HOK Architects (Hellmuth, Obata +Kassabaum) is a worldwide design, architecture, engineering, and urban planning firm founded in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1955. HOK is one of the oldest firms in the United States of America and its name was derived from the last names of its founders – George F. Hellmuth, Gyo Obata, and George Kassabaum. All of these three founders were graduates of the same university, i.e; the School of Architecture at Washington University. Initially, the firm had only 26 team members apart from the founders.
First of the projects were mostly schools including St. Louis suburbs, Saint Louis Priory School, and St. Thomas Aquinas High School in St. Louis County. Other important projects by the firm include Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the library at Stanford University, and Dallas and King Saud University in Riyadh which was their landmark project for international presence. Following are the 15 Best projects by HOK Architects-
1. Central + Wolfe Campus by HOK Architects
Location: Sunnyvale, California
Construction Year: 2001
Welcome to the future of work—an office that sparks imagination and promotes wellness by connecting employees with their colleagues and nature. This was the vision for Central & Wolfe, a curvilinear, concrete-and-glass campus that stands out from the cookie-cutter tilt-up ‘boxes’ that long have characterized Silicon Valley.
2. Hamad International Airport Passenger Terminal Complex
Location: Doha, Qatar
Construction Year: 2000
HOK Architects design of the passenger terminal complex at Doha’s airport celebrates form, light, and materiality while providing a highly efficient and inspirational travel experience. While contemporary in design, the airport pays homage to the nation’s rich cultural heritage and natural environment. The dramatic, curving building silhouette recalls ocean waves and sand dunes to project a powerful image as Qatar’s gateway to the world.
3. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Headquarters by HOK Architect
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Construction Year: 2005
The new headquarters for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) symbolizes the company’s importance in the development of the United Arab Emirates. Located on one of Abu Dhabi’s most prominent urban sites, the 75-story tower creates a new city landmark while articulating ADNOC’s role as one of the world’s most dynamic, influential petroleum companies.
4. LG Science Park
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Construction Year: 1999
Koo Bon-Moo, the late chairman of LG Group, had a vision: Merge LG’s eight affiliate companies into a single research site in Seoul and infuse this next-generation campus with the company’s “innovation for a better life” esprit de corps.Mr. Bon-Moo’s vision became reality in LG Science Park, a 26-building campus designed to inspire 24,000 LG researchers, engineers, scientists and visitors at work on tomorrow’s new products and discoveries. Located in Seoul’s R&D-focused Magok District, the campus is the world research headquarters for LG Group’s consumer electronics business and a new scientific hub for South Korea.
5. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Location: Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
Construction Year: 2001
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology’s (KAUST) campus along the Red Sea houses one of the world’s most advanced collection of labs.In these buildings, KAUST’s internationally renowned researchers are addressing humanity’s most urgent scientific challenges related to energy and the environment, including water conservation, energy efficiency, and food production.
6. The Francis Crick Institute by HOK Architects
Location: London, United Kingdom
Construction Year: 2002
Imagine a research center without hierarchy or departmental divisions. A place with open doors for impromptu conversations and idea-sharing. An environment where collaboration trumps competition and where the work of one researcher is intimately connected to that of her peers.That’s the idea behind Francis Crick Institute, a first-of-its-kind biomedical and translational research center in the heart of London.
7. University of Glasgow Research Hub
Location: Glasgow, United Kingdom
Construction Year: 2000
Designed by HOK to attract and support world-changing discovery, this high-tech facility under development at the University of Glasgow draws inspiration from existing campus architecture and the transformative research that will be conducted within its labs and workspaces.Forming the west side of a new square within the expanded campus, the building features a glass facade with varied terra-cotta panels and fins set within a cast stone frame. Its palette of red and buff terra-cotta, with anodized bronze mullions and pale cream cast stone, takes cues from the local context while establishing a personality all its own.
8. University of Chicago William Eckhardt Research Center
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Construction Year: 2005
The research that takes place here extends from the smallest scale possible to the largest imaginable: from molecular manipulation to expanding our understanding of the universe. It’s a nexus for transformative discovery. The team designed the Center to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among University of Chicago researchers working across the fields of chemical, electrical, mechanical and biological engineering as well as the traditional materials and physical sciences.
9. University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Location: Buffalo, New York
Construction Year: 2000
In relocating the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to downtown, the University at Buffalo returned one of the nation’s oldest medical schools to its original roots and reunited it with the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus to create a hub of academic medicine and research. The gently sloping building features a high-performance terra-cotta rainscreen that reflects the architectural history and texture of Buffalo. The design puts learning on display with glass-walled conference rooms and “floating operating rooms” that cantilever over the atrium, allowing all occupants to view the teaching and research underway inside. In the “flipped” classrooms, students can listen to a lecture and then swivel around to meet in small groups.
10. Penn Medicine – Princeton Medical Center by HOK Architects
Location: Plainsboro, New Jersey
Construction Year: 2005
To make the new hospital as convenient as possible for patients, the firm design creates centers of care to keep related services near each other.Sustainable design strategies were projected to reduce the hospital’s energy use by 25 percent compared to a conventional design. Ventilation systems deliver 100 percent fresh air in critical patient care areas.A joint venture of HOK and RMJM Hiller designed the Center.
