The bobblehead created for Bill Valentine is an award that will travel worldwide to recognize offices and teams for advancing the HOK Sustainable Roadmap.
The Roadmap is taking sustainability to the next level at HOK globally. It was launched with a series of workshops at offices worldwide that generated ideas to reach the goals of the Roadmap. I previously blogged about the goals in an earlier post “On the (Sustainable) Road | Some Ideas from Tampa” (http://hoklife.com/2010/07/07/on-the-sustainable-road-some-ideas-from-tampa/), which briefly described some ways HOK is measuring and recording our progress.
“Bill” has visited a few locations to award ideas that included incentives for becoming a new LEED® AP and creating a green scorecard for catering office luncheons and L-n-L presentations. …
Not all of you have been to Los Angeles office, and that’s a shame. We’re awfully friendly and remarkably good-looking in person. We do neat things here, like Parking Lot BBQs, pot-luck lunches, World Cup Match parties and (lest you forget), really creative work on some incredible projects. But don’t take my word for it, you can ask bobblehead Bill Valentine. He’s just left our office with a fistful of memories from our sunny state.
Bill(ette) visited us after the Los Angeles office secured the inaugural “Bill Valentine Award” for tangible action supporting HOK’s Sustainable Roadmap. HOK LA’s plan to encourage …
Nothing symbolizes professional success quite like the creation of a bobblehead likeness.
Obama’s got one. The Beatles have a set. LeBron even inspired one as a Cavalier and another to chart his migration to Miami.
It was only a matter of time before our own Chairman and resident “less-is-more” pioneer – Bill Valentine – inspired a similar tribute.
Bill’s bobble is actually a new award to recognize exceptional examples of sustainability in action. It will show up at HOK offices worldwide, honoring individuals and teams for tangibly advancing the HOK Sustainable Roadmap. Introduced in early 2010, the roadmap is a framework to take sustainability …
It has been a while since I have posted, but not for lack of something to say. I’ve been buzzing around the world most of the last few months. It’s a pace that has that crazy effect of being completely exhausting and strangely exhilirating. I’ve learned that it’s the people that keep me going. And it’s seeing projects like this, of the first village in Lavasa, coming to life.
Just a couple weeks ago we were meeting with our Lavasa partners, and I really mean partners – …
Robert Frost’s classic poem about the choices that we make in life says it all:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Having received an HOK All Staff email from Bill Valentine on Wednesday evening entitled, “HOK Sustainable Roadmap”, I assumed that our “Bill Valentine Presentation on Sustainable Design” scheduled for the following day (Thursday, February 25th) would be more or less the same discussion. The content of the email message articulated HOK’s commitment to our new Sustainable Roadmap which establishes sustainability goals, actions and metrics, integrating them into a clear framework to be employed throughout the firm. Bill’s email made it …
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):
- Onward to Zero Emissions
…
HOK’s chairman and most vocal sustainable design advocate is blogging Greenbuild 2009 for Contract magazine.
In his first post for Contract, Bill reflects on his journey to Phoenix, writes about seeing the automated people mover designed by HOK being constructed at the Phoenix airport and describes taking the light rail train to his hotel.
In his next post, Bill gets excited about a new LED downlight from the expo and zeroes in on zero carbon and building retrofits as the big themes for Day 1…and much more.
Related: HOK is recording lots of green-ahas!
This is a report on the zero emissions building design charrette that took place on September 17. HOK and The Weidt Group participants in San Francisco, Toronto, St. Louis, Berkeley, Calif., and Minneapolis saved carbon emissions from air travel by using Cisco Telepresence Technology, Polyvision THUNDER Express, WebEx and HOK’s Advanced Collaboration Rooms to meet virtually.
The team designing the a zero carbon emissions office building has made lots of progress since my last ZEB post. With the final meeting fast-approaching and an affordable carbon-free solution on the horizon, it’s time to crank out some posts to catch you up on what they’ve been up to.
