Mary Ann Lazarus, FAIA, LEED® AP BD+C, has accepted a two-year consulting position with the American Institute of Architects in Washington, DC. Her new position, which begins March 1, will focus on increasing the AIA's impact on sustainability across the profession. The St. Louis-based architect will continue consulting at HOK.
Lazarus, an architect with HOK in St. Louis since 1980, has served as the global firm's director of sustainable design since 2001. She co-authored the second edition of "The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design," an influential textbook used by design professionals and universities. Lazarus won Eco-Structure's 2012 Evergreen Award in the Perspectives category, which recognizes one individual each year for advancing sustainable design. In 2011, based on her significant contributions to sustainable design over her career, the AIA elevated Lazarus to its College of Fellows.
"Mary Ann has served as a sustainability teacher and mentor for an entire generation of architects," said HOK President Bill Hellmuth, AIA, LEED AP BD+C. “We are thrilled that she has this opportunity with the AIA and that she will continue to work with us as a consultant. She is an important part of our HOK family."
"I am incredibly proud of HOK's commitment to sustainable design and of what our people have accomplished," said Lazarus. "Our Sustainability Steering Team will continue to keep HOK on the leading edge of innovation in sustainability." The steering team includes Tim Gaidis, LEED AP BD+C, sustainable design leader in HOK's St. Louis office and board member of Sustainable St. Louis.
"Mary Ann has made sustainability central to our culture and practice in St. Louis and all over the world,” said St. Louis Management Principal Rebecca Nolan, IIDA, LEED AP. “As much as we will miss her leadership, we are proud to share her expertise and passion for sustainability with the AIA and our entire profession.”
Lazarus has played a key role in many milestone HOK sustainable projects. In 2010, she led a St. Louis-based project to design Net Zero Court, a prototype for an affordable, zero carbon emissions office building. Since 2011, she has directed HOK's pro bono design team on Project Haiti, a U.S. Green Building Council-sponsored, biomimetic, LEED Platinum, net zero energy orphanage in Port-au-Prince.
HOK's current projects in St. Louis include serving as executive architect for the BJC HealthCare campus renewal project at Washington University Medical Center, executive architect for the Heritage multi-tenant lab and office building in the CORTEX district, architect for the St. Louis Science Center Agricultural Gallery site planning and design, and architect-of-record for the new 200,000-sq.-ft. expansion of the Saint Louis Art Museum.
HOK is a global architectural firm that provides planning and design solutions for high-performance, sustainable buildings and communities. Through its collaborative network of 24 offices worldwide, the firm delivers design excellence and innovation to clients globally. Founded in St. Louis in 1955, HOK's expertise includes architecture, interiors, planning and urban design, engineering, strategic facility planning, consulting, lighting, graphics and construction services. In 2012, DesignIntelligence ranked HOK as the #1 role model for sustainable and high-performance design for the third consecutive year.
Related Stories
| Apr 13, 2011
Southern Illinois park pavilion earns LEED Platinum
Erin’s Pavilion, a welcome and visitors center at the 80-acre Edwin Watts Southwind Park in Springfield, Ill., earned LEED Platinum. The new 16,000-sf facility, a joint project between local firm Walton and Associates Architects and the sustainability consulting firm Vertegy, based in St. Louis, serves as a community center and special needs education center, and is named for Erin Elzea, who struggled with disabilities during her life.
| Apr 13, 2011
Virginia hospital’s prescription for green construction: LEED Gold
Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg, Va., is the commonwealth’s first inpatient healthcare facility to earn LEED Gold. The 630,000-sf facility was designed by Earl Swensson Associates, with commissioning consultant SSRCx, both of Nashville.
| Apr 13, 2011
Office interaction was the critical element to Boston buildout
Margulies Perruzzi Architects, Boston, designed the new 11,460-sf offices for consultant Interaction Associates and its nonprofit sister organization, The Interaction Institute for Social Change, inside an old warehouse near Boston’s Seaport Center.
| Apr 13, 2011
Expanded Museum of the Moving Image provides a treat for the eyes
The expansion and renovation of the Museum of the Moving Image in the Astoria section of Queens, N.Y., involved a complete redesign of its first floor and the construction of a three-story 47,000-sf addition.
| Apr 13, 2011
Duke University parking garage driven to LEED certification
People parking their cars inside the new Research Drive garage at Duke University are making history—they’re utilizing the country’s first freestanding LEED-certified parking structure.
| Apr 13, 2011
Red Bull Canada HQ a mix of fluid spaces and high-energy design
The Toronto architecture firm Johnson Chou likes to put a twist on its pared-down interiors, and its work on the headquarters for Red Bull Canada is no exception. The energy drink maker occupies 12,300 sf on the top two floors of a three-story industrial building in Toronto, and the design strategy for its space called for leaving the base building virtually untouched while attention was turned to the interior architecture.
| Apr 13, 2011
Former department store gets new lease on life as MaineHealth HQ
The long-vacant Sears Roebuck building in Portland, Maine, was redeveloped into the corporate headquarters for MaineHealth. Consigli Construction and local firm Harriman Architects + Engineers handled the 14-month fast-track project, transforming the 89,000-sf, four-story facility for just $100/sf.
| Apr 12, 2011
Rutgers students offered choice of food and dining facilities
The Livingston Dining Commons at Rutgers University’s Livingston Campus in New Brunswick, N.J., was designed by Biber Partnership, Summit, N.J., to offer three different dining rooms that connect to a central servery.
| Apr 12, 2011
Retail complex enjoys prime Abu Dhabi location
The Galleria at Sowwah Square in Abu Dhabi will be built in a prime location within Sowwah Island that also includes a five-star Four Seasons Hotel, the healthcare facility Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, and nearly two million sf of Class A office space.
| Apr 12, 2011
Luxury New York high rise adjacent to the High Line
Located adjacent to New York City’s High Line Park, 500 West 23rd Street will offer 111 luxury rental apartments when it opens later this year.
