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] It also is the country's leading design firm in terms of non-U.S. fee growth[2] and the second-largest interior design firm.[3] As of 2008, the firm maintains more than 2,500 professional staff across seven countries on four continents 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 was a school in a St. Louis suburb, 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 is a leader in designing sport stadiums, arenas and convention centers.

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 of 1994 HOK acquired CRSS Architects, Inc. based in Houston, Texas, adding offices in Houston and Atlanta.

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.[4]

HOK is a leader in sustainable design,[5] 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. By 2008, HOK had more than 570 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Accredited Professionals and 26 LEED certified projects.

[edit] Global offices

Americas

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

Asia Pacific

  • Beijing
  • Brisbane
  • 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. ^ "Top 30 United States Based Multinational Design Firm Rankings 2007', "DesignIntelligence", October 5, 2007.
  3. ^ "2008 Interior Design Giants', "Interior Design", January 1, 2008.
  4. ^ "BIM at HOK', "AEC Magazine", January 30, 2007.
  5. ^ "HOK Earns Sustainable Leadership Award', "Interior Design", May 9, 2006,

[edit] External links