Kang McGill. Tufte would be proud!
I’m a red or light pink girl, depending on the weather. What color are you?
See original article in the Infrastructurist.
TED. That’s all that needs to be said. It’s been such a big part of my personal development over the last few years and it’s something that has grown to be so beloved for its accessible brilliance that it’s permeated even the most prominent of new sources today including all over CNN. (it’s about time “good” became mainstream)
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Well a lesser known “baby TED” is home right here in my own backyard, and its called TEDx Atlanta. Some of you may have read my earlier posts about the September TEDx, interviews and more, and for others I hope you will read them soon. Even if you don’t really read …
This morning I was just introduced to this oldie but goodie project by Lisa Rienermann while studying at University of Duisburg-Essen few years ago, the alphabet is formed of the silhouettes of buildings against the sky when photographed.
Thanks to Erdim Kumkumoglu in HOK LA for sharing this.
We have entered the digital era and the use of Virtual Technology has become more acceptable and readily available. As we entered the new decade – 2010, HOK FL has been immersed in the virtual world.
Upon returning to the office after the holidays, we were finally able to experience the new ACR (Advanced Collaboration Room) also known as the “Thunder” room. The ACR is used for virtual meetings between varous locations and other HOK offices. It is a sustainable option to business travel and easily facilitates collaboration throughout the design process with the added ability to view the smiling faces of the meeting participants.
We also had our first virtual Lunch – n- Learn presentation. Usually, the rep travels in from where ever, sets up, and provides …
First, let me get this out there: I HATE MUSHROOMS. I think they are gross – gross to touch, gross to smell, gross to eat. Gross. My distaste for mushrooms probably harkens bac
k to when I was a toddler and ate a toadstool out of the yard, causing my parents to rush me to the hospital to have my stomach pumped. This distaste grew as I attended St. Mark’s High School in Wilmington, DE where frequently on cool windy days, the smells of the Pennsylvania mushroom farms wafted across the campus (according to UC Davis, PA produces 44% of the US’s mushrooms). The hatred was cemented at the University of …
It was recently announced that the Salvador Dali Museum has received the Novum Design Excellence Award within the Specialty Clad Structure Category.
A design objective was to protect the most significant collection of Salvador Dali’s art while creating a new museum with iconic presence. The museum is currently under construction and has more than 900 triangular shaped pieces of glass that make up what is called “the Igloo” at about 45′ tall and “the Enigma” which is more than 75″ tall. Each piece of glass is different within the Novum structure that overlooks the water at the St. Petersburg, Florida site.
As most of you know, LA is usually sunny and hot. But we have been hit hard this week by a few fast moving storms. We had tons of rain – flooded most of Long Beach, thunder loud enough to set off car alarms, and even had a tornado… And today, we had 5 mins of hail.. (I know.. its crazy!)
I miss the warm weather… 
So I was recently in Las Vegas which is filled with wonderfully horrible architecture. But the best thing I saw was the construction of a new bridge while I drove across the Hoover Dam to get to the Grand Canyon. Maybe I should have become an engineer, because this excited me more than any building in Vegas including the new City Center project.
Highlights from the trip? The Grand Canyon is pretty amazing as is the Liberace Museum.
…
Wally Hermes Yatch is a combination of a sail boat (anti speed, navigating with the wind, nature and waves), a resort island (comfort and relaxation by the ocean) and a sustainable floating pad with existing technology (requires less power at cruising speed than a boat of equal size, the 900 square meters surface of the photovoltaic panels which covers part of what’s needed to subsist on the boat, a telescopic wind-turbine system and a retractable mast with a computer-operated sail measuring over 200 square meters that will produce at least 30 % …
I learned about a site today called bookcrossing.com that is the “Where’s George?” for books. You leave a book for a new person to read, they read it and pass it along where its adventure through the world is tracked online!
The site says the following…
BookCrossing is earth-friendly, and gives you a way to share your books, clear your shelves, and conserve precious resources at the same time. Through our own unique method of recycling reads, BookCrossers give life to books. A book registered on BookCrossing is ready for adventure.
Leave it on a park bench, a coffee shop, at a hotel on vacation. Share it with a
…
Ok, I know, a day late and a dollar short. But did you know that yesterday the Burj Khalifa opened in Dubai? This, at 800m/2,625 ft (that’s about half a mile), is now the world’s tallest building. It’s approximately 1,000 feet taller than the closest competition (Taipei 101 and Shanghai Financial Center).
