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’ …

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]

With this week feeling quite lengthy and my birthday coming up, I thought I would share with you all a story from a couple of years ago, when I was going into my third year at Ryerson University.

It was the week before Labour Day, 2003 (School doesn’t start until after Labour Day in Canada.). I had been living in Residence (Dorms) for the past two years, and was convinced that I should become an RA (Residence Assistant) or Don as you may have referred to it at your own alma mater.

Going into the position, I was really indifferent about the whole thing. I never was a fan of the whole ‘frat’ guy …

One thing they just don’t tell you in design school:  you’re going to have to make a TON more graphs, spreadsheets, and charts than you ever thought.

When I’m stymied, I turn to GraphJam…

From the genius minds who brought you LOLCats (which, trust me, SOME members of our blogging family just LOVE), comes this great take on all things enumerable.

We all knew that Life@HOK was the gateway to greatness, fame, and fortune, but who knew it would happen so quickly?! Today the Executive Committee announced HOK’s newest board members…and, believe it or not, two of our very own were selected.

Send your congratulations to Tom Polucci and Leigh Stringer – two fun, fabulous, smart, talented leaders and the brains behind Life@HOK. And kudos to HOK leadership for picking some of the firm’s most brilliant minds!

This is a story full of laughter, fear, and courage. A story about 3 guys — my brother, my cousin, and myself — on our travels from Brownsville, Texas, to Seattle, Washington. Unfortunately, my brother along the way became ill and therefore is absent from this video. Enjoy.

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A special thanks to Jamie Andrew for his editing, acting, and not killing me in the process.

***This Video qualified for my Pecha Kucha presentation. Unlike everyone else that has done this exercise, I went beyond the normally 20 seconds/20 slides, and went for the 20 seconds/ 20 locations/ 20 arguments/ 20 bathroom breaks/ 3500 images format.***

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Link to Previous Post:    Misconceptions about HOK

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This is a story not about myself, but my friend Chris. Some may have met him. Few forget him, and unfortunately when he started. He was sitting next to me.

I have to admit that when he first joined HOK, I was a little hesitant talking to him. They’ve always had to convince people to sit next to me, so it was a little strange having someone excited to be there. It was almost as if he was meant to counteract my usual glum demeanor. But there he was, smile on face, no bags under eyes, and an over enthusiastic voice.

“Hi, I’m Chris,” were his first words. “What’s your name?”

My name wasn’t important in this conversation. The last guy …

Have you ever dropped your paperclips, and someone comes gracefully toward you, over-eagerly willing to help. “Oh, thank you ☺,” you tell that kind person.

Or maybe it’s because you got into an argument with someone over the word juxtaposed, and they bring a tissue to tame your tears. “Oh, that’s so sweet ☺,” you say with a smile.

I wasn’t too sure what the whole concept of an Office Crush was until I began sitting in the Marketing Department. The explanation literally went in one ear, out the other.
“So you like someone, but you don’t like someone, although you’re with someone, and that someone knows about your other someone.”
“Yes!”
“So what’s the point?”

In light of that conversation, I thought I would talk …

I’ve noticed quite a few people have looked at my previous post about some of the projects in the city of Toronto, so I thought I would add a few more to my list.

Now I’m not saying Toronto is the “be all and end all” for architecture and interior design, but it’s starting to feature quite a few high quality projects.

Please excuse my lack of knowledge if I have missed any collaborating firms, or additional help.

Arthur Erickson Roy Thompson Hall (2)
Baird Sampson Neuert Architects French River Interpretative Centre (2)  (3)  (4)   Discovery Landing (2)
Drew Mandel Design Residence Residence II
HOK …

Please welcome Jason Zah,” he hesitated.
“Zah-bah,” this was getting ridiculous.
“Zah-ru” I just shook my head, “cha.” Completely wrong

I wasn’t sure what I was doing. Someone suggested this as a way to get over my fear of interacting with people. I honestly thought it was just a way for other people to laugh at my insecurities. The only thing funny about me is the way I look, and I was supposed to go up there to try to sell this idea.
“Jason couldn’t make it, so they asked me to fill in. I’m Justin.” They were like vultures, waiting for fresh meat.
“I really didn’t prepare anything. They just found me out in the hall…ha…ha?” My sense of humour wasn’t going to cut …

Some, probably a small number, may have noticed that I have been lacking on the posts as of late. I am sure a few would probably come to the conclusion it’s because of this recession and in any other case I would probably disagree and just say you’re paranoid. But, unfortunately, this time it was because of the recession.
While some will stock up on cans of corn and listen to the garbage Yahoo news publishes about how to survive this time, I’ve taken a different approach and found a second job (I don’t advise anyone to mention that to my manager).

As of two days ago, and a few trips down to City Hall, I’ve officially opened Justin’s …

It was a brisk night, one of those frozen nose hair kind of nights. No matter how many pairs of socks or touques you could wear, it could never make it any better.

I had awoken earlier to find a raccoon trying to steal my box of timbits that had frozen over, but managed to fight it off with a piece of gum and stick. I had saw somewhere about hypothermia, and what happens when it hits you. Sense of delusion and you feel a painful amount of cold, followed by a sense of warmth. Well I was cold all right. I was sleeping outside in negative 30c temperatures.

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I think a lot of people know that I am quite the sports fan. It’s really the only positive that many of us have right now, and being that we have offices all over the continental United States and Canada. I thought it would be an appropriate time to take a look at how they are doing. Especially since most are at the half way point in there seasons, or almost at the end.

Atlanta Hawks (NBA) – Dreaming of the days of Dominique Wilkins and Spud Webb
Atlanta Falcons (NFL) – Did better then expected, but can’t seem to get out of the shadow of a former player.
Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) – The owner is a crook, and the fans don’t know they exist.
Atlanta …

It seems everywhere you look the talk of the town is about economics, with fair reason and as it should be. Design magazines are talking about the comeback of laminate counter tops and particleboard. The Food Network is pushing the spork, and mac & cheese. While Yahoo news conducts a quick survey of their interns, and writes about their findings as a nationwide trend. It almost seems as though the media is making it into a fad, trying to make a profit off of fear. But unfortunately, no one ever asked me what I was doing.

To understand what I am doing differently today, you have to understand when my recession started. When I was in school.
See, …

There is an unwritten code in Architecture. If you live by it, chances are you have bags under your eyes. You can talk about anything. You know what juxtaposed means. You can use every big word in the dictionary in one sentence. You’ve named your dog Frank. You don’t understand the concept of weekends. Your camera has never seen a person. Your house looks like a museum. You dream of living in a glass box. You come back from a trip only to talk about a piece of glass. You have never seen a building you can’t complain about. You have argued with an engineer. You have more stories about school than your childhood. You don’t care how ridiculous perfectly …