Interior Design News
30 January 2006
New HOK Toronto Office Earns LEED®-CI Gold
HOK's 9th LEED recognition is also one of the first two projects in Canada to earn the Gold distinction from the U.S. Green Building Council. |
HOK's renovated Canadian headquarters, at 720 King Street West in Toronto, has joined the firm's San Francisco and St. Louis offices in earning certification under the LEED® for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) program. The project is the first HOK commercial interiors project and one of only two projects throughout Canada to earn the Gold distinction from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Completed in December 2004, the 20,500-square-foot office and studio space was designed to utilize the base building attributes sealed concrete floors, open ceilings, bicycle storage and change rooms, and exposed columns. Other sustainable components include effective use of natural daylight harvesting, low VOC paint and other coatings, high levels of local and recycled materials, installation of operable windows, over 30% reduction in energy consumption, and the provision of 75% of its electricity provided by renewable resources (through green power).
As a design firm striving to integrate sustainable design principles into all our projects for every building type, geographic region, and budget level we recognized that our commitment had to begin in our own offices, said Richard Williams, Vice President and Practice Leader of Architecture and Sustainability at HOK Canada. Our space demonstrates that healthy and uplifting workplaces can be enhanced by principles of environmental sustainability. In fact, return on investment in terms of energy savings and reduction of employee absenteeism is significant in the long term.
The project is the 9th consecutive HOK project to achieve LEED certification. Previous projects include the Winrock International Headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas (LEED Gold); Whitehead Biomedical Research Building at Emory University in Atlanta (LEED Silver); Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise in St. Louis (LEED Silver); IBM Tivoli Systems headquarters building in Austin, Texas (LEED Certified); USAA Phoenix Norterra Campus in Phoenix, Arizona (LEED Certified); San Mateo County Sheriff's Forensic Laboratory and Coroner's Office in San Mateo, California (LEED Certified); HOK San Francisco Office (LEED-CI Certified); and HOK St. Louis Office (LEED-CI Certified).
LEED-CI is the recognized standard for certifying high-performance green interiors that are healthy, productive places to work, are less costly to operate and maintain, and demonstrate environmental stewardship.
About HOK in Canada In Canada, HOK serves a diverse range of clients in the market areas of health care, residential, hospitality, retail, corporate office, justice, science + technology, and regional/urban planning. Providing multidisciplinary services for projects of varying scope and scale, HOK draws on its global technical knowledge and design expertise to provide clients with all the advantages of a responsive Canadian design team, enhanced by the resources of the global HOK network. In accordance with licensing requirements, projects requiring an architectural seal are carried out in conjunction with its in-house architectural practice: Urbana Architects Corporation. In addition to Canadian offices in Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa, the firm also has offices in Doha, Qatar, and Dubai, UAE.
About HOK HOK is a global architectural firm that specializes in planning, design and delivery solutions for buildings and communities. Through its collaborative network of 22 offices worldwide, the firm serves diverse clients within the corporate, commercial, public and institutional markets. HOK is committed to developing resources and expertise to help lead the world toward sustainable communities and building environments. Founded in 1955, the firm's expertise includes architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, lighting, graphics, facilities planning and assessment, and construction services.
Posted in: Interior Design,Sustainable Design
