HOK’s Anne Fletcher joined Arup’s Jon Phillips and The Robert Group’s Chris Robert in coauthoring an Airport World article describing the innovative process Los Angeles World Airports is following to assemble diverse project teams for airport upgrades.
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the owner and operator of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Van Nuys Airport (VNY), has selected the joint venture HOK+Arup to serve as principal architect and principal engineer to advance the planning and design of capital investment projects over the next three years.
This consolidated, on-call relationship to deliver all types of projects throughout LAX and VNY provides a streamlined way to improve the airports ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“As our $14 billion capital improvement program continues to reinvent the LAX experience, bringing all of the experts in planning, architecture and engineering under one umbrella will create efficiencies as we look at how to create these critical infrastructure projects, while providing opportunities for local businesses and workers to help build a better LAX,” said Bernardo Gogna, chief development officer for Los Angeles World Airports.
The HOK+Arup joint venture team is made up of 47 partners, 30 of which are small, local and minority businesses (MWBEs) in the Los Angeles area.
The inclusive process the joint venture has used to assemble this team could serve as a model for other airports seeking to bring additional value to their communities by enhancing the diversity of their consultants, vendors and partners.
Excerpted from the Airport World article bylined by Fletcher, Phillips and Robert:
To achieve such a diverse group of companies, the JV partnered with Chris Robert, president and founder of The Robert Group, to develop a deliberate outreach plan to target as many local companies as possible.
Working with Chris, HOK+Arup sought a minimum of six core companies with specialties, a minimum of six integrated local and small business partners and dozens of specialty consultants.
These specialty consultants hail from a variety of industries such as public health and industry advising, baggage handling systems, cost estimating, signage and wayfinding, simulations and modelling, sustainability and commercial development.
This includes core disciplines like building systems engineers, traffic engineers, architects, airfield and civil engineers, specialty consultants, airport planners, and technology and innovation experts.
With a determined team structure in place, our team held an online information session for small, local, disabled veterans’ and other diverse firms in the area.
In October 2020, we announced a 90-minute virtual information session to discuss how firms could join one of Los Angeles’ most important infrastructure projects over the next decade.
Promotion began through email blasts and social media posts, particularly on LinkedIn, to find business organizations who could circulate the opportunity.
A wide net of business groups included LA Area Chamber, Latino Chambers, National Association of Women Business Owners, Los Angeles Business Council, BizFed, Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber, Culver City Chamber, Inglewood Chamber, El Segundo Chamber and LAX Coastal Chamber to identify an array of local businesses and diverse voices.
We identified 1,621 relevant companies in Los Angeles, which resulted in 396 people registering and 294 joining the 90-minute Webex event. Following the event, attendees were sent an exit poll offering a 15-minute one-on-one meeting with either Arup or HOK, which 211 requested.
The meetings consisted of a guided discussion and questions for the JV team to assess for LAWA projects. Nearly 127 meetings were completed by December 1, 2020, augmenting information from local databases with our own outreach and engagement to certified local businesses in the area for the team to keep on file for future collaborations.
Our efforts aided in the eventual gaining of 47 partners including 30 small, local and minority businesses to work on projects across LAX and VNY.
Image courtesy of Los Angeles World Airports. Curved Theme Building designed by Paul Revere Williams, FAIA.