By Jacquelin Bhandari
..................................................................
F
or the second of this two-part se-
ries, Business Elite Canada sat down
with HOK’s Design Principal, Gordon
Stratford, to get his perspective on the
special attention that the interdisciplinary
firm pays to higher education institutions
in Canada.
“I think it’s a golden age for design,” says
Stratford. “People more and more are real-
izing how important the built environment
is to help them realize the dreams and
goals they have.”
All the tools necessary for great design are
available at HOK — architecture, interior
design, landscape architecture and urban
planning are all managed under one roof. In
addition to taking on challenges and lead-
ing architectural innovation, HOK is often
called on to take on the high expectations
of a post-secondary institution.
HOK’s process of design discourse and
consulting with thought leaders often
means that the global firm works very
closely with universities on many projects.
In designing buildings for educational insti-
tutions, the pressure is on for HOK to set
the pace for a new generation of thought
leaders and experts. The Edmonton Clinic
Health Academy in Alberta and Memorial
University in Newfoundland are great ex-
amples from HOK’s portfolio, where physi-
cal space transcends boundaries to drive
innovation. They demonstrate that collabo-
ration across disciplines is not only impor-
tant in memorable architecture, but is a
necessary vehicle for progress.
EDMONTON CLINIC
HEALTH ACADEMY
EDMONTON, ALBERTA
The Edmonton Clinic Health Academy
(ECHA) was anticipated to be an engine
for health innovation with the capacity
to transform the way people think about
health care — from training, to research,
APRIL 2016
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