HED is pleased to announce that Kirk Pesta, PE, LEED AP, has been elevated to the role of Mechanical Engineering Discipline Leader in the Detroit office. He will be responsible for leading and directing the overall design, technical and production activities of the mechanical engineering teams. In addition, Kirk will join the other discipline leaders across all eight offices in continuing efforts to improve the design and functionality of HED's extensive team of architects, engineers and designers.

An active member of professional organizations with over 27 years serving within the mechanical engineering discipline at HED, Kirk is highly skilled both technically and as a project leader. Described as dedicated and thoughtful, and known for his skill in sustainable and healthcare design, Kirk understands that clients want more than consulting services, they seek experts who are their advocates, and his leadership style reflects a client and solutions first approach.

In April 2020, HED issued a survey to gather insights, practices, and plans related to COVID-19 and the work environment from our clients.

As a follow up, we have summarized the results and used them to identify trends in thinking and hypothesized what this means for the future of the workplace. We hope this data will assist you in planning for the future and we welcome the opportunity to discuss in more detail.

We want to thank everyone who shared their insights, practices, and plans related to COVID-19 and their work environment during our workplace survey, and we hope this information will assist you as you navigate the new normal created by COVID-19. If you'd like to talk about how to use these perspectives in your workplace planning, we're here to help.

HED is proud to share that we are ranked #162 in the Engineering News-Record Top 500 Design Firms!

In last years rankings, HED was listed at #174, we credit this increase to our strategic growth and dedicated teams.

"We're always excited to be able to share with our teams tangible evidence of our growth in the industry. This jump in the rankings completely belongs to our engineering teams, whose commitment to creating positive impact for our clients is the driving force behind this growth," says Michael Cooper, President of HED and Managing Principal of the Detroit office.

In early April of 2020, the Illinois Veterans’ Home project reached an expedited substantial completion – representing the culmination of over a decade of effort by the State of Illinois and Designer HED. The project went from being due this summer to needing to be completed in 21-days to make its beds available to the state.

Designed to provide a home for 200 veterans, the project was accelerated from its original summer completion date to have the facility available for emergency care as part of the State of Illinois’ COVID-19 relief effort. This was a natural fit for the program designed as a skilled nursing care facility with 200 beds and single occupancy rooms.

Incorporating small house design at a large scale, each floor is sub-divided into 4 distinct "households." The dining program was developed as a hybrid approach, with a central kitchen and residential format kitchens in each household, incorporating both the needs of the State (the owner/operator) and the residents. The ground floor of the facility was designed based on the "Town Center" principle of CLC guidelines. The four households of the 2nd floor are reserved for Memory Care with access to a secure terrace space.

As a national Architecture and Engineering firm with offices in 8 different cities, we have continued to operate our business in accordance with CDC Guidelines and the ‘Shelter In Place’ orders enacted by local, county, state and federal governments.

Though our staff is working remotely from home for the most part, there is occasion that they will need to access our offices, drop-off drawings for plan review at building departments and make site visits to observe construction. In accordance with government orders, our work is considered to be ‘essential’ and allows for our staff to provide these services.

Should our staff presence in these locations be questioned, please accept this statement as verification that our staff is performing ‘essential’ services. Should you have any questions or require additional verification please feel free to contact the respective Managing Principal for each office location, our Corporate HR leader or our Corporate Systems Leader.

Boston/Dallas
Toni Asfour, Managing Principal
617-430-7190

Sacramento/San Francisco
Brett Paloutzian, Managing Principal
415-549-8830

Chicago
Enrique Suarez, Principal
312-324-7440

San Diego
Neville Willsmore, Managing Principal
619-398-3816

Detroit
Mike Cooper, Managing Principal
248-233-0146

Los Angeles
Brent Miller, Managing Principal
213-542-4506

Corporate HR Leader
Petrina Gooch
213-542-4495

Corporate Systems Leader
Tania Van Herle
213-542-4505

As we face the evolving situation of the COVID-19 health crisis, we believe that it is positive that we are able to continue to support our clients during this time and keep the health and safety of our employees at the forefront.

HED has prepared the following series of considerations:

• Weekly OAC meetings or other coordination meetings should be handled via Zoom meetings.

• Limited specific on-site services that are required to support construction may include the following:
o Mockup reviews
o Field observation reports
o Pay app reviews
o Punch walks

• Prior to going on site, the Project Manager or PIC needs to ensure that the General Contractor is following CDC guidelines and reinforcing ‘social distancing’ for safety.

• Prior to directing any staff to go to a jobsite, the Project Manager and PIC need to check with the staff know that if they are comfortable with going to the site. If a staff member is uncomfortable going to the site due to COVID 19 related concerns or is in a high-risk group, they should not go to the site and should continue to shelter in place. In this event, please work with your Discipline Leaders to determine an alternate staff member who can make the site visits.

• Any staff member that is ill, should not go to the construction site.

• All HED employees must wear a mask, in addition any site specific items must be observed. A face shield should be worn in addition to the mask if 6 foot distance cannot be consistently maintained. (Updated 11/25/2020)

• When conducting site visits, there will be no requirement to enter construction trailers or confined spaces involuntarily. Physical distancing and mutual wearing of PPE/face mask is a minimum requirement for voluntary site trailer entry. Duration of time in the trailer if entered, should be limited to 15 minutes or less, either intermittently or consecutively, in a 24 hour period. (Updated 11/25/2020)

• For project access on occupied sites, the Project Manager or PIC needs to request that project personnel be provided a separate entry/access point that will allow the project team to better manage the human contact, interaction and social distancing elements.

