“While it is well enough to leave footprints on the sands of time, it is even more important to make sure they point in a commendable direction.”
- James Branch Cabell (1879-1958), Author
Kassabaum, Obata + Hellmuth campaign for their earlier selves at HOK’s 25th anniversary celebration in 1980.
Landscape Architect Bob Belden soaks up studio life in the 1960s.
Hong Kong employees burn the midnight oil to celebrate HOK’s silver anniversary in 2005.
For the past several months, HOK people – current and past – have spent considerable time reflecting on our firm’s 55-year …
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 my earliest electronic device, tapping into my latent ingenuity and desire to create.
LITE-BRITE® occupied many an early morning and rainy day at the Plotnick household. Now Hasbro has ushered this iconic toy into the 2000s by creating a digital version. Although it lacks the tactile satisfaction of pushing those tiny plastic pegs into the paper-backed board, it is a fun diversion that takes me back to much simpler days.
Give it a go yourself.
And for those of you who think LITE-BRITE® is dull and uninspiring, feast your eyes on THIS:
My previous thoughts on The Game of Life®.
Take comfort, fellow bloggers. Life at HOK is hereby carbon neutral — and will be for the next 50 years.
The fine folks at the “Make it green” programme in Germany conceived of the “My blog is carbon neutral” concept, and they’ve promised to plant a tree to offset the emissions …
This holiday season, we are drawn to the uplifting stories of individuals whose resilience is an inspiration.
Our 2009 holiday e-card honors the creative spirit of Andrew Reach, an HOK architect whose career took an unexpected turn when he was diagnosed with a debilitating spine disease. Today, Andrew is an accomplished digital artist whose work inspires all of us.
Sometimes, adversity illuminates a new path.
Here’s to the new decade…
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.
Like any cinematic production, our video experiment at Greenbuild ‘09 elicited a fair share of blooper moments. We’ve compiled a few outtakes and humorous quips below.
Check out a complete selection of Green Aha! moments on YouTube and Life at HOK.
Last week’s video expedition at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Phoenix netted dozens of Green Aha! recordings. Courageous individuals from Japan, Argentina, London, Saudi Arabia and all across North America disclosed their personal epiphanies, moments of truth and shocking recycling tales. Our booth crew (Julie, Chris and yours truly) was joined at the conference by HOKLife bloggers Nico, Niall, Colin and Anica (as well as a couple dozen other HOK co-workers).
Below is a short video compilation of what we gathered. Check out a complete selection of Green Aha! moments on YouTube and Life at HOK….
Our first crop of Green Aha! moments harvested at Greenbuild ‘09 range from:
the Simple…
to the Illuminating…
to the Downright Quirky…
Even our very own Barb got in on the action, accompanied by a special “prop.”
Keep checking out our Green Aha! feed from Phoenix on YouTube and Life at HOK.
“Mary Ann and the Green Aha! Moments”
Armed with a low-carbon camcorder, two director’s chairs and a boatload of salsa mix, this quirky band of environmentalists is heading to the Great Southwest.
Our plans include rubbing elbows with Al Gore, Sheryl Crow, Anica Landreneau and dozens of other celebrity performers/speakers at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Phoenix. We’re also on a mission to gather Green Aha! moments on video (not since An Inconvenient Truth has there been such raw anticipation for an environmental production).
Here’s a short video preview of our approach:
If you’re planning to be …
HOK is turning the tables at Greenbuild ‘09. Instead of adorning our booth with OUR story, we’re creating a platform for telling YOURS. That’s right, it’s Open Mic Night at next week’s big conference and expo in Phoenix.
During the show, we will be inviting individuals to share their Green Aha!, the moment they first realized the importance of living and/or working “green.”
We will broadcast those inspiring tales at our booth, as well as uploading them to a YouTube Channel so others can share the experience. The most profound Aha! moments will win a free signed copy of The Green Workplace.
See you at Booth #3442. I’ll be the guy …
The surprising selection of Barack Obama as recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize has catapulted the international awards program to the forefront of worldwide consciousness.
