The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) Foundation Fellowship (NFF) is an initiative that seeks to increase diversity within professional practice as well as provide firm mentorship and design research experience for young emerging professionals.

In this inaugural 30-student cohort, HED has had the opportunity to host two interns -- these students spend their internship researching a topic with the help of HED staff and resources. HED is proud to provide a platform for the next generation of architects and looks forward to the positive impact they will have on the industry and the world.

One of this year’s interns is Diana Hernandez, a master's student studying architecture at the California Baptist University. We asked Diana about her time at HED and the positive impact she created while being a part of our team.

What is the title/topic of your project?
-I am researching the effects of COVID-19 in K-12 schools and understanding the best ways to approach design in these environments while considering the circumstances.

What drew you to this topic/project?
-What drew me to this project is how little we know about the situation here in the US and the relevance this research has both nationally and internationally.

What type of work did this project consist of?
-I’ve had to read through and collect countless examples of local, regional, national, and international responses. I’ve categorized this information and am working on the best way to visually present these findings.

What was the result/findings?
-Schools are essential for student’s well-being and health. This is why it is crucial we find the safest ways to reopen them without compromising their physical health. Many countries have been able to successfully reopen schools after “flattening the curve” by following combinations of precautions and protocols.

What is the positive impact or potential positive impact of this project?
-The findings from this project could serve as a guideline for keeping schools safe when the time comes to reopen them. It can also serve as a guideline designers should consider when designing schools from here on out.

HED is proud to be an active supporter of NOMA and wishes Diana the best in her future.

HED is proud to share that our firm has ranked #24 in the ENR listing of Top 100 Green Design Firms.

This evaluation of our experience with high preforming building projects is just one part of a much larger story about our values and culture: our mission is to have a positive impact for our clients, the community, and the world through design excellence, which we define as a solution built from thoughtful decision making that creates measurable, real world positive impact. We understand sustainability to be an inseparable part of that, as it can create huge benefits for what we refer to as “the triple bottom line” that are the social, economic and environmental impacts of the project.

HED his proud to share that we have once again ranked in the top 20 of the Building Design & Construction annual top 100 architecture and engineering firms - ranking 18 in 2020.

HED is pleased to share that our firm has risen 7 places in the annual Consulting-Specifying Engineer MEP Giants ranking - we are now #65 in the ranking of the top 100 largest MEP firms. This growth is due to the dedication of our engineering teams, who continue to strive for positive impact in their decision-making and design.

In a recent feature from The US Glass News Network, National Architecture Practice Leader Domenic Cristofaro weighed in on the current state of glass in the AEC industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire glass industry, from manufacturing and supply chains to design and construction. While the first day of the National Glass Association (NGA) Summer Conference included a focus on the manufacturing perspective, the session, “The New Normal – Design & Construction,” included a different perspective.

Domenic Cristofaro, National Architecture Practice Leader with HED, provided an architect’s perspective on the crisis.

“Protecting occupants from the spread of disease will be foremost in the minds of architects,” he said.

He also pointed out that glass is a popular material due to its ability to bring in natural light and create visual protection while supporting sustainability and protecting occupants from storms or attacks. He expects it will no longer be specified just for its functional and aesthetic purposes but also to prevent the spread of diseases such as COVID-19.

“Glass is hygienic and easy to clean,” said Cristofaro. “It’s unlikely that offices will continue to use open office layouts. Glass barriers could be installed to protect occupants in addition to staggered office hours. COVID-19 has put an end to the over-densification of office buildings.”

He anticipates that in the future, a portion of offices could be turned into apartments or condos. He also posed modular construction as a solution to the supply chain issues created by the pandemic as it allows parts of a project to be built in a controlled, safe environment.

You can read the full article from The US Glass News Network using the link below.

HED is proud to share that we have accepted the Southern California Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (SoCal NOMA) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Challenge (DEI Challenge): an initiative for architecture, engineering, construction, and related firms to voluntarily support measures to transform the diversity of their firms and the AEC community in a way that is holistic, firm-wide, and data driven.

We accept this challenge to demonstrate and support our organizational commitment to fighting against racism and racial inequality within the profession of architecture, and to take positive action within our own firm to hold true to our core value of integrated practice. We are always striving to be a more inclusive, integrated practice because we value the diversity of perspectives, experiences, abilities and expertise that advance both the work we do, and the world we share.

In committing to the SoCal NOMA DEI Challenge, we commit to voluntarily provide the following information as part of the DEI Challenge, on an annual basis, for the purposes of gathering and collecting data and statistics that may be used by NOMA as well as partner organizations to develop programs and policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion going forward. This information will also be utilized internally to inform decision-making and drive improvement in our own practice.

The DEI Challenge consists of ten actions, each with a scoring threshold with a total of 100 potential points. Participating firms must score a minimum of 70 points to be recognized as a SoCal NOMA “DEI Challenge Ally.”

HED is proud to act against institutional inequity within our own firm and the greater AEC industry. Because of the outsized impact our industry has in communities and the world writ large, we believe that this initiative is aligned directly to our mission of Advancing the World of our clients and communities, and feeds directly into our core values of critical thinking, design excellence, and integrated practice.

We firmly believe that by accepting this challenge, we will drive incremental, measurable positive change in our firm, our industry, and the world, and we join SoCal NOMA in the call to our peer AEC firms to take up this moral and professional imperative.

Together, we will create positive impact.

HED is pleased to announce that our team has been selected by The Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC) to design an affordable and distinctive refuge for the housing challenged veteran population in the Chicago Heights area to call home.

The project, which is being led in partnership by the City of Chicago Heights and HACC, is part of a program known as the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, a special urban planning program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The proposed veterans’ housing development is the first proposal for new development to emerge from the Choice Neighborhoods planning effort.

The proposed four-story building will be designed to coincide with Chicago Heights’ new mixed-use district regulations aimed at creating vibrant and walkable neighborhoods. The development will be located next to a proposed new town square, which would include a plaza space for public events, such as a farmer’s market, public ceremonies, and cultural activities for residents to enjoy.

HED’s design strategies include calm color palettes, quiet spaces with heightened acoustic requirements, and units and common spaces with open plans which provide visibility with no hidden corners. Designed to complement the historical character of Chicago Heights, the development includes 82 units, restricted to veterans only, totaling more than 74,000 SF. Building amenities will include exercise facilities, office space and meeting areas, and parking.

Together, HACC, the City of Chicago Heights and HED will create new housing that will create a positive impact within the community by contributing to the lives of veterans and to the revitalization of downtown Chicago Heights.

HED is delighted to share that we have once again been named a Best & Brightest Company to Work For in Chicago! This is the 16th consecutive year that our Chicago practice has been recognized in this ranking. The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For competition identifies and honors organizations that display a commitment to excellence in their human resource practices and employee enrichment. Organizations are assessed based on categories such as communication, work-life balance, employee education, diversity, recognition, retention and more.

HED is proud to share that we have been ranked #19 in the 2020 ENR listing of Top 25 Multi-Unit Residential Design Firms. HED’s housing practice is not merely about designing apartments, residence halls, condominiums, or special living facilities: it is about creating spaces for people – their belongings, their families, their memories and futures. It's a responsibility we take seriously, and this ranking from ENR inspires us to continue seeking out new ways to create positive impacts for our clients and communities through housing.

HED continues to grow our engineering practice nation-wide, climbing 12 places in the ENR Top 500 Design Firms to #162