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HOK Takes USGBC’s Organizational Excellence Award

The firm is driven to advance “sustainability toward mainstream awareness and acceptance,” according to its chairman.

Meaghan O'Neill -- Interior Design, 11/22/2006 12:00:00 AM

HOK's 15-year commitment to green building was recognized last week when the U.S. Green Building Council presented the global architecture and planning firm with the Organizational Excellence award. Part of the 2006 USGBC Leadership Awards program, the award was presented during the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, held November 15-17 and Denver.

A pioneer in sustainable design, HOK was the first major design practice to join USGBC in the 1990's, and helped develop the first LEED rating system. Last year, HOK principals also helped lead Gulf Coast Reconstruction charrettes during Greenbuild 2005, leading to "The New Orleans Principles" and other publications to guide rebuilding efforts.

As the first firm to garner 100 LEED-accredited professionals, HOK now boasts more than 430 such designers across the globe. With 11 LEED-certified projects, the firm has another 40 pending certification, and has adopted a policy to apply LEED principles to every project, whether or not a client has requested it.

"We're challenged to do what we can to continue advancing sustainability toward mainstream awareness and acceptance,” says HOK chairman Bill Valentine of the company’s commitment to sustainable design as a core value.

Other recent eco-accolades for the practice include the 2006 Sustainable Design Leadership Award, presented by CoreNet Global, the International Interior Design Association, and the American Institute of Architects Committees on the Environment and Interior Architecture; the 2005 Best Sustainable Practice Winner, Educational Initiatives Council for “The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design from the Sustainable Buildings Industry” (John Wiley & Sons); and the Designing a Sustainable and Secure World award from Global Green USA. HOK has also been listed on the the AIA Committee on the Environment’s Top 10 Green Projects List for the past six consecutive years.

The 2006 USGBC Leadership Awards also recognized Robert Fox, Jr., principal of Cook + Fox in the Community category; Greg E. Franta of the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Alliance for a Sustainable Colorado in the category of Education; Maria Atkinson, global head of Sustainability at Lend Lease at the California Department of General Services in the Advocacy category; and Gary Saulson, director of Corporate Real Estate at PNC Financial Services for Liberty Property Trust in the LEED category.