Finally, a Focus on the Building …
HOK has come a long way since making sustainability a core value in 1993. As Chairman Bill Valentine says in this new video (see if you can spot the Life at HOK bloggers): “We are not there but we are making giant strides.”
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 13 August 2009.
This virtual meeting’s participants included Bill Valentine, Tim Gaidis, Tyler Meyr, Gerry Faubert and Jeff Sanner of HOK along with Prasad Vaidya of The Weidt Group. Ideas were flying, and the electronic flipcharts received a heavy workout. Here’s a summary of the outcomes.
Bar Length, Alignment and Core Configuration
Previous energy efficiency and generation models had demonstrated that it would be tough to meet the zero emissions goal if the total building area surpassed about 180,000 square feet. “If we need to increase …
HOK Chairman Bill Valentine reflects on the design for King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The airport opened in 1984.
“We were sitting around drinking beer at midnight and then we started drawing. … A billion dollars in construction later, there it was. It was just that idea that came out of the group in the time of need.”
Previous edition of ITDS: Don Crichton – Toronto
What does it take to design a net zero emissions office building? Because few of our clients are currently considering carbon neutrality in their projects, an HOK team — with help from some wonderful friends — is designing one through a series of virtual charrettes.
In response to Architecture 2030’s challenge to the global architecture and building community, HOK has committed to designing all buildings to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030.
The idea for the charrette is the brainchild of HOK Chairman Bill Valentine, who wants the firm’s people to gain the knowledge and experience required to design zero emissions buildings. This vision is being turned into reality …
Our friends at Architect magazine have shaken things up a bit by entering the fray of architectural firm rankings. In true Architect fashion, this one definitely ain’t like the others…size isn’t even considered (GASP!)
“We designed the Architect 50 quite simply to promote a well-rounded definition of success,” states the intro in the magazine’s May 2009 issue. “The criteria for inclusion comprise a trifecta of critical goals for every practice: profitability, sustainability, and design quality.”
Although HOK didn’t nab the top spot, we did finish a very respectable #3 (bet you’ll never guess who’s #1!)
The magazine calls our firm a “green giant that boasts a …
This week HOK Chairman Bill Valentine joined Bill Clinton, Paul Hawken, Janine Benyus and other execs, policy leaders and environmentalists at Fortune’s Brainstorm: Green 2009 conference in Orange County, California. The folks at the Sustainable Forestry Initiative grabbed Bill for a quick interview that took place in the hills above the Pacific Ocean. In this interview, which also appears on the SFI’s Good for Forests blog, Bill talks about the upside of the downturn, says that achieving zero carbon emissions will be like landing someone on Mars and explains why affordable sustainable design is the Holy Grail.
Bill the Renaissance Man, who is plenty busy designing buildings, also took the time to review his …
No, this isn’t a question of whether or not you should be sent to the looney bin. Instead, it’s a question of commitment to sustainability and all of the wonderful things that have sprung from this movement. HOK Chairman Bill Valentine is so committed that in addition to driving a Prius he now has added solar panels to his own house (above)!
With Obama in office and the world’s eyes ablaze with everything green, it has become rather easy for companies to “greenwash” you into thinking that their service or product is truly focused on sustainability.
HOK, on the other hand, has been committed to sustainability for decades, with hundreds of sustainably-designed environments …
I know. I promised to try and frequently blog and post pictures from Greenbuild. I failed. Not for lack of effort. More like lack of time. Maybe next year.
As I look back on this trip, the most amazing thing about this event is the people – a people inspired by change. Everyone is cordial, welcoming and friendly. Everyone’s looking for answers to the growing questions surrounding sustainable design. Many answers are provided.
With my first trip to Greenbuild in the books, I’d like to walk you through it from my perspective as an exhibitor and not an attendee.
Monday, November 17, 2008
6:20 am – Flight leaves for Boston via DC. Much coffee needed.
11:15 am – Flight lands in Boston. Tim Gaidis and …
