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 …
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 …
Jodi Williams is another member of the DC Advance Strategies crew. She has been working with Leigh in that office for four years, during which time she has made quite a name for herself. She has a mixed background of sociology and urban planning that always gives her a different take on clients’ needs. Her questions quickly reveal her love for solving complex problems, kicking some butt on the soccer field, and snuggling with her pets. Along with this interview, she was highlighted in a podcast when this blog turned one year old – so be sure to have a listen for more information!
Q: You play a lot …
This is an update of a post I did way back in April on a new diagonal Japanese style pedestrian crossing at Oxford Circus. This area is held close to the hearts of HOK Londoners as we were resident in the the floor above Topshop, just above Oxford Circus tube state, for a wonderful ten years (my bank balance is now thanking me that we have moved, as I did have a good daily routine of taking the ’short cut’ through Topshop to ‘browse’ on my way home…).
So back to the topic – the pedestrian crossing. This may seem a topic …
HOK London has been chosen to supply the workplace and interior design for the second phase of the BBC’s Broadcasting House development in central London.
The BBC is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, with a mission to enrich people’s lives with programmes that inform, educate and entertain. It is a public service broadcaster, established by a Royal Charter.
The project team – who you can see below (and yes that is me)! – are incredibly excitied about this opportunity and looking forward to getting started. We will draw on our extensive experience in interior design and workplace strategy (Advance Strategies) including Guardian News and Media (subject of a previous blog post), some great shots of which can be found on their own website. But
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Yesterday the many different disciples from HOK London collaborated to run a workshop with a 25 school kids between the ages of 11 and 18. The all-day session was set up by Stefan Jakobek, who heads up our Education department here, Studio Schools Trust and The Young Foundation to understand what sort of spaces students would respond well to a new type of school that is being developed here – the Studio School.
The idea of Studio Schools is to help 14-19 year olds better prepare for the world of work. They aim to provide young people with qualifications and a full range of skills – while also engaging them in working in, and running, businesses and social enterprises directly serving customers.
Studio …
I’ve blogged before about how Advance Strategies, WDC has moved to a desk-sharing situation: there are six of us and we have only five desks. In theory, it’s excellent. We save money by paying less rent, we save the environment by not commuting to work every day, and we improve our own work/life balance by working from home (or elsewhere).
The reality of the situation: it’s hard! Not the “working from home” part, but the desk sharing part. We have not been able to truly give up our seats (the newest teammate pretty much sits where someone else is not sitting and the rest of us sit at …
As part of HOK’s Advance Strategies team in DC, Jodi is a rock star designer of brilliant strategies. She is an urban planner/programmer (AICP and LEED AP), and is inspired by helping others make a difference in their facilities and practices. Jodi blogs here at Life at HOK and over at The Green Workplace.
Previous edition.
Every month in the Washington, DC office, Interiors and Advance Strategies host a birthday celebration to commemorate big days of team members. This means cake, chatting, and games. November 2008 was no different. This month, we celebrated the birthdays of Suong Castillo, Lance Gorbutt, and Edmund Velasco.
As two of the three were celebrating the big 3-0, we enjoyed factoids from the year 1978. For example, did you know this was the year of “Son of Sam” or that both Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul I died this year? Popular movies included Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Jaws 2, and Animal House. TV programs included CHiPs, The Love Boat, Three’s Company, Happy Days, and Charlie’s Angels.
The highlight of the event, …
Some of you may know that I work in HOK Advance Strategies, a group of specialists within HOK. We’re a worldwide group that is embedded in HOK offices and located on-site with clients. I’m part of the Advisory group and sit in the WDC office (in the middle of the interiors group).
I and the people in my group are not your typical architects and designers (although many are trained as architects…others are MBAs, planners, landscape architects, social scientists, interior designers, etc.). The Advance Strategies “one-liner” is: As a specialized, multidisciplinary group within HOK, the world’s leading design and services firm, the specialists of HOK Advance Strategies are leaders, analysts, …
