Excerpted from the Kansas City Business Journal:

Responsibilities: Carlton oversees the planning group at HOK’s Kansas City office, which includes planning, landscape architecture and urban design. She also handles all master planning work for the firm’s Kansas City office.

Starting out: Originally from Kansas City, Carlton knew from a young age she wanted to pursue planning as a career. Her dad had an interest in urban design, and they would always tour the downtown areas of cities they visited. She and her father studied the patterns of development together.

“It was my father — he had always had an interest in urban studies.”

Big break: Carlton moved back to Kansas City when she joined HOK in 2012, but her big break came earlier, in 2005 and 2006. Carlton was working at the Boston office of Sasaki, the architecture firm Kansas City contracted to create its downtown master plan. Carlton was an asset to the collaboration because she drew on her career experiences and deep knowledge base of her hometown.

That master plan was integral to the development of the Downtown Council, of which Carlton is now a member. She will be the organization’s president starting in November 2020, about 15 years after she helped create the document that established the organization. She will work with the city in the future as it begins the process of creating a new downtown master plan.

“It’s all coming full circle.”

Women mentoring women: Carlton said she loves working with younger women at her firm and is able to mentor them about balancing career aspirations with family responsibilities.

Little-known fact: Carlton played rugby in college at Colgate University in upstate New York.

Who is your hero? Carlton selected Oprah Winfrey as her hero. She cited Winfrey’s “dedication to children, love of books and lasting friendships.”

The post Lynn Carlton Named One of Kansas City Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business appeared first on HOK.

HOK’s WorkPlace practice has issued its latest report, “Designing a Neurodiverse Workplace,” exploring how organizations can create physical work environments that support the full range of employees: neurotypical and neurodivergent. HOK’s comprehensive report includes interviews with experts as well as suggestions for design strategies, operational changes and individual adjustments that can support neurodiverse and neurotypical staff alike.

Approximately 15-20 percent of people are neurodivergent, i.e., have one of a collection of conditions that includes autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia. Employers are beginning to recognize that, in addition to simply being the right thing to do, accommodating neurodiverse people can provide a significant competitive advantage. This is leading to a range of more inclusive policies, programs and procedures, though this recognition is only just beginning to affect workplace design.

“Designers have an opportunity to influence the physical and cultural adaptations required to make workplaces more inclusive,” said Kay Sargent, a director of HOK’s WorkPlace practice. “We need to ensure that the most valuable assets and currency of every business—its people—have the opportunity to be happy, healthy, engaged and empowered.”

The report explores how workplace designers and strategists can help organizations create more inclusive environments. Key observations include:

• Designing for neurodiverse populations will benefit a company’s entire workforce.
• While neurodiverse staff can bring exceptional talents—including creative storytelling, coding, empathy, pattern recognition and problem solving—they cannot always thrive within existing workplace norms and practices.
• Different neurological conditions manifest in different ways and even those sharing the same condition experience it to varying degrees.
• Most common workplace challenges center on spatial organization, spatial character, acoustic quality, thermal comfort, lighting and degree of stimulation.
• Ensuring that employees have choices about how and where to work enables them to more effectively manage their own needs and maximize their productivity.

Download a PDF of the “Designing a Neurodiverse Workplace” report.

The post HOK’s WorkPlace Group Releases “Designing a Neurodiverse Workplace” Report appeared first on HOK.

With clients like Comcast, he helps recognizable brands enter or grow their presence in the esports space and executes strategic gaming sponsorships across the world.

HOK’s Rashed Singaby interviews Rosenberg on the ins and outs of the emerging esports industry, marketing and sponsorship challenges and the impact of GMR’s work on venue design.

Rashed Singaby (RS): How did you become interested in esports?

David Rosenberg (DR): Our entry into the esports space was a natural extension of our passion and deep involvement with the video game industry. As esports has grown in popularity and influence over the past five years, so has the importance of reaching this important consumer segment. It has been exciting to see our work evolve to include new and creative partnerships within the broader videogame industry, including media and social influencers.

RS: What are some challenges you see around marketing these experiences?

DR: The esports landscape is still a bit of the wild west. There are many players, each with varying knowledge of traditional corporate marketing practices. This can make it more challenging to design and implement programs that directly reflect the client’s business and marketing goals and long-term objectives.

Gamers and esports fans can be incredibly vocal with their opinions. Esports fans want to be heard. We need to design programs that clearly and creatively illustrate what a brand is communicating while staying authentic and genuine. If not, backlash can be swift since these consumers are connected to their devices 24-7.

RS: How do you see venue design influencing the experiences you create?

DR: Esports tournaments and the online fan experiences have come a long way. The high quality of the streaming content can often compete with traditional broadcasts. The on-site experience at esports events is underdeveloped and represents a significant opportunity for brands. Venues designed to provide partners with integrated, immersive experiences, both online and on-site, will be key to the continued evolution of esports.

