HOK, the international architecture, engineering, and planning firm, will promote its President and 25-year company veteran Bill Hellmuth, AIA, to the position of Chief Executive Officer, effective April 19.
Hellmuth, who is the nephew of the firm’s founder George Hellmuth (its initials are an acronym for Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum), has been President since 2005. When he steps into the CEO post, he will replace Patrick MacLeamy, FAIA, LEED AP, who has served as HOK’s chief for 13 of the 49 years he’s been with the firm.
MacLeamy will remain as HOK’s chairman. During his HOK career, MacLeamy has overseen the establishment of several HOK regional offices in the U.S. and Asia. He has held leadership roles on several landmark HOK projects, including the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, Hellmuth identified HOK’s “sweet spot” as “the intersection of design excellence and thought leadership, combining design leadership with expertise in specific markets and building types around the world.”
HOK has 1,800 employees (it is 100% employee owned) in 24 offices worldwide. It has current projects in 75 countries.
Hellmuth has a total of 37 years experience in the architecture industry, including a stint with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. He joined HOK’s St. Louis office in 1991, and two years later was promoted to lead HOK’s Washington, D.C. office. He joined the firm’s executive committee in 2004.
A strong advocate for sustainable design, Hellmuth began integrating sustainability into every project before LEED certification became a benchmark. In 2014 he was named Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council, and a GSA Design Excellence Peer.
Related Stories
Mass Timber | Jul 11, 2023
5 solutions to acoustic issues in mass timber buildings
For all its advantages, mass timber also has a less-heralded quality: its acoustic challenges. Exposed wood ceilings and floors have led to issues with excessive noise. Mass timber experts offer practical solutions to the top five acoustic issues in mass timber buildings.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 11, 2023
Converting downtown office into multifamily residential: Let’s stop and think about this
Is the office-to-residential conversion really what’s best for our downtowns from a cultural, urban, economic perspective? Or is this silver bullet really a poison pill?
Adaptive Reuse | Jul 10, 2023
California updates building code for adaptive reuse of office, retail structures for housing
The California Building Standards Commission recently voted to make it easier to convert commercial properties to residential use. The commission adopted provisions of the International Existing Building Code (IEBC) that allow developers more flexibility for adaptive reuse of retail and office structures.
Laboratories | Jul 10, 2023
U.S. Department of Agriculture opens nation’s first biosafety level 4 containment facility for animal disease research
Replacing a seven-decade-old animal disease center, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility includes the nation’s first facility with biosafety containment capable of housing large livestock.
Adaptive Reuse | Jul 6, 2023
The responsibility of adapting historic university buildings
Shepley Bulfinch's David Whitehill, AIA, believes the adaptive reuse of historic university buildings is not a matter of sentimentality but of practicality, progress, and preservation.
Market Data | Jul 5, 2023
Nonresidential construction spending decreased in May, its first drop in nearly a year
National nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.2% in May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.06 trillion.
Architects | Jul 5, 2023
Niles Bolton Associates promotes Jeffrey Smith, AIA, to President and C. Cannon Reynolds, AIA, to Managing Director
Niles Bolton Associates (NBA), a leading architecture, planning and design firm, announces leadership changes as a part of its ongoing commitment to future growth. Current Executive Vice President, Jeffrey Smith, AIA, has been named President and C. Cannon Reynolds, AIA, has been named Managing Director effective June 30, 2023.
Mixed-Use | Jun 29, 2023
Massive work-live-play development opens in LA's new Cumulus District
VOX at Cumulus, a 14-acre work-live-play development in Los Angeles, offers 910 housing units and 100,000 sf of retail space anchored by a Whole Foods outlet. VOX, one of the largest mixed-use communities to open in the Los Angeles area, features apartments and townhomes with more than one dozen floorplans.
Office Buildings | Jun 28, 2023
When office-to-residential conversion works
The cost and design challenges involved with office-to-residential conversions can be daunting; designers need to devise creative uses to fully utilize the space.
Architects | Jun 28, 2023
CSHQA hires first CEO in company's 134-year history
The Board of Directors of CSHQA announced the appointment of Ryan D. Martin, AIA NCARB as Chief Executive Officer.