Capitalizing on the Nobel attention, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay posted a mini-poll on his website asking people to vote for prominent local citizens he “nominated” for Nobel prizes in the areas of Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Economics, Medicine and Peace.
HOK Founding Partner Gyo Obata is one of five nominees in the Physics category for his design of the James S. McDonnell Planetarium. Completed in 1963, the thin-shell and hyperboloid structure is located on the St. …
[Click image to view 1960s TV commercial]
A favorite from my 1970s childhood, the Game of Life contained all the board-game adventure this little boy could want. A hyperactive spinner wheel. A twisting, terrained board. The opportunity to nab a wife, kids and (if all went well) a lucrative doctor’s salary.
The ultimate goal, of course, was to secure a wealthy retirement in “Millionaire Acres.” But potential pitfalls could send you to a humiliating destiny known simply as the “Poor Farm.”
It was exhilarating.
Originally introduced as The Checkered Game of Life by Milton Bradley himself in 1860, the game has gone through quite a few refinements in the past 150 years. Dollar values have skyrocketed to …
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, …
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 …
It’s been a banner week for sustainable accolades. First, ENR dubbed us the top green design firm, and now a Design Intelligence survey anointed our firm as the #1 sustainable role model.
Kudos all around.
But before allowing it to swell our heads completely, let’s not forget how much more work remains to be done…
It may not be easy being green, but it sure as heck beats the alternative.
For the second consecutive year, HOK nabbed the top spot on ENR’s “2009 Top Green Design Firms” survey.
Published in the magazine’s July 6 issue, the ranking is based on 2008 revenue from projects seeking LEED, BREEAM or other environmental certification.
In the sector rankings, HOK emerged first in the “Education” sector; second in “Commercial Offices;” second in “Sports, Entertainment & Civic” and third in “Government Offices.”
Regrettably omitted from the magazine’s coverage were rankings of the most innovative, creative and downright zany …
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 …
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 Wednesday, HOK people planetwide will rally around a shrinking pile of stuff. Fewer plastic bottles. Less packaging. A reduction in printed materials.
It’s part of our second-annual “Go Barefoot Day,” which transforms Earth Day hype into simple, meaningful changes in each of our lives.
Waste is the focus of this year’s challenge, with the goal of reducing the firm’s collective environmental impact. Covert waste audits have been conducted at each of our 24 offices to assess the amount of waste produced on a typical business day. On Earth Day, the entire firm will undergo a public waste …
Ingredients:
2 Progressive Architectural Firms
1 Experienced Contractor
1 Innovative Client
A Boatload of Acronyms (BIM, IPD, LEED, etc.)
Lots of Teamwork
A Dash of Design Brilliance
Process:
Blend together all ingredients into a seamless, highly efficient, unbelievably gorgeous space.
Outcome:
PLATINUM, baby!
View a video produced by DPR to showcase the project’s Integrated Project Delivery (and featuring comments from our own IPD Innovator).
They may be tiny and seemingly irrelevant, but Tardigrades just might have a few things to teach the “more evolved creatures” reading these words. Commonly called water bears or moss piglets, these segmented animals are so fascinating because they can survive the most extreme conditions: freezing, boiling, drought, radiation, etc., etc.
In short, they’re resilient.
Confronted by the extreme conditions of a global recession, we all might benefit from studying the wisdom of these 1 mm organisms, as well as other geniuses of nature and design.
We have created a …
Time magazine named her a “Hero of the Environment,” TED invited her to speak at its influential conference…and HOK St. Louis welcomed Janine Benyus to our home to share her wisdom on biomimicry (the science she pioneered).
HOK is working with Janine and her Biomimicry Guild team to integrate nature’s genius into the planning and design of buildings, communities and cities worldwide.
Keep your eyes peeled for our overzealous photographer, who peppers Janine’s comments with FLASHES and makes his official cameo appearance at about :55.
http://www.vimeo.com/3771653
After enriching all of us with her genius, Janine visited Washington University to inspire the next generation of architects, planners and urban designers.
