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About

HOK is a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm. Our 1,700 people collaborate across a network of 26 offices on three continents.

HOK is a collective of future-forward thinkers and designers who are driven to face the critical challenges of our time. We are dedicated to improving people’s lives, serving our clients and healing the planet. Together, we cultivate a culture of design excellence at the confluence of art and science, blending the power of creative expression with a clear sense of purpose.

HOK has been carbon neutral since 2022 and is dedicated to achieving net-zero emissions in the projects we design by 2030. In 2023, on average, HOK’s projects surpassed the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2030 energy reduction targets, achieving a 65.5% reduction in energy use intensity compared to baseline levels, with many already meeting or exceeding the targets. We’re committed to addressing both operational and embodied carbon through innovative research and design strategies, including structural optimization and sustainable material selection.

HOK History at a Glance

George Hellmuth recruits Gyo Obata and George Kassabaum to form an architectural firm in St. Louis with a vision for using design to help clients succeed and creating places that enrich people’s lives.
HOK Founded
1955
New school projects such as Bristol Primary School in suburban St. Louis not only solve the post-war need for classrooms, but provide innovative ways to create shared and collaborative teaching spaces—a continuous theme in HOK buildings.
First Education Project Opens
1956
The firm wins its first major university commission: the planning and design of a new campus for Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville (SIUE).
First University Project
1961
Located in suburban St. Louis, the church has an iconic circular facade featuring three tiers of whitewashed, thin-shell, concrete parabolic arches that celebrate structure and light.
Gyo Obata’s Design of the Priory Chapel at Saint Louis Abbey
1962
Located on a hilltop in Forest Park beside a major highway, the St. Louis Science Center Space Science Building, also known as the St. Louis Planetarium, is designed to be eye-catching from a distance.
An Eye-Catching Planetarium
1963
The firm designs its first major corporate building: the IBM Advanced Systems Development Laboratories in Los Gatos, California.
Silicon Valley v. 1.0: an Early Tech Lab for IBM
1964
HOK is selected to design the Cecil H. Green Graduate Library, an addition to the venerable Hoover Library at Stanford University. The commission means opening a project office in the Bay Area.
HOK Expands to San Francisco to Open Second Studio
1966
Corporate offices such as the American Zinc Building in St. Louis serve as essays in mid-century modernism
Mid-Century Modernism
1967
HOK ends the decade by securing its first retail project: the design for a Neiman Marcus store in western Houston. A year later, HOK designs The Galleria in Houston as one of the first enclosed shopping malls to combine upscale retail, hotel, entertainment and office facilities in an interconnected complex.
Reinventing Retail
1969
Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) houses what will one day be called "the greatest gathering of computer talent ever assembled." The HOK-designed building cascades down the hillside with courtyards that flood the offices with natural light and spur collaboration for inventions including graphical user interface, laser printing and the first commercial mouse.
Xerox PARC: Architecture for the PC Revolution
1970
HOK merges with New York-based Kahn & Jacobs, P.C., a 100-year-old architectural practice, and establishes a presence in New York.
New York Office Opens
1973
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s headquarters and research campus in Princeton, New Jersey, exemplifies a total design approach—from master planning to delivering buildings that emphasize innovation through collaboration.
Purpose and Place for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Campus
1973
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport becomes the nation's first truly regional airport, serving as a hub for international travel and commerce for the entire Southwestern U.S.
DFW: America's First Regional Airport
1974
Anticipating the dedication of the National Air and Space Museum (left), HOK acquires its associate firm for the project, well-respected Mills and Petticord, and establishes a full-time office in Washington, D.C.