RS: In addition to more purpose-built venues, what can we expect to see over the next five to 10 years?

DR: Esports will inevitably go through significant changes as they gain more influence within the larger entertainment industry.

This event type will become more accessible to fans who previously haven’t been familiar with esports, substantially driven by more traditional brands, mobile gaming, and mainstream sports and entertainment properties entering the space.

The nature and quality of programming and overall fan experience will evolve to meet the demands and expectations of these new corporate players along with this engaged, growing and global fan base.

Related:

HOK/SAP report:“Developing the Esports Arenas of the Future”

Rashed Singaby on “Envisioning Esports Venues.”

The post Q&A with GMR’s Dave Rosenberg: “Esports Fans Want to be Heard” appeared first on HOK.

The project broke ground in March 2018. HOK was the design firm, Mortenson Construction was the general contractor and Corporate Concepts provided the furniture.

“We’re extremely proud to unveil the Halas Hall expansion and renovations and would like to thank HOK, Mortenson, the City of Lake Forest and all of our staff for their roles in the project,” said Bears President and CEO Ted Phillips. “Throughout the process, our goal was to not only develop a more collaborative work flow across the building, but to create an experience for everyone entering Halas Hall so that it becomes more than just a work space. From guests to staff to players and coaches, we want everyone to feel at home.”

“The renovation and expansion of Halas Hall have created a first-class facility that provides a daily reminder and motivation to help us work toward the goal of being a championship team,” said General Manager Ryan Pace. “This upgrade furthers the continued support from the McCaskey family and their commitment to attract, develop and retain the most talented roster both on and off the field.”

A new player entry includes a hallway featuring all 14 of the Bears’ retired numbers, wall/ceiling lights that illuminate as players enter and music capabilities leading up to a 46-foot video wall made up of nine screens. Position meeting rooms and the draft room doubled in capacity, while coaches’ offices that increased in size by 50 percent allow for improved collaboration. A 3,250-sq.-ft. players’ lounge was created, along with an approximately 1,700-sq.-ft. player locker room expansion that includes a barbershop. The expanded coaches/scouts locker room includes a sauna and steam room.

The weight room increased in size by 2,000-sq.-ft., while the equipment room, recovery space and nutrition/fuel station doubled in size. The equipment room now includes a helmet-fitting room, footwear and shoulder pad fitting area, sewing room and high-density storage cabinets. Additionally, the sports medicine space is four times larger than the original area and features two hydrotherapy pools, two plunge pools, a float pod, sauna and steam room. A 13,000-sq.-ft. indoor turf space was also added.

The team and staff café expanded by 4,300 square feet and is now 7,600 square feet, including the dining area and kitchen space. The café features the Bearista coffee bar, a smoothie/juice bar, standalone soup and salad bar, daily live action station and hot food, sandwich and dessert bars. Adjacent to the café is the Sideline, which provides additional seating and lounge space for the players and staff. Atop the expansion is a 4,200-sq.-ft. rooftop dining area and garden from which the café will source herbs.

Halas Hall now features 20 conference rooms named after Bears legends and football terminology, such as the Brian Piccolo Room and Decatur Room. There are seven private phone rooms and a newly added learning center for staff training and professional development. Staff can work or relax in two enclosed patios, which feature exterior walls that open completely to allow in fresh air. The renovation includes a wellness room and expanded staff locker rooms. Coaches and staff each have Huddles featuring coffee and snack bars, refrigerators, microwaves and lounge/dining spaces. In an effort to create more sunlight throughout the building, glass walls were installed and many exterior offices were moved to interior spaces.

New elements include a brick wall featuring the Bears’ traditions script, four individual walls each highlighting a core value (respect, integrity, team, excellence), messaging on various walls displaying the Bears’ mission statement and inspirational quotes, a customized neon ceiling light of George S. Halas’ signature, a ceiling sculpture representing 100 years of Bears’ records and a 14-by-45-foot mural designed by Czr Prz in the indoor turf space. The main lobby features a video board that is 28-by-5 feet. There are approximately 175 video displays in the renovated space.

The post NFL’s Chicago Bears Unveil HOK-Designed Expansion to Halas Hall appeared first on HOK.

Ceniceros brings 28 years of experience as an architect and laboratory planner specializing in the complex adaptive reuse of existing buildings into research space.

“We are delighted to welcome Enrique to our team,” said Anne Fletcher, AIA, LEED AP, managing principal for HOK in Los Angeles. “His deep knowledge and collaborative approach will be invaluable in designing space that advances science.”

Ceniceros’ past projects include research labs at the California Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California and the University of California, Irvine. His clients also have included research hospitals, biotechnology companies, medical device manufacturers and aerospace companies.

