This project relocates Cisco’s suburban Chicago office into Class A office space on three floors of a new speculative office building in Rosemont, Illinois, and includes a customer briefing center, field sales office and system engineer’s lab.  To see more, check it out on Flickr…

Todd Halamka and his team in Chicago have come up with the design of HOK’s first green parking garage. Greenway Self-Park is an 11-story energy-efficient parking garage located in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, at the corner of Clark and Kinzie. The team is pursuing LEED certification for the structure, which was developed by Friedman Partners. Fast Company, World Architecture, Big Think and Inhabitat are among the sites that have featured the project. Here’s a Flickr set of images.

Sustainable features include a cistern rain water collection system and electric car plug-in stations. A 12-paired array of vertical turbines on the southwest …

Carnival House is the new headquarters space for Carnival UK (the holding company for five of the best-known cruise lines in the UK: Cunard, P&O Cruises, Ocean Village, Princess and Yachts of Seabourn).

Previously located in five different buildings around Southampton, these brands now share a single space, one designed to facilitate the cross-pollination of ideas between teams via open plan areas and free access to different departments.  (Not to mention it floods the place with tons of daylight!)  Check out the cool cruise-ship-like atrium and the whole Flickr set to see what we mean…

HOK-Weidt Group team members who designed an affordable 163,000-sq.-ft. zero emissions office building used HOK’s Advanced Collaboration Rooms to celebrate their success with a virtual toast.

“I’m a big believer in marking passages,” said HOK Sustainable Design Director Mary Ann Lazarus, who led the nearly yearlong charrette. “We set out to discover the barriers and opportunities for market-rate carbon neutral design. And we did it!”

Tim Gaidis and Mary Ann in St. Louis:

Colin Rohlfing and Jeff Sanner in Chicago:

Gerry Faubert in Toronto:

Bill Valentine …

HOK Florida has been in the spotlight lately and earning free publicity for some notable projects.  
American Style magazine – billed as the “nation’s premier magazine for art, collectors, and cultural travelers” - named St. Petersburg as the top arts destination in the country, out of all mid-sized cities. The magazine cited the new wing at the Museum of Fine Arts and the under-construction Dali Museum.

In addition, AIA Florida has announced the 2010 Florida/Caribbean Honor & Design Award Winners. In the Design Awards category HOK received the Award of Excellence for the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum. The firm will formally receive the award at the Honor & Design Awards Presentation and …

I’ve just finished a charrette for a master plan project in Southern California in which our LA office is collaborating with Chris Fannin, Director of Planning from our St. Louis office. One of the great intro that Chris brought up that I thought worth sharing here was raising the question ‘What is the google image of our project?’

This has not been an option to look at architecture until few years ago when google maps go mobile, which was planned to run on any Java-based phone or mobile device with free navigation that will definitely have a major impact on the navigation industry. And this is even a bigger question for …

Recently our Chicago Healthcare team has been working hard on a really amazing project. Agatha Wieczorek kindly provided this write up:

The Indu and Raj Soin Medical Center will be a new Kettering Health Network facility on a 22 acre site near Dayton, Ohio. This 285,000 SF green field hospital is being designed and constructed with full BIM integration. HOK, along with major consultants including THP (structural) and Heapy (MEP), are working collaboratively in Revit to promote the most productive and streamlined process. The concept of integrated project delivery has been in place from the start of the project, in March/April of last year, and has helped to keep this fast track project moving on schedule. The groundbreaking took place in …

So one of the perks of working at HOK is that we get to see all kinds of cool spaces. Frequently we’re touring for the purposes of our own project (for example, when we went on a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing as part of a pre-bid meeting); sometimes we get to tour completed HOK facilities.

This week, Walter Urbanek and Frank Etro of the DC office organized a fantastic field trip to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) – Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport.  HOK is currently doing construction administration on the second …

Is it possible to design a market-rate, zero carbon emissions office building in St. Louis? A dedicated team led by HOK and our friends at The Weidt Group decided to find out. The exciting news is that though a variety of conditions — from the climate to the cheap electricity — made St. Louis a challenging location, the answer is YES! And the design process will transfer to most North American cities. 

We’ll share details about the design and process …

As advancers of sustainability in the built environment, we’re excited when we are able to move forward on a commission that seeks to further our sustainable mission. We’re ecstatic when those plans could help set a precedent for the federal government in the modernization of their building portfolio.

Cue the Excitement
On February 18, the GSA presented Mortenson Construction with a signed solicitation offer and award document for the Design/Build Modernization of the Byron G. Rogers Federal Office Building. A pursuit that began in August, six months prior to the award, it involved two phases – Phase I to show our qualifications and Phase II to present our design …

In the fussy, fickle world of air travel, the HOK-designed terminal at Indianapolis International Airport soars above the competition.

J.D. Power Associates has given the Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal its highest marks in passenger satisfaction in a survey of 64 major U.S. airports.