At the same time, the firm opens an office in Dallas in the 56-story First International Tower, an HOK design.
HOK Offices Open in D.C. and Dallas
1973
On July 4, 1976, the HOK-designed National Air and Space Museum is dedicated as the first event in America’s bicentennial celebration. The building, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C, remains one of the world's most-visited museums.
Telling the Story of Flight: National Air and Space Museum
1976
HOK’s entrance into the world of sports began with designing facilities, including the fieldhouse, for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. The center is most famous for the “Miracle on Ice” hockey game in which the young Americans defeated their seasoned Russian opponents.
First Sports Project: Olympic Fieldhouse in Lake Placid, New York
1979
The vast, column-free Moscone Convention Center exemplifies a building finely tuned to its purpose while adding a new public park to San Francisco.
An Underground Convention Center in San Francisco
1981
Nestled into a San Francisco hillside, this corporate campus for Levi Strauss & Co. includes a public park and fountain. San Francisco Chronicle architecture critic Allan Temko called Levi’s Plaza “a gift to the city,” and Time magazine named it “Building of the Year.”
Levi's Plaza: "a Gift to the City"
1982
Realizing the opportunities offered by a presence in Southern California to complement the highly successful San Francisco location, HOK opens a Los Angeles office.
Los Angeles Office Opens
1983
The opening of the 3.3-million-sq.-ft. King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh helps HOK crystallize the concept that an international airport is not only a gateway to a city, but also to a country and a culture.
King Khalid International Airport
1983
HOK opens a project office in Hong Kong to facilitate collaboration with a local firm in preparing construction documents for the 2.1-million-sq.-ft. Plaza Indonesia and Grand Hyatt Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Hong Kong Office Opens
1984
The office expands quickly, designing a diverse portfolio of projects across the Southeastern U.S., including the Orange County Convention and Civic Center in Orlando and both the Florida Aquarium and the Convention Center in Tampa.
Tampa Office Opens
1984
A commission to design King Saud University on a desert site outside Riyadh helps elevate HOK's reputation in the Middle East.
King Saud University: a New Community in the Desert
1984
HOK had already designed a major commercial center for The Church of England at St. Enoch Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, when the firm is invited by a U.K. developer to open an office in London for the purpose of designing three sizable mixed-use developments in the heart of the city.
London Office Opens
1987
For British Petroleum’s world headquarters in London's financial district, the team creates an elegant, refined interior design inspired by the building’s original architect, Edwardian legend Sir Edwin Lutyens.
BP's Headquarters in Historic Britannic House
1991
A Silicon Valley landmark, Apple's new campus houses its global R&D and office headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop. Offices, labs and conference areas are designed to promote interaction. By breaking down barriers between innovation and product development, Apple can accelerate the speed to market of its products.
Apple's Cupertino Campus
1993
By acquiring CRSS Architects, HOK adds active new offices in Texas and Georgia, bolstering the firm's Southeastern U.S. practice and leading to projects such as the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. HOK integrates CRSS’s sophisticated advance planning services for real estate and facilities with its own consulting expertise.
Acquisition Adds HOK Offices to Houston and Atlanta
1994
The opening of an official office in Chicago solidifies the firm's presence in the nation's third-largest city and helps HOK fulfill ongoing design work for a $600-million replacement facility for Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Chicago Office Opens
1995
Tokyo Telecom hires HOK to join two towers together, and the firm conceives a design that ultimately helps transform the entire neighborhood into a thriving business center.
Tokyo Towers
1995
HOK and its Canadian partner, Urbana Architects, merge after several years of collaboration on design work for a global telecommunications company. The merger leads to a new Toronto office. To meet client needs, HOK also opens an office in Ottawa.
New Offices in Toronto and Ottawa
1997
HOK's design for a 580,000-sq.-ft. extension to Microsoft's campus in Redmond, Washington, includes three new office buildings around open green space and a central commons building. The design satisfies the company's need for space that supports communication and growth.
Microsoft's Campus Expansion
1998
Designed to conserve energy and reduce long-term operating costs, Edificio Malecon in Buenos Aires sets the standard for sustainable, energy-efficient glass towers in South America.
Buenos Aires Tower Sets New Standards
1999
While working on the design of the Dubai Marina—the world’s largest planned waterfront community, made up of 10 districts for 100,000 people—HOK sets up a permanent office in the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai Office Opens
2000
The firms shares its knowledge and expertise by publishing The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design. The book, along with the second edition published in 2005, becomes a recognized industry reference for high-performance design.
HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design
2000
Designing a museum of any kind is challenging. Designing a modern museum and research center to sit behind The Natural History Museum, one of the grandest Romanesque Revival buildings in London, is especially daunting.
Darwin Centre Museum in London
2002
The U.S. General Services Administration hires HOK to design the Alfred A. Arraj U.S. District Courthouse to the highest standards of green design. The LEED Gold courthouse will go on to serve as an example of sustainable design for federal facilities and a welcome addition to the Denver skyline.
Green Design for the GSA
2003
Even as HOK is designing the National Air and Space Museum in D.C. for its 1976 opening, the client is aware that its confined location will permit the display of only about one percent of its accumulated artifacts. HOK's design of the NASM's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, accommodates more than 300 aircraft and large space artifacts.