• If team members are required to traverse corridors or facilities utilized by occupants, for instance in hospitals, the Project Manager or PIC needs to request those corridors be cleared for project personnel to quickly and efficiently perform site work that must be completed.

• If possible, request to conduct the site visits after the tradesman have left the site for the day.

• Make sure that the site visits are organized (e.g. prepare and issue agenda) to avoid protracted and inefficient site visits.

• In certain cases, it may not be required for our staff to conduct a physical site visit to observe construction. Consider having the General Contractor provide photographs for those conditions that are amenable to that type of review.

• Our contracts may require a specific number of site visits, the Project Manager or PIC should check with the Client and General Contractor to determine if less frequent visits can be made as a result of the current circumstance without impact to the quality of work, determination of conformance to the Contract Documents and/or schedule for construction.

• When conducting a site visit, please complete a Site Observation report and make note on the report that the site observation was conducted during the “COVID-19 Outbreak.” This is just good practice to note that we continued to provide site observations during this period of time.

If you have any other concerns or questions regarding any aspect of providing CA services during this time, please reach out to your HED contact for details.

HED is pleased to share that San Diego Pre K-12 Sector Leader Jennette La Quire, AIA, LEED AP ID+C, has been named a 2020 Influential Woman of San Diego by the San Diego Daily Transcript.

Jennette oversees educational facility projects in HED's San Diego Office and has made a lifetime commitment to creating a positive impact for school districts, both students and faculty. She works day to day with partners in the design and construction community to create tangible change in the city and beyond.

You can read her full interview in the print issue of The San Diego Transcript, but here are a few highlights:

In the Transcript Jennette explains, "If you asked me when I was a kid what I wanted to be when I grew up, it was an architect or a teacher." Her commitment to Architecture and Design is a career that brings together Jennette's love of building design and of academia.

The commitment shows.

Known for her mentorship within HED and for generosity with her time, Jennette shares her love of learning with college students as an adjunct professor for San Diego State University's Interior Architecture program. She sees it as her job not just to tell students how to design, but to help them refine their concepts.

"I tell them I'm their bumper in the bowling alley," she grins.

In her 15 years with HED, Jennette has worked with most of the school districts in and around San Diego on facilities ranging from pre-kindergarten through grade 12, as well as with Community Colleges and Universities. The projects negotiate the evolution of education, technology, and class sizes. Many have transformed how the community interacts with a campus, and all of them have been designed with student success at the forefront. Jennette has even done several projects at her alma mater, El Capitan High School in Lakeside, including a 16,000-square-foot, $11.2 million event center.

"I've worked there longer than I went to school there," she quipped. "I just am very passionate about educational design, whether it's teaching students or working with clients," she said. "That's my biggest focus - how can we use the design to advance their worlds."

HED is pleased to welcome Melina Aluwi, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, NCARB, to the firm as a Sector Leader and Associate Principal in the San Diego office. She will focus on Higher Education projects and will be supported by HED's extensive technical team of architects, engineers and designers.

With experience in both public and private sector educational, civic, cultural, and commercial sectors, Melina’s primary focus has been on education projects. She has worked in various roles from business development and operations to design and construction. With this experience, Melina brings a unique design and management approach to every project.

Prior to joining HED, Melina established herself as a leader and mentor within the profession and within the San Diego architectural community. She understands that a successful project consists of a passion for design and skillful technical execution.

Melina will be integral to HED's effectiveness toward its mission: Advancing Your World, seeking creative solutions that have a positive Impact for our clients, the community, and the world.

HED is pleased to announce that Chicago Housing Sector Leader Susan King, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C has been elected to the Illinois Housing Council Board.

The Illinois Housing Council (IHC) is the preeminent voice for industry leaders involved in the creation and preservation of affordable housing in Illinois. As a non-profit, member-based organization, IHC serves as a resource for information, education, and networking opportunities for members from across all sectors. IHC advocates for state-wide affordable-housing-friendly policy and legislation by building constructive relationships with local, state and federal officials and by serving as the ‘go-to’ organization for affordable housing in Illinois.

The success of IHC’s initiatives is rooted in the ability to bring together our members from all aspects of the industry.

"The majority of my career has been focused on the design of affordable housing. I am passionate about it, and believe it is a human right," says King, "Being involved with IHC is a very exciting opportunity for me personally and professionally, as it will not only provide me with a platform to help inform policy and legislation in regard to affordable housing, but will also allow me further support this group whose work deeply I believe in."

You can learn more about IHC and their work using the link below.

HED is pleased to announce six new additions to its studio / sector leadership team. This team of experts / thought leaders across a diverse range of typologies and geographies set direction for HED’s future growth.

The new leaders include:
• Yu-Ming Wei, AIA – Housing, Mixed-Use
• Drew Roskos, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB - Housing
• Sara Martin – Data Center
• Lindsay Shanley – Data Center
• Bharat Patel, PE, LEED AP, CEM – Data Center & Building Science
• Luciana Arim, LEED Green Assoc. – Workplace & Science

“This exceptional group join HED’s team of national leaders who are sector / typology experts. Together, they steer our practice to deliver focused, integrated design solutions that respond to nationwide trends and challenges. It’s this team-oriented leadership that delivers on the ‘bigger picture’ of our client’s design needs.” says HED CEO Peter Devereaux, FAIA

This commitment to specialization and shared leadership is driven directly by the firm’s mission to Advance the World of clients and create positive impact within for our clients, communities and the world.