I was in Dubai a couple of years ago and took some construction photos – it was pretty darn high back then…but nothing compared to today! I think I have the scale right – couldn’t find a “today” picture from the same angle I took mine…
I’m pretty sure I will NEVER go to the top of this …
Another installment in our series about the inspiring women of HOK (not to say that our men aren’t inspiring, too!): Meet Jeannette Thompson, Business Communications Specialist in the HOK Planning Group. While Jeannette calls St. Louis her home, she supports the HOK network throughout the world. You also know her as one of the Life@HOK blogstar team and future American Idol judge! Jeannette is a true superstar and I hope you enjoy getting to know her a bit better.
Q: What’s a typical day in the life of Jeannette Thompson?
A typical day involves a morning routine that is anything but typical, …
Meet John Wilganowski and Louie Vargas, IT super heroes. Their shirts say everything. The duo is half the IT team in Houston. They are our first line of defense when technology magically goes awry. Louie and John save the day.
These two enjoy making things work faster, better and more efficient for the office so everyone else can perform faster, better and more efficient. Also, they like to do fun stuff like coordinating their costumes. I just had to snap a picture of this “cute” moment.
They have helped and fixed my share of technical difficulties. Thanks. And from everyone who has needed an software update, deleted something on accident, crashed a computer, …
What do planners and designers read? Just in time to provide us all with some desperately needed last-minute holiday gift ideas, we asked our Life at HOK bloggers to tell us the books they most enjoyed in 2009. In return we got nothing resembling a trend, unless you can spot one amid the detective novels, cult classics, modern fables, philosophy, math, sustainability, science, business and Ayn Rand.
Though a couple respondents reported that they read on Kindles — one frequent traveler lavished “best thing in the world” praise on her new e-reader — and another loads audiobooks onto his iPod, most are still reading good, old-fashioned books. “The older, the better,” wrote Michelle. “I like …
As 2009 comes to an end, one theme prevailed at HOK Florida- BABIES!!!!
Of the mere 40 employees, only half are in “reproducing” mode, and we were able to introduce FIVE new lives into our family. Here they are in their first HOKlife debut …
William is HOKer Karen Carvalho and her hubby David’s new arrival. His older sister Emily was runner up in a baby photo contest, so it runs in the family!
Liam is HOKer Brent Cutshall and his wife Elana’s new baby boy. Brent has stated that the rash of boys are because of the recession. It is a trend so far!
To …
I feel like a proud parent! Our little (er -giant) Steven rode 5000 miles in 2009!
It’s quite a feat if you consider the reality of it. There are many of you that ride your bike, often to and from work (see Jodi’s post); but think about the actual number of miles you rack up! I’d be happy if I made it to 50 (Tour de France is ~2241 miles)! Also think about the conditions in which you ride your bike! Not even cold and mild rain keeps Steven Crang off the double wheeled transporter!
To celebrate his enormous amount of hard work he brought in a Gus’ Pretzel (a St. Louis’ …
Always a leader in sustainable design, today HOK announced development of a new green building rating system (look out USGBC!): Checklist for Gingerbread Green Homes (CGGH).
Developed by an interdisciplinary team of HOK’s finest (John Cantrell, Weronika Cichosz, JoAnn Brookes, Lori Selcer, and Julian Tablada), CGGH helps gingerbread artists create the greenest ginger-person homes. This effort was inspired by Toronto’s LEED Platinum house developed for Habitat for Humanity last year (featured on Treehugger, Inhabitat, and Notcot).
Toronto’s delicious creation followed green building principles found in the USGBC’s LEED rating system. HOK’s new CGGH takes green ginger construction a step further, examining the total process from ingredient …
The Houston Chapter of the AIA recognized a legend in the architecture community for his contribution to, and uncompromising support of, the profession. Of course, I am writing about William M. Pena, FAIA, known to many of us here in Houston as just ‘Willie.’ Willie defined the practice of architectural programming, co-authoring four books on the topic. The process of problem seeking evolved over many years and involved many architects working with clients to reach programming decisions that support good design. The passing of years has not affected the process – it still holds fast. The tools have improved, thanks to technology, but the fundamental principals have remained …
Former HOK Chairman Jerry Sincoff described the key components of leadership at HOK in a presentation he has been sharing at offices around the nation. At his Tampa stop, he spoke of leadership as guidance and cited examples of leaders within HOK that support community, truth, and communication. Jerry’s lesson on leadership was formulated as ABC’s, relating to Action, Behavior, and Communication as a means to become a leader in our everyday experiences at HOK. Two examples of leaders shared their experiences with us.
KIM FREY
Vice President | Business Manager
Kim has been with HOK for 28 years and has witnessed many examples of leadership. She shared an experience she had at the St. Louis office …