A Second Home for the National Air and Space Museum
2003
Work on Motorola's new Chinese headquarters campus spurs the firm to open an office in Beijing. The firm sets up shop on the 18th floor of the China Resources Building, an HOK design.
Beijing Office Opens
2004
Located on Samsung's Research and Development campus in Suwon, South Korea, the 40-story Facility 4 responds to the technology company’s business strategy and vision for the evolution of its products.
Samsung's R&D Facility in South Korea
2005
HOK designs the building, shell and core interiors for the Barclays world headquarters tower in Canary Wharf, a business and shopping development in East London.
Barclays Bank Headquarters in London
2005
Demand for work out of the Hong Kong and Beijing studios necessitates the need for a third office in China. The HOK-designed Hyatt on the Bund in downtown Shanghai opens a year later.
Shanghai Office Opens
2006
HOK receives the U.S. Green Building Council Organizational Excellence Award and the CoreNet Global / American Institute of Architects / International Interior Design Association Sustainable Design Leadership Award. Image: Winrock International Global Headquarters.
Recognized as a Sustainable Design Leader
2006
After working in India for several years, the firm opens an official office in Mumbai. Projects include the Lavasa Hill Station development, the Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal 3 in New Delhi and planning for the Khed Special Economic Zone (image).
Mumbai Office Opens
2008
HOK opens a Seattle office to support growing work along the West Coast. Image: Concourse D Annex at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Seattle Office Opens
2008
The Indianapolis International Airport Colonel H. Weir Cook Terminal opens with its signature glass and steel civic plaza and improved gates and connections. It becomes the world’s first LEED-certified airport campus and consistently ranks among North America's best airports for passenger satisfaction.
New Heights In Airport Design
2008
HOK forges an alliance with the Biomimicry 3.8 (then the Biomimicry Guild) to integrate nature’s innovations into the planning and design of buildings, communities and cities worldwide.
Alliance with Biomimicry 3.8
2008
HOK leads the planning and design of King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST), a 5.5-million-sq.-ft., 27-building campus in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. The team satisfies King Abdullah’s vision for the project within an unprecedented two-and-a-half-year design and construction schedule. When it opens, KAUST is the world's largest LEED Platinum project. It is later named an AIA/COTE Top 10 Green Project winner.
Building a World-Class Saudi Arabian Research University in 30 Months
2009
The American Institute of Architects' Diversity Recognition Program selects HOK as one of 12 recipients of its inaugural award. HOK is the only architectural firm honored.
AIA Award for Diversity Excellence
2009
NASA’s LEED Platinum Building 20 office in Houston opens as a model for environmentally sound, high-performance buildings across the agency. The energy-efficient building performs 57 percent better than a typical facility.
NASA's First LEED Platinum Building
2010
HOK's social outreach arm is officially formed. The group’s triple bottom line approach—focusing on economic, ecological and social sustainability—aims for a promising future for the communities the firm serves around the world.
HOK IMPACT Founded
2010
Home to the most comprehensive collection of Salvador Dalí’s art outside of Spain, this iconic building in St. Petersburg, Florida, ensures technical feasibility and design excellence while avoiding "kitsch." Inspired by Dalí’s surrealist art and the practical need to shelter the collection from the hurricanes that threaten Florida’s west coast, HOK’s design draws directly from the building’s purpose.
The Dalí Museum
2011
HOK designs a series of residential and mixed-use towers within New Songdo City, Korea, an international business district called “the world’s smartest city.”
High-Tech Living in the ‘World’s Smartest City’
2011
Google Canada’s headquarters in downtown Toronto provides a creative workplace anchored by well-designed ergonomic spaces and the seamless integration of technology.
Google's Toronto Workplace
2012
The Baku Flame Towers become the instant symbol of Azerbaijan, merging a direct reference to the nation as the land of flames with exciting, iconic, contemporary forms that enclose offices, hotels, apartments and shopping.
Flame Towers Illuminate Baku
2012
HOK acquires the New York and Shanghai offices of hospitality design firm BBG-BBGM, creating one of the world's leading hospitality design firms.
Expanding the Hospitality Practice
2013
The community masjid, or mosque, opens as the spiritual center of the HOK-designed KAPSARC residential development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh's Religious Centerpiece
2013
The design for NOAA's Daniel K. Inouye Regional Center renovates and adapts two World War II-era airplane hangars and adds a new building between them on a national historic landmark site in Oahu. The LEED Gold project would later win an AIA COTE Top 10 Award for sustainable design.
NOAA's Historic and High-Tech Home in Hawaii
2013
HOK's design of the passenger terminal complex at Qatar’s replacement airport in Doha celebrates form, surface and light while providing an efficient yet inspirational experience for travelers. The airport will consistently rank as one of the world's best for passenger experience.
Hamad International Airport
2014
The LEED Gold Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis replaces the nearby Wishard Hospital, presenting an opportunity for a complete transformation that is rare for urban academic medical centers.
In Indianapolis, a Model for Public Hospitals
2014
As the premier transportation hub in Southern California, the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center brings together transit, dining, retail and entertainment in an iconic terminal.
ARTIC: an Iconic Transit Terminal
2014
HOK announces that it has finalized the acquisition of 360 Architecture, a 200-person firm with expertise in the design of sports, recreation, wellness, entertainment and mixed-use facilities. HOK’s re-entry into the Sports + Recreation + Entertainment market comes 32 years after starting HOK Sport in 1983 and becoming a pioneer in redefining sports facilities and the fan experience.