The $1.2 billion terminal earned 777 points – the most of any airport surveyed – in airport accessibility, baggage claim, check-in and baggage check-in process, terminal facilities, ease of security checks, and food and retail services. 

The terminal, which opened in November 2008, is the first “greenfield” U.S. airport terminal designed and constructed since 9/11. It’s also a showcase of sustainability, a dramatic …

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.

Working at HOK, we’re routinely given the opportunity to get involved with charitable and community organizations. Here in the St. Louis office, we’ve been working pro bono with the City of St. Louis and the Animal House Fund to create a new city animal shelter, dubbed the Animal House. The hope is that a nicer facility, combined with a better location, will promote higher adoption rates. The new facility will offer increased capacity as well as a more modern, humane environment for the animals. The design documents are 95% complete and the only thing standing in the way of constructing this facility is funding.

To …

Last Wednesday was the first time I spoke at a conference – Autodesk University 2009. As I mingled in the crowd I suddenly realized that about one out of 25 of the 6,000+ attendees of the conference came to our 1.5-hour session. This is definitely minor compared to the fascinating keynote speeches highlighting new technologies and industry trends. Besides, there are also over 600 classes, labs, and virtual sessions. Nonetheless I’m glad that we were part of the event, not with the sole intention to promote HOK, but to demonstrate our ability to lead the industry trend in both design and technology.

A little about our class:

We …

If your holiday travel plans will take you through the city of Indianapolis, you’re in for an uncharacteristically uplifting experience. The Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal at Indianapolis International Airport (the first from-the-ground-up terminal constructed in the U.S. since 9/11) is light, airy, dramatic, fun – and a showcase of sustainability.

During a recent visit to Indy, I brought along my camcorder and recorded some perspectives of the building and its occupants.
http://www.vimeo.com/7938311
If this is the future of air travel, I’m encouraged.

The team designing a zero emissions office building met virtually on September 29 to brainstorm about the exterior walls. HOK participants included Bill Valentine and Dave Troup in San Francisco, Mary Ann Lazarus, Tim Gaidis and Tyler Meyr in St. Louis, and Jeff “heard but never seen” Sanner in Chicago. Joining the charrette via “Thunder” from the The Weidt Group in Minneapolis were Chris Baker and Vinay Ghatti.

The video quality isn’t exactly Ken Burnsesque, but the clip does provide a fairly rare opportunity to watch some really talented designers bounce ideas off one another:

Previous ZEB posts (in chronological order):

1. Onward to Zero Emissions

…

Last week, HOK participated in the National Organization for Minority Architects (NOMA) 37th annual international conference and exhibition.  As a part of the firm’s diversity initiative, HOK is partnering with organizations like NOMA to break through barriers by expanding the academic and professional horizons to a more diverse pool of individuals pursuing the field of architecture.

Attendees experienced an exciting and energizing line-up of speakers, including keynote presenter Gyo Obata, who recounted his personal journey confronting discrimination as a Japanese-American during World War II.

HOK hosted a special interactive planning and design charette benefiting South Side Day Nursery (SSDN). The exercise included visioning for a new, modern and “green” facility to …

Early in 2007, architect (and Life at HOK blogger) Colin Rohlfing, sustainable design director in HOK’s Chicago office, accepted a challenge from long-time HOK St. Louis sustainable design principal Bill Odell.

Odell, one of the lead designers on HOK’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) team, asked Rohlfing to organize the sustainable design effort and to manage the LEED coordination and documentation for the 6.5-million-square-foot KAUST campus and town center projects—arguably the most ambitious delivery effort in the firm’s 54-year history (it was designed and built in just three years).

Two-and-a-half years and a lifetime of experiences later, Rohlfing, 28, recently learned that the team’s hard work on KAUST had …

Henry E. Hall, Rose Hill Elementary School graduate

My role as “official PR guy” demands that I serve as the catch-all for all sorts of requests from media, students, fans – and WAY too many sales reps.

Though tedious and time-consuming, this reality occasionally leads to moments of great inspiration and pride.

Such was the case when I heard from Henry Hall. He was looking for photos of Rose Hill Elementary School in Kirkwood, Missouri – his alma mater – to use as part of a special 50th Anniversary Reunion he was planning for his former classmates.

“I guess the few of us from that first school year, 50 years ago, …

This week we received word that our 50th project received LEED certification, and what better way to celebrate than with a big ole pretzel from Gus’ Pretzel Shop, a south St. Louis tradition since 1920.  HOK’s 50thproject to be certified was Herbalife at LA Live, which earned the LEED-CI Certified rating.  This makes the 15th project this year alone to receive certification (plus two BREAAM certified projects).  And we now have 942 employees LEED accredited.  Keep up the good work!

[Information and post content via Chris Trowbridge]

This is a report on the zero emissions building virtual design charrette that took place in HOK’s Advanced Collaboration Rooms in San Francisco, Toronto and St. Louis on 31 July 2009. Lots of video clips at the end!

