HOK has become the latest AEC firm to form a partnership with Delos, the New York-based real estate developer whose International WELL Building Institute’s WELL Building standard establishes performance criteria for occupant health in the built environment.
Within the next 12 months, HOK has committed to put more than 100 of its designers through Delos’s program to become WELL Accredited Professionals (WELL APs).
Bill Hellmuth, AIA, LEED AP, HOK’s chief executive, has joined Delos’ Advisory Board, and will provide strategic counsel on design. HOK will also offer its experts in various practices to provide Delos with research and insight.
Advocates are attempting to promote wellness as the next big thing in nonresidential design and construction, like high performance and sustainability. BD+C’s September issue includes an extensive feature on this movement’s progress. One of the projects cited in that article is a HOK-designed interior renovation of office space in the TD Centre in Toronto to the specifications of the WELL standard for New and Existing Interiors.
“This project for TD is an example of how designers can uses WELL’s performance standards to elevate our ability to create exceptional workplaces,” said Kay Sargent, ASID, IIDA, CID, LEED AP, director of strategic accounts for HOK.
HOK and Delos are now working with Strategic Property Partners, a real estate developer, on the design of multiple buildings within SPP’s mixed-use development on 53 acres in the Channelside district of Tampa, Fla., between Amalie Arena and the central business area.
SPP is a joint venture between Cascade Investments LLC and Jeff Vinik, who owns the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL franchise and has a stake in the Boston Red Sox. This project aspires to be the world’s first WELL-certified city district under the WELL Community standard that is in its early pilot stage.
Components of that standard include enhanced walkability, robust green spaces with low-pollen trees, sound barriers to support acoustic comfort, access to healthy foods, green infrastructure, the daily monitoring and reporting of district air quality, and access to amenities of the urban waterfront.
The redevelopment of Channelside district will include the new 320,000-sf University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute, an adjoining 300,000-sf medical office building, and a parking, residential and retail building. It will also feature a 650-room luxury hotel.
SPP intends to begin vertical construction on this project late next year. When all three phases of this district are completed, sometime in the next decade, the redevelopment will have up to 9 million sf of commercial, residential (including 5,000 housing units), educational, entertainment, cultural, and retail space, with total investment exceeding $2 billion.
Related Stories
Market Data | May 12, 2022
Monthly construction input prices increase in April
Construction input prices increased 0.8% in April compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today.
School Construction | May 11, 2022
New Digital Learning Commons at Rutgers supports doctoral programs in over 16 disciplines
The new Digital Learning Commons at the Rutgers University Archibald S. Alexander Library provides students in over 16 courses of study and four professional schools with spacious collaborative and study space.
Esports Arenas | May 11, 2022
Design firm Populous partners with esports company on digital art NFT collection
Design firm Populous and multidiscipline esports organization Kansas City Pioneers have partnered on a five-part NFT collection.
Multifamily Housing | May 11, 2022
Kitchen+Bath AMENITIES – Take the survey for a chance at a $50 gift card
MULTIFAMILY DESIGN + CONSTRUCTION is conducting a research study on the use of kitchen and bath products in the $106 billion multifamily construction sector.
Building Team | May 11, 2022
Miami to get its first supertall building
After completing its first supertall building, 111 W 57th Street in New York, developer PMG is now preparing for the groundbreaking of the first supertall in Miami: Waldorf Astoria Miami.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | May 10, 2022
Designing smarter places of learning
This course explains the how structural steel building systems are suited to construction of education facilities.
Performing Arts Centers | May 10, 2022
A historic performance space is transformed to reinforce a campus’ Arts District
Connecticut College’s Athey Center for Performance and Research at Palmer Auditorium balances the old and new.
Market Data | May 10, 2022
Hybrid work could result in 20% less demand for office space
Global office demand could drop by between 10% and 20% as companies continue to develop policies around hybrid work arrangements, a Barclays analyst recently stated on CNBC.
Multifamily Housing | May 10, 2022
Multifamily rents up 14.3% in 2022
The average U.S. asking rent for multifamily housing increased $15 in April to an all-time high of $1,659, according to Yardi Matrix.
Headquarters | May 10, 2022
JPMorgan Chase’s new all-electric headquarters to have net-zero operational emissions
JPMorgan Chase’s recently unveiled plans for its new global headquarters building in New York City that is rife with impressive sustainability credentials.