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
Architects | Feb 9, 2016
Architect faces prison sentence for VA medical center contract conspiracy
Admits to using inside information to gain VA contracts in Cleveland
Game Changers | Feb 5, 2016
London’s ’shadowless’ towers
Using advanced design computation, a design team demonstrates how to ‘erase’ a building’s shadows.
High-rise Construction | Feb 2, 2016
This tall tower will lower your heart rate
Matthias Olt, Associate Vice President at CallisonRTKL, discusses new ways to improve individual health and well-being through tower design.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 1, 2016
Top 10 kitchen design trends for 2016
Charging stations, built-in coffeemakers, and pet stations—these are among the top kitchen design trends for the coming year, according to a new survey of kitchen and bath designers by the National Kitchen & Bath Association.
Architects | Jan 28, 2016
25-year-old architect wins competition for World War I memorial in Pershing Park
Joe Weishaar and sculptor Sabin Howard were selected from among five finalists and over 350 entries overall.
| Jan 28, 2016
AIA CES class: The rainscreen approach to a better building envelope
Building envelope expert Bradley Carmichael of Hoffmann Architects explains how rainscreen wall systems work and evaluates the effectiveness of various rain-control methods, including mass walls, perfect barriers, and masonry veneers. This AIA/CES class is worth 1.0 learning unit.
Architects | Jan 28, 2016
2015 was a record year for mergers and acquisitions in the AE industry [infographic]
Consulting firm Morrissey Goodale tracked a record 234 sales of U.S.-based A/E firms last year.
Architects | Jan 27, 2016
NCARB to rename the Intern Development Program
This June, the program designed to guide aspiring architects through the early stages of their career will be renamed the Architectural Experience Program (AXP).
Architects | Jan 26, 2016
HOK promotes Bill Hellmuth to chief executive
Hellmuth is set to replace Patrick MacLeamy, who will remain as the firm’s chairman.
Mixed-Use | Jan 25, 2016
SOM unveils renderings of dual-tower Manhattan West development
The five million-sf project includes two office towers, a residential tower, retail space, and a new public square.