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 …
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 …
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 …
Meet Teresa… aka Mother Earth. Well, maybe she isn’t technically Mother Earth, but she certainly channels her. (Just wait until you see here high school year book photo!) Teresa is a landscape architect with a focus and commitment to sustainable ecological urbanism. When she began at HOK three years ago, she sat in the Atlanta office before heading to Chicago and spear heading Land + Water.
Teresa is passionate about her profession and an example that it is never too late to follow your heart. When her daughters were both in elementary school, she decided to leave a 12-year career …
I found this article/slide show very interesting and wanted to share.
I’m not saying I agree with the statement that a “passivhaus is the real standard for a real green house”, BUT there are some great solutions.
What do you think?
http://www.vimeo.com/5133927
I found this website this morning about Sourcemap, a framework developed by the MIT Media Lab for individuals to share information about the locations of sourced product components and where their assemblies take place. I think this is a fantastic idea considering that individuals can start to take control of where their company’s source products. In 5-10 years, there will be no excuse for “not knowing” what went into that new bed, or that computer you just bought.
“Sourcemap is an opensource project that, like Wikipedia, relies on volunteers to grow and fine-tune the database. The hope is to develop a sourcemap for every product and service out there. It is supply chain …
Always a leader in sustainable design, today HOK announced development of a new green building rating system (look out USGBC!): Checklist for Gingerbread Green Homes (CGGH).
Developed by an interdisciplinary team of HOK’s finest (John Cantrell, Weronika Cichosz, JoAnn Brookes, Lori Selcer, and Julian Tablada), CGGH helps gingerbread artists create the greenest ginger-person homes. This effort was inspired by Toronto’s LEED Platinum house developed for Habitat for Humanity last year (featured on Treehugger, Inhabitat, and Notcot).
Toronto’s delicious creation followed green building principles found in the USGBC’s LEED rating system. HOK’s new CGGH takes green ginger construction a step further, examining the total process from ingredient …
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.
When I wrote about Eric Lewis my prior TEDx post, I was supposed to continually update you with video’s from the conference/gathering here in Atlanta. However, I’ve been waiting to write about the lecturer’s so that I could include video footage which was taken by Unboundary.
Ciannat Howett is the director of Sustainability for Emory University and has done quite a bit for the development of the way Emory operates everything from buildings, to courses, to social events. She is a wonderful speaker and you should definately check out this video.
I love it when she talks about the expectations of the students and reveals that it’s much less about Emory marketing, and more about Emory Education and defining …
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….
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 on August 26, 2009. HOK and The Weidt Group participants in San Francisco, Toronto, St. Louis and Minneapolis used Cisco Telepresence Technology, Polyvision THUNDER Express, WebEx and HOK’s Advanced Collaboration Rooms to communicate.
In this meeting The Weidt Group’s Chris Baker and Vinay Ghatti pushed the team closer to a zero emissions office building design by talking the group through a whopping 89-page Strategy Report describing the potential energy use, carbon emissions and cost implications of hundreds of specific energy conservation strategies.
The report documented the results of DOE-2 building simulations for each …
The New York Times ran an article yesterday highlighting the removal of a key existing building labeling program from the Waxman-Markey bill. The ‘industry’ is claiming that labeling the efficiency of existing buildings would be akin to pasting a Scarlet Letter on them. To paraphrase: people might choose not to purchase an inefficient building, might offer less than sellers are asking, or might ask for efficiency improvements before concluding the purchase of the building. (Gasp!)
Well, duh. That’s THE POINT. The labeling program would allow the market to demonstrate preference for energy efficient buildings, thus incentivizing owners and hopeful sellers to invest …
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 …
A couple of weeks ago, as I was prepping myself for taking the LEED exam, one of our sustainable knowledge gurus, Seth Teel, opened me up to a new resource for studying: LEEDvisual.com.
Yes, I still had to use the reference guide and the USGBC Colorado Chapter’s Study Guide and Practice Exam, but this new resource is great for people who think in more visual terms. The producer of the content is unknown and the site could use a little TLC (gramatically and layout-wise), but nonetheless, a good resource. I’m not going to give it all the credit for helping me pass the test, but it’s definitely one of the …
As many of you know from Mike’s previous blog post, I recently got married. Before I jet-setted to the South Pacific with my new hubby, I eagerly counted down the days until arriving on beautiful Maui, the place I had always dreamed of going on my honeymoon. When we arrived, I remember thinking of the movie Jurassic Park when the island appeared through the clouds. (Later, I learned JP was filmed on the neighboring Hawaiian island of Kauai.) One of the very first sites I saw were wind turbines cascading down the West Maui Mountains. When I returned home from …
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 …
As you’ve read, HOK is big into sustainability, and part of our committment is personal – we’ve signed up numerous teams to compete in national bike-to-work month, sponsored by the cascade bicycle club (see Blake’s posts on HOK vs. Copenhagen and Calling all HOKers). Tim O’Connell cooerced me into signing up using fear of public humiliation as his primary tactic.
It’s a bit of a long ride for me (13.824 miles each way, according to Gmaps Pedometer) and I’m not much of a cyclist, but what the heck! My route takes me along Cameron Run in …
I thought this video would be a great closing message for Go Barefoot Week (we do a week vs. a day here in Chicago). I saw it when I was in college and have never forgotten it.
Certain HOK-ers (ahem, John Gilmore ) have been bragging about HOK’s very cool new collaboration technology: the Advanced Collaboration Room, which combines Cisco Telepresence Technology and Polyvision Thunder Express. Well, John, you are no longer the only cool kid in town! The WDC office became the fourth HOK office to open it’s ACR for business. St. Louis, San Francisco, and Toronto already had them…next on the list are Houston, Los Angeles, and London.
After a few solid weeks of construction, the ACR was ready for …
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 …
It’s fair to say RecycOlympics was a huge success in HOK St. Louis, as it came to a close in the final medal rounds.
You’ll see in the “podium” photo above, some participants walked away with quite a bit of bling.
From top left: Rocco Danna, Gold – Coffee Cup Marathon, Silver – Paper Airplane Javelin, Silver – Business Card Tower Building, Silver – Recycling Bin Basketball, Bronze – Rubberband Archery; Michelle Pinkston, Gold – Business Card Tower Building; Eric Romano, Gold -Rubberband Archery, Gold – Airplane Javelin, Silver – Coffee Cup Marathon, Silver – Business Card Tower Building; Jeff York, …
Majestic music has been bellowing throughout the floor at HOK St. Louis today to commemorate the first-EVER RecycOlympics!!! In honor of Sustainability Awareness Month and the firm’s upcoming “Go Barefoot Day”, HOK’s celebration for Earth Day, we are having special activities and events to raise awareness about reducing waste that goes into our world’s landfills.
RecycOlympics is the brainchild of our sustainability crew in St. Louis, and our team went all out on the event. All proceeds raised from employees who participated will go to Earthshare.
Today’s events included rubberband archery, airplane javelin, recycle bin basketball and business card tower building. Of course all materials used are recycled! I think HR might have a heart attack if they see people …
Cris Fromboluti not only has a really fun name, he’s one of the DC office’s premiere project managers and a fun guy to boot. I sat down with Cris for about an hour to run through our five questions. I knew Cris had a lot of great stories, but was not at all prepared for what was in store. You’ll notice there are only four questions, but I think Cris’s story comes through without the fifth.
Q: How did you come to HOK?
A: When I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, I originally went to work for S.O.M. in Chicago. After …