New Sports + Recreation + Entertainment Group
2015
Porsche’s North American headquarters in Atlanta combines office, training and driving functions into one sleek, high-performance facility that encapsulates the essence of the company’s storied brand.
Designing a New Porsche Experience
2015
Increasing work in in Pennsylvania and New Jersey prompt the launch of HOK's Philadephia office with its whimsical central gathering space.
Philadelphia Office Opens
2015
HOK transforms Stage 6 at Television Centre in London into the new headquarters for BBC Worldwide, the primary commercial arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The space was formerly occupied by the broadcast studios of BBC News, which relocated to the BBC New Broadcasting House that HOK also designed in central London.
BBC Worldwide’s Headquarters
2015
This hospital complex advances the Singapore Ministry of Health’s goal to provide high-quality, affordable care to all. It is the city-state’s first medical campus with an outpatient clinic, community hospital and acute care general hospital. The performance-based design supports health, well-being and resource efficiency. The AIA’s Committee on the Environment would later honor the Green Mark Platinum project as one of the best examples of sustainable design excellence.
Ng Teng Fong General Hospital & Jurong Community Hospital Opens in Singapore
2015
The Francis Crick Institute in London accommodates 1,500 researchers and support staff in the largest biomedical research center under one roof in Europe. The Crick will go on to win R&D Magazine’s Laboratory of the Year.
The Crick: World-Changing Research in the Heart of London
2016
Located on one of Abu Dhabi’s most prominent urban sites, the new headquarters for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company creates a city landmark while articulating ADNOC’s role as one of the world’s most dynamic, influential petroleum companies.
Landmark Addition to Abu Dhabi's Skyline
2016
Visual Communications and Studio Tilt, HOK’s in-house graphic design and experiential branding groups, came together to form an integrated global practice called Experience Design.
HOK Launches New Experience Design Group
2017
The design for Mercedes-Benz Stadium establishes a new architectural icon for Atlanta and a new benchmark for sports venues while creating a fan experience that is second to none. It is North America's first LEED Platinum-certified professional sports stadium.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
2017
Spread across 20 buildings and capable of accommodating 25,000 people, LG Science Park in Seoul opens as a next-generation research campus that promotes collaboration and innovation among scientists from multiple disciplines.
One of World’s Largest Corporate Research Campuses for LG in South Korea
2018
The design for the Central + Wolfe Campus redefines the traditional approach to development in Silicon Valley. Dispensing with the typical speculative format of low-rise buildings surrounded by parking, HOK’s team embraced the vision of the developers to transform an existing 20-acre business park in Sunnyvale into a futuristic tech office campus. It is leased entirely by Apple.
Futuristic New Campus in Silicon Valley
2018
HOK earns the No. 3 spot on Fast Company’s list of most innovative architecture firms. The publication lauds HOK “for embracing parametric modeling to build the unbuildable, like the Atlanta airport’s canopies.”
Fast Company - Most Innovative Company
2019
Global creative services firm WPP debuts its new HOK-designed office in Lower Manhattan. Spanning 13 floors, the office provides bespoke workplaces for 4,100 employees across eight WPP brands.
WPP's Vertical Campus at 3 World Trade Center
2019
HOK wins the American Institute of Architects - California 2019 Firm Award, the highest honor the AIA can bestow on a practice. AIACA recognizes HOK's culture of investing in emerging designers, creating an attitude of service and community outreach, and fostering diversity and inclusion.
Firm of the Year - AIA California
2019
The opening of LaGuardia Airport’s new Terminal B in New York symbolizes the top-to-bottom transformation of one of the nation’s highest-profile airports. The transparent, fluid design of the 850,000-sq.-ft. Arrivals and Departures Hall (headhouse) celebrates movement while conveying a strong civic presence in a city known for its remarkable architecture.
LaGuardia Airport's New Terminal B Ushers in a New Era of Travel
2020
The first phase of the new Salt Lake City International Airport opens to replace three aging, 1950s and 1960s terminals and concourses with a state-of-the-art, $4.1 billion facility on the same site. With a design reflecting Utah’s dramatic red rock canyons, alpine peaks and moving water, a soaring interior atrium—“The Canyon”—spans the length of a football field.
A Brand New Airport in Salt Lake City
2020
Fast Company names HOK one of the world's most innovative companies. The annual awards recognize companies that are transforming industries and shaping society.