“Enrique’s research facility projects span many different market sectors,” said Tim O’Connell, AIA, LEED AP, a director of HOK’s Science + Technology group. “With nearly 30 years of experience in Southern California, he will make significant contributions to our S+T design teams and clients in Los Angeles and across the firm.”

“HOK has played an important role in the growth of the science and technology sector in Southern California,” added Ceniceros. “I’m excited to be part of a team that values innovation and serving clients. I look forward to delivering exceptional design ideas and solutions that help our clients succeed.”

Ceniceros is a regular speaker on designing for life sciences and has presented at Tradeline conferences on education and research labs. A registered architect in California, he studied Architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

The post Enrique Ceniceros Joins HOK as Regional Leader of Science + Technology in Los Angeles appeared first on HOK.

Selected by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, the American Architecture Awards are the nation’s highest design honor, recognizing the best projects in the United States and abroad created by American architects, landscape architects, and urban planners.

Inspired by the local Northern California ecosystem, the Central + Wolfe campus presents a new kind of office park that differs from the typical, tilt-up “boxes” found throughout Silicon Valley. HOK designed the 18-acre campus to spark innovation while promoting wellness with its biophilic features. The core of the campus consists of three petal-shaped, curvilinear main buildings that form a unified, clover-shaped structure. The office buildings appear to float above the third-floor entry bridge porte-cochères that resemble large porches.

Occupants are never more than 40 feet from a large window. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows allow natural light to filter in and provide outdoor views of the landscaping and Santa Cruz Mountains in the distance. Concrete floor slabs extend as protruding fins to act as built-in sunshades and prevent direct solar heat gain and glare, while a multilayered light shelf on the facade delivers natural light deep within the building.

An amenities building, a parking structure, open plazas, sports courts, trails and native landscaping that encourage workers to connect with nature complete the campus. Stormwater gardens with native wildflowers and perennials collect and treat rainwater runoff.

The campus has achieved LEED Platinum certification, and the buildings are designed to be net-zero energy ready.

More:

The Chicago Athenaeum

The post Central + Wolfe Campus Wins American Architecture Award appeared first on HOK.

Projects are evaluated based on a robust set of criteria, including traditional factors, such as reducing emissions, recycling materials, and using renewable energy sources, as well as more holistic indicators of social and economic sustainability, such as minimizing construction impacts, providing employment opportunities for local residents, resilient design, and improving mobility and access.

Excerpted from Sustainable Infrastructure:

Some of the factors that contributed to the project earning an Envision Platinum award include:

Improving resiliency

The design and operations take into account a range of potential climate change threats such as sea-level rise and extreme weather events such as hurricanes and nor’easters, storm surges, and heat waves. To ensure that the Port Authority incorporates climate resiliency in every project, the agency adopted Climate Resilience Design Guidelines in 2015. The intent of the guidelines is to maximize the long-term safety, service, and resilience of the Port Authority’s assets.

Planning for long-term monitoring and maintenance

In order for infrastructure to be sustainable it must be designed and built in a way that does not preclude efficient operations and maintenance over the life cycle of the asset. In addition, resources and plans must be put in place that ensure the asset is being managed and monitored to determine if the programs, systems and equipment are functioning as anticipated and that a response plan can be implemented should a fault be detected. To this end, long-term monitoring and maintenance began well before the first shovel hit the ground on the project. Included in the commercial terms of this P3, the lease agreement requires LaGuardia Gateway Partners* to operate, monitor and maintain the asset according to a robust set of expectations set forth by the Port Authority that are to be met throughout the duration of the 30-year concession period.

Quantifying economic, social, and environmental benefits

Using Autocase software, the team conducted a triple bottom line, cost benefit analysis over the lifecycle of the project to demonstrate the social, environmental, and financial benefits associated with improving energy performance, managing indoor air quality during construction, reducing outdoor and indoor water use, reducing heat island effects, using low-emitting materials, and making sustainable siting decisions.

*LGP includes Vantage Airport Group, Skanska ID, Meridiam and JLC Infrastructure for development and equity investment; Skanska-Walsh as the design-build joint venture; HOK and WSP for architecture and engineering; and Vantage Airport Group for airport operations and management.

The post LaGuardia’s New Terminal B Earns Envision Platinum Award for Sustainability, Resilience appeared first on HOK.

The annual list honors St. Louis’ most accomplished women for their impact on their industries and the community.  McDonald and the other honorees were selected from nearly 240 applicants.

Excerpted from the St. Louis Business Journal:

The post Margaret McDonald Named One of St. Louis’ Most Influential Business Women appeared first on HOK.

