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Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum

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HOK (formerly Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum) is a global architecture, interiors, engineering, planning and consulting firm. HOK is the largest U.S.-based architecture-engineering firm[1] and the world's fourth-largest architectural firm[2]. HOK is also the country's leading design firm in terms of non-U.S. fee growth[3] and the second-largest interior design firm.[4] As of 2009, the firm maintains more than 2,000 professional staff across a global network of 24 offices and is active in all major architectural specialties.

Contents

[edit] History

HOK was established in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1955. The firm's name is derived from the surnames of its three founding partners: George Hellmuth, Gyo Obata and George Kassabaum, all graduates of the School of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis.

The practice's first building designs were schools in St. Louis suburbs, and St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florissant was the first private/parochial school designed by the firm. Another prominent school they designed was the Saint Louis Priory School. By the mid-1960s, the firm was winning commissions across the United States and began to open additional offices, starting with San Francisco in 1966. By the 1970s the firm was operating internationally and in 1975 the firm was named as architect of the $3.5 billion King Saud University in Saudi Arabia, at the time the single largest project in the world.

In 1983, HOK formed HOK Sport Venue Event, which became a leader in designing sport stadiums, arenas and convention centers. In January 2009, the Board of HOK Group, Inc. and managers of HOK Sports Facilities, LLC transferred ownership of HOK Sport Venue Event to leaders of that practice. Over time, HOK Sport Venue Event will launch a new corporate name and brand independent of HOK. In March 2009, HOK Sport Venue Event announced it has rebranded as Populous. The brand reflects the practice’s recently completed buyout and separation from HOK.

HOK's first office outside the United States opened in Hong Kong in 1984 and HOK has continued to expand by opening additional offices in the United States and around the world and by acquiring other leading firms. In November 1994 HOK acquired CRSS Architects, Inc. based in Houston, Texas, adding offices in Houston and Atlanta.

By 2007, international work represented more than 40% of HOK's annual revenue. [5]

In October 2008, HOK Canada Inc. was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in Maclean's newsmagazine. Later that month, HOK Canada was also named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers, which was announced by the Toronto Star newspaper.[6]

[edit] Innovation and sustainable design

HOK is an innovator in the building design industry and has greatly influenced the business of architecture. In 1983 HOK introduced HOK Draw, one of the first computer-aided drafting software products that specialized in conceptual architectural design. More recently, HOK has made a commitment to using Building Information Modeling (BIM) to streamline the design and construction process.[7]

HOK is a leader in sustainable design,[8] commonly referred to as "green architecture." Professionals in the firm authored one of the industry's most respected resources on the topic, "The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design," originally published in 2000 by John Wiley & Sons. A second edition of the book was published in 2005. HOK currently has more than 800 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited professionals and 38 LEED certified projects. HOK placed first in Engineering News-Record's 2008 'Top 100 Green Design Firms' survey.[9] In September 2008, in an effort to better integrate nature's innovations into the design of buildings, communities and cities worldwide, HOK announced an alliance with the Biomimicry Guild co-founded by Janine Benyus.[10]

[edit] Global offices

Americas

  • Atlanta
  • Calgary
  • Chicago
  • Dallas
  • Denver
  • Houston
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Miami
  • New York
  • Ottawa
  • San Francisco
  • St. Louis
  • Tampa
  • Toronto
  • Vancouver
  • Washington, DC

Asia Pacific

  • Beijing
  • Ho Chi Minh City
  • Hong Kong
  • Shanghai
  • Singapore

Middle East

  • Dubai

Europe

  • London
  • HOK Euronet - affiliated firms in Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Rome

[edit] Selected projects

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Top 500 Design Firms 2007', "Engineering News-Record", April 23, 2007
  2. ^ "Riders of the Storm: World's Largest Practices', "Building Design World Architecture", January 2009
  3. ^ "Top 30 United States Based Multinational Design Firm Rankings 2007', DesignIntelligence, October 5, 2007.
  4. ^ "2009 Interior Design Giants', "Interior Design", January 1, 2009.
  5. ^ "Uncertain Economy Pushes Design Firms To Diversify Their Portfolios," Engineering News-Record", June 23, 2008.
  6. ^ "Reasons for Selection, 2009 Canada's Top 100 Employers Competition". http://www.eluta.ca/top-employer-hellmuth-obata-kassabaum. 
  7. ^ "BIM at HOK', "AEC Magazine", January 30, 2007.
  8. ^ "HOK Earns Sustainable Leadership Award', "Interior Design", May 9, 2006,
  9. ^ "The Top Green Design Firms, "Engineering News-Record", June 23, 2008,
  10. ^ "HOK and Biomimicry Guild Forge Alliance for Bio-Inspired Design Excellence', "Treehugger.com", September 22, 2008.


[edit] External links

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