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
| Jul 17, 2014
How the 'pop-up' retail concept can be applied to workplace design
“Pop-up” has rapidly become one of the most pervasive design trends in recent years. It has given us pop-up shops and pop-up restaurants, but can it be applied to the professional work environment?
Sponsored | | Jul 17, 2014
A major hop forward
The construction of efficient metal buildings has helped Perrault Farms expand its hops-harvesting business.
| Jul 17, 2014
22 land questions to decide if your build site works
When you’re ready to build, land needs a serious amount of attention. Since it can singlehandedly shift your building plans, land must be investigated, questioned, and eyed from every angle. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Jul 16, 2014
Mergers and acquisitions of AE firms on track for strong year in 2014
Through the first six months of 2014, Morrissey Goodale tracked 101 sales of U.S.-based architecture and engineering firms, roughly the same amount as during the first six months of 2013.
| Jul 16, 2014
Ware Malcomb announces New Jersey office expansion
Architecture and design firm also honored for commercial real estate projects in New Jersey.
| Jul 16, 2014
Learning design fundamentals in the digital age – How to balance learning and technology
My colleague and I were once asked an insightful question by a Civil Engineering Professor that sparked an interesting conversation. He’d been told about our software by some of his students who had used it during their summer internship. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Jul 16, 2014
Check out this tree-like skyscraper concept for vertical farming
Aprilli Design Studio has stepped forward with a new idea for a vertical farm, which is intended to resemble a giant tree. It uses lightweight decks as outdoor growing space, adding up to about 25 acres of space.
| Jul 16, 2014
User input on aquatics center keeps students in the swim [2014 Building Team Awards]
Collaborative spirit abounds in the expansion and renovation of a high school pool facility in suburban Chicago.
| Jul 16, 2014
Nonresidential construction starts up 34% in June
Construction starts for nonresidential work saw a surge in June, rising more than a third compared with the previous month, according to Reed Construction Data.
| Jul 16, 2014
ASHRAE, IAQA team up to improve resources on indoor air quality
Indoor Air Quality Association will become part of the ASHRAE organization while maintaining its own brand and board; HQ will relocate to Atlanta.
