What does “green” mean?

HOK takes a holistic approach to “green” and has created a sustainable culture committed to design solutions that enhance aesthetic goals, limit resource consumption, improve performance, promote health and productivity, and deliver sustaining value to clients, the community and the environment.

To fully realize this commitment and achieve the goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions (from the firm’s projects and within its practice) by 100 per cent by 2030, HOK has taken the following steps:

• Integrated sustainable guidelines into every project.
• Formed a sustainable design consulting group to help clients assess, implement and manage their environmental impacts.
• Appointed a director of integrated design to collaborate with architects and engineers of record to identify and apply the most sustainable strategies possible.
• Utilized building information modeling (BIM) to ensure quality and reduce waste.
• Formed a strategic alliance with the Biomimicry Group to explore design solutions that mimic natural processes, with the goal of achieving restorative outcomes.
• Created a multi-disciplinary community in which staff from varied and unique backgrounds such as biology, film, engineering and design can collaborate to push traditional boundaries and deliver the most innovative sustainable solutions.

Lui Mancinelli is the managing principal of HOK in Canada.