Excerpted from Healthcare Design Magazine:

The design of the NewYork-Presbyterian David H. Koch Center was guided by a mission to improve the patient, family, and staff experience through every touch point of the care journey. Completed in April 2018, the building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side delivers on that and more. Showcase jurors lauded numerous thoughtful details incorporated throughout the 734,000-square-foot ambulatory building that provides treatment of digestive diseases, cancer, and other conditions.

One outstanding example of that effort is found in the approach to procedural care, with flow maps of the patient and care team experience developed to help improve efficiency. A notable feature of the resulting design is 100 percent private prep/recovery rooms, where patients can change, store belongings, prepare for surgery, and return for recovery. Also celebrated were solutions such as a private vehicular drop-off area adjacent to the main lobby that allows patients a more quiet, calm arrival experience; clinical floors organized with perimeter circulation for clear public wayfinding; and a fully integrated and diverse art program.

But beyond experience, the project impressed with its approach to operations/efficiency, future flexibility, as well as sustainability and resiliency. Designed for a minimum of LEED Silver certification, the building uses numerous sustainable strategies; but when Hurricane Sandy hit New York during design, resiliency features were then added to ensure the building could be responsive to community needs during a severe weather event. The project also boasts 18-foot-6-inch floor-to-floor heights, removable façade panels on clinical floors, and a long-span structural system to reduce columns—all to ensure the facility was built to adapt to countless future needs.

The project was submitted to the Design Showcase by Ballinger, HOK, and Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Lead designers Erin Nunes Cooper, associate principal at Ballinger; Christine Vandover, senior interior designer at HOK; and Henry Cobb, founding partner of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, share their thoughts on how some of the jury’s favorite elements were achieved.

How did [the design] process differ from a more traditional approach?

Christine Vandover: It was a complex project, with three different design firms and an array of consultants working collaboratively to deliver a project with a unified design intent. It was critical to the project’s success for us to bring all consultants on board from the earliest stages. Even an art consultant and graphic design consultant were brought on in the beginning, which was important to creating a cohesive, well-branded space.

Another unique element was the team’s approach to facility tours. Instead of visiting existing healthcare spaces, we challenged ourselves and the client to learn about the customer experience from those outside the healthcare industry. We went to a diverse set of projects, had scorecards that our clients used to give feedback, and we really considered the experience from start to finish—from hospitality to food service. This process gave us freedom to think outside the box and integrate spaces and amenities that we might not otherwise have considered.

As the project progressed, we wove architecture, medical planning, and interiors together through regular and constant communication. We wanted to function as one firm to create a singularly unique space. From regular in-person meetings to weekly charrettes, this collaborative spirit was key to making the project a success.

What’s your favorite design element and why?

Christine Vandover: My favorite part of the design is the casual dining on the 2nd floor. It was designed to create community and to emphasize the connections between food and health and wellness. NewYork-Presbyterian saw the impact that a good dining experience can have on an organization and people and committed to bringing in a food service operator who had a fresh perspective on what they served. For example, bone broth is available at the coffee bar. How cool is that?

From a design perspective, it’s a generous, light-filled open space that gives visitors diverse choices of places to dine, socialize, and work. It feels warm and inviting. There’s strategically a quiet family lounge on this floor, adjacent to the coffee bar. It’s a unique space for healthcare, but one with a great impact. It’s enclosed with glass for acoustic purposes and has end block wood floors and ceilings that overlook the treetops on 69th Street. It’s a calming and healing space that gives families a quiet environment to contemplate their health or that of a loved one.

The post NewYork-Presbyterian David H. Koch Center Wins Healthcare Design Magazine’s Highest Honor appeared first on HOK.

Excerpted from Boutique Design:

I define inclusive design as a “whole-person, whole process” design approach that considers the full spectrum of human diversity, which includes, but is not limited to culture; ability; age; gender; and health. Inclusive design seeks an understanding of each to develop democratized design solutions that address functional and personal needs.

Born to immigrant parents from Barbados, I fought to overcome challenges that all first-generation minority kids experience: racism, indifference and exclusion. Often considered “other” whether at school, at the park, or at the corner store, I (like so many minorities) have been aware of my “otherness” my entire life. At times, it has both discouraged and empowered me, but it has always remained an important part of who I am.

Today my “otherness” has become my superpower. It compels me to dig deeper to discover the nuances of what lies beneath the surface.

It allows me to read between the lines to uncover the heart of the matter at hand in every project. Whether it is achieving equity in creating a beautiful hotel front desk that considers both accessible function and the emotional need of guests with challenges who do not want their experience to be defined by their difference; or creating spaces in offices or airports that consider and allay the anxiety of autistic users like my niece. Simply put, design matters. That is why inclusive design fuels my passion to create meaningful design solutions that consider the needs of people authentically, while also creating unexpected moments of delight.

The post Ian Rolston Explores the Topic of Inclusive Design in New Blog Series for Boutique Design appeared first on HOK.