HOK is honored for making a long-term commitment to large-scale urban development at the mixed-use Cortex Innovation Community in St. Louis. When its plan is complete, Cortex will have created 4.5 million sq. ft. of space and $2.3 billion of development and added 15,000 permanent jobs to the St. Louis region.
Fast Company - Most Innovative Company
2021
HOK Tapestry is an online portal enabling firms seeking to collaborate with HOK—from small businesses and M/WBE firms to large organizations—to upload qualifications into the database the firm uses to assemble project teams. The new partnerships support HOK's efforts to expand opportunities for a more diverse array of professionals while delivering the best outcomes for clients.

HOK also announced the first recipients of eight annual scholarships to be awarded to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) design students. The HOK Diversity x Design Scholarships, each valued at $10,000, reflect the firm's commitment to promote diverse voices within the AEC industry.
Two New Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives
2021
Renowned architect Gyo Obata, FAIA, who cofounded HOK in 1955 with a vision for enhancing lives through building design, passed away on March 8, 2022, at the age of 99.

Gyo was one of three principals who built HOK from a regional, St. Louis-based architectural practice into one of the world’s most respected global design, architecture, engineering and planning firms. Underpinning his pioneering design approach was a fundamental belief that each project must be designed to serve the needs, values and aspirations of the people and community it served.
Mourning the Loss of Gyo Obata
2022
The firm continues its controlled, strategic expansion by opening studios in Denver, Miami and Austin, Texas.
Three New Offices
2022
TIME names HOK to its list of 100 firms making an extraordinary impact around the world. HOK was selected in the “Leaders” category for the design of LaGuardia Airport’s new Terminal B.

To create the list, TIME evaluated companies based on key factors including relevance, impact, innovation, leadership, ambition and success.
TIME Magazine - Most Influential Company
2022
Boston Consulting Group’s new Canadian headquarters opens in Toronto as an example of reimagining work and the role of the post-pandemic office.

The three-story space includes open offices, case team rooms, convertible private offices, soundproof phone booths, a quiet library, a large café and individual spaces. Employees have complete flexibility to work wherever they are most comfortable and productive.
A Model for the Post-Pandemic Workplace
2022
Building on decades of leadership in sustainable design, HOK expands its design focus to encompass regenerative design.

Based in the firm's San Francisco office, this new studio leverages the power of design as a positive force to restore and regenerate the natural world.
New Regenerative Design Studio
2022
In response to the tragic passing of CEO Bill Hellmuth in April 2023, HOK names Eli Hoisington and Susan Klumpp Williams as co-CEOs. They become the youngest and first female CEOs in HOK's history.

Hoisington and Klumpp Williams bring a fresh yet familiar perspective to HOK’s leadership. They have previously led two of the firm’s largest offices, St. Louis and Washington, D.C., and are longstanding executive committee members. The combination of Hoisington’s design acumen and Klumpp Williams’ business prowess is intended to drive a new era of growth for HOK.
Navigating a Legacy, HOK Appoints New Co-CEOs
2023
St. Louis CITY SC’s CITYPARK officially opens as the home of the city’s new Major League Soccer franchise. CITYPARK and its surrounding stadium district is the largest urban professional sports campus in the U.S.

CITY is one of the few U.S.-based professional sports teams—and the only MLS club—to have its stadium, team headquarters, training and performance center, and practice fields in one central downtown location. It also includes a fan pavilion and the team store. These new facilities advance CITY’s ambition of building the best academy and development system in North America while spurring the growth of St. Louis’ Downtown West district.
More Than a Stadium in St. Louis
2023
HOK extends its reach in the Northeast with the addition of a new Boston studio located in the city’s Leather District.
HOK Comes to Boston
2023
Emory University’s new Health Sciences Research Building II (HSRB II) opens in Atlanta as a preeminent biomedical research building facilitating discovery of new ways to improve human health.

HOK's design enhances Emory’s mission of advancing collaborative and translational research across its Woodruff Health Sciences Center. It provides Emory with a sustainable, high-performance building to serve as a model for future campus projects.
New Emory Building Drives Discovery
2023
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