This meeting began with a restating of the goal of designing a zero emissions building design that will reduce the energy requirements for a traditional St. Louis office building of 150,000-200,000 square feet by 70-80 percent. They will use on-site renewable energy sources to get the rest of the way to zero emissions.

Because energy conservation typically costs less than energy generation, the team is using off-the-shelf technologies to design a building that consumes 17-18 KTBUs …

Our own Bill Stinger with Senators McCain (R-Arizona) and Lieberman (ID-Connecticut).

You just never know who you’re going to run into while wandering the streets of Sanaa, Yemen.

For HOK D.C. Director of Marketing Bill Stinger, it was U.S. Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman, who were visiting the city on their way to Kabul, Afghanistan, to witness the recent elections.

Bill was in town to attend the pre-proposal briefing for the U.S. Department of State’s new Embassy expansion project, which HOK is pursuing.

He and Onder Tumer from Zafer Construction (our Turkish design/build partner) were seeking architectural inspiration on the roof of a restored building in …

Hong Kong team helps restore the island of Yim Tin Tsai in the Sai Kung District.

When HOK people on three continents signed on to complete service projects in our local communities, it wasn’t to seek awards or accolades. We just wanted to enrich our schools, parks and neighborhoods through design expertise and good old-fashioned sweat equity.

But, lo and behold, the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) caught wind of our work and selected HOK to receive the organization’s national Design for Humanity Award for 2009. Also accepting the award was Greg Mortenson, of the Central Asia Institute, who co-authored …

So I may be the dolt who missed it this weekend, but Mark quickly filled me in and trust me, I WON’T miss it when it comes out officially! 

Ken Burns, the documentary filmmaker who brought the world so many great works (including my favorites, Frank Lloyd Wright  and Mark Twain) now is bringing forth the beauty of America’s National Parks.  The series is coming on PBS on September 27th (which happens to be my birthday! Yay for that!)

Featuring commentary about Chiura Obata (father of HOK founder, Gyo Obata) who …

On Monday Tony Barnard, HOK London Historic Buildings Consultant, received the ‘Gold Green Apple Award’ and was also the ‘Green Champion’ winner for its category for a project HOK London was involved in: Clarkencombe Lodge at Ashton Court in Bristol.

The ‘Green Apple Awards for the Built Environment and Architectural Heritage’ were organised by The Green Organisation and held in beautiful Hampton Court Palace.

Clarkencombe Lodge is one of Ashton Court’s five lodges, each of which were designed as gateways into the estate. It dates from c1840 and prior to the completed work was in a derelict state and in urgent need of repair. It is constructed mostly of limestone with sandstone turrets in

…

Blog readers recently got to meet HOK Planning Group landscape architect and urban planner Mark Vogl. After that post, one in particular – you know who you are – came running over to tell me that instead of just a talking head she’d like to actually see some of Mark’s work. So here it is, an amazing St. Louis success story: The Great Rivers Greenway District project.

The Gateway to the West now has a breathtaking view from the East.

The newly christened Mississippi River Overlook in East St. Louis, Illinois, reveals a fresh new perspective of Eero Saarinen’s masterful Gateway Arch.

Designed by HOK, the 43-foot-tall viewing structure is located at Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park. A contemporary of Saarinen, Martin shared the architect’s vision of creating parks on both sides of the river. Unfortunately, neither visionary lived to see his dream fulfilled.

I asked Gyo Obata (the “O” in HOK) to share his thoughts about the overlook’s design and its significance to the region. Gyo, who studied under Eero’s dad Eliel at Cranbrook Academy …

Constructed on the site of the main entrance to the 1904 World’s Fair, the Missouri History Museum’s Jefferson Memorial Building opened in 1913 as the first national monument to honor Thomas Jefferson. Soon after opening, it was designated to display artifacts from the fair (also known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition) as well as history of the Louisiana Territory. The city also invited the Missouri Historical Society to operate in the museum space and display its own collections. 

Eighty-six years after the historic Beaux Arts structure made its initial debut, the HOK-designed Emerson Center added more exhibition space, classrooms, an auditorium, restaurant and gift shop.  The contemporary glass building helped connect the …

It’s a very exciting time around the Planning Group, we’re always on the go! As such, we recently took some time to mentally escape from the day-to-day and explore the “Art of the Long View.”  Inspired by Peter Schwartz’ book of the same name, we partnered with our friends at Magellan Consulting to research what we felt were the top 10 forces shaping our world between now and 2050. We’re calling this the futurity series. As we re-imagine the role of the design community in our global economy, this material has served as food-for-thought for some amazing conversations across HOK.

So what did we learn? Though we’re still chatting, the idea of resiliency has undeniably emerged as …

Check out a great win for HOK – The Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC). Log on to the Orange County Register and represent!

 http://www.ocregister.com/articles/design-transportation-center-2429498-anaheim-site

HOK teamed up with Parsons Brinckerhoff for this great effort. Go team!