HOK San Francisco Office Earns LEED®-CI Certification

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HOK San Francisco Office Earns LEED®-CI Certification

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HOK San Francisco Office Earns LEED®-CI Certification

Innovative Office Design Represents Architectural Firm's

Fourth 'Green' Project Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, Sep. 30 -/E-Wire/-- The new Bay Area office of global architectural firm HOK is among the first projects to achieve certification by the U.S. Green Building Council's new LEED® for Commercial Interiors rating system. LEED-CI is part of a comprehensive suite of LEED assessment tools to promote green design, construction and operations practices in buildings nationwide.

The 34,000-square-foot HOK office is located on two floors of the historic One Bush Street building, in the heart of downtown San Francisco's financial district. The collaborative space is occupied by 120 of the firm's planners, architects, interior designers, mechanical and electrical engineers, facilities consultants, corporate executives and administrative departments.

Originally designed by HOK before the LEED-CI system was even established, the project qualified for the pilot program because of HOK's commitment to incorporating sustainable design principles and techniques into its standard design process. The firm has more than a decade of hands-on experience in planning and designing high-performance "green" office environments throughout the world.

"Our intent, as with our external clients, was to create a great workplace by being smarter and creating real value, while being practical stewards of the environment and meeting a tight construction budget and schedule," says Tony Garrett, LEED® AP, vice president and design director of HOK San Francisco Interiors. "We also recognized the value of the productivity and loyalty of our employees by creating an attractive, healthy, daylit work environment."

One of the biggest challenges to creating a sustainable office environment was implementing strategies and systems to improve energy efficiencies and indoor air quality within the limitations of a registered historic landmark.

Among the project's more prominent environmentally friendly components are:

· an urban central location in an existing high-rise building adjacent to public transportation that will provide easy access throughout the Bay Area for employees and clients;

· daylight and views provided by the building's full height perimeter glazing;

· use of sustainable materials, including Forest Stewardship Council certified wood, resilient flooring, laminate, fabrics, carpet tiles, ceiling tiles and paint;

· voluntary compliance with energy efficiency requirements outlined in California's Title 24, despite an exemption due to the building's registered historic landmark status. The installed lighting power is actually 25% better than Title 24's requirement. It is supported by an innovative approach to lighting controls through a digitally addressable lighting interface (DALI) system.

In addition to green features, the new space reflects HOK's successful business model, which emphasizes the integration of its diverse spectrum of design and planning services to promote collaboration and deliver the highest quality of service for clients anywhere in the world.

Other HOK-designed projects that are LEED certified include the Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise in St. Louis; Whitehead Biomedical Research Facility at Emory University in Atlanta; and IBM Tivoli Systems Headquarters in Houston. More than 20 additional HOK projects are currently pursuing certification. The firm also has more than 300 LEED Accredited Professionals located at 10 offices across North America.

HOK's pioneering efforts in sustainability have been widely acknowledged through numerous awards, including six consecutive years of recognition on the "Top 10 Green Projects" list by the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment. The firm is the only architectural firm to earn the "Designing a Sustainable and Secure World" award from Global Green USA, the U.S. affiliate of Mikhail Gorbachev's worldwide environment organization Green Cross International.

HOK is a global architectural firm that specializes in planning, design and delivery solutions for buildings and communities. Through its collaborative network of 21 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.

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