HOK's Toronto Studio project won in ARIDO Awards' Sustainable Design category.

The Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario bestowed the 2006 ARIDO Awards of Excellence to honor creativity and professional achievement in Ontario's design community.

The complete list of winners (as well as images of each project) are listed here.

Source: "ARIDO Awards Announced," Interior Design, October 3, 2006. Read the story.

More from the National Post's Financial Post & FP Investing:
Don Crichton and the workplace solutions unit at HOK Canada Inc. have turned the company's Toronto office into a marvel of environmentally friendly office space. The HOK office is one of the three projects to win the LEED gold certification. It is an office so energy efficient that, when it first turned its heat, light and air conditioning systems on, the savings were so great that the landlord thought there was something wrong with the meter.

For the HOK Group, great design means practising what you preach. The international company has a policy of upgrading to LEED standards whenever an office is relocated or substantially renovated. HOK had done that in its St. Louis head office and in San Francisco and is now thinking about it in Tampa. When it came time a year ago for the Toronto operation to move to 25,000 sq. ft. of new space on King Street West, going green became a mandate, Mr. Crichton says.

The process starts with site selection, he says. LEED buildings have to be near public transit. They must have large windows that can open and close as weather dictates to save on heating and air conditioning. The construction process has to use environmentally sound materials and must make as much use as possible of recycled materials.

While construction costs are higher, energy savings are impressive and more than make up for the initial cost. HOK started by installing daylight sensors around the perimeter of the office space. If there is enough natural light coming in, the lights stay off. There are also motion sensors. If no one is working in an area, the lights stay off; when someone enters, they go on. The same applies to heating and air conditioning. That eight-foot perimeter operates separately from the rest of the space. If it is too warm, open a window is the watchword.

To protect against fumes and pollutants, office equipment such as copiers and printers are in a separate closed room with negative air pressure to ensure the fumes do not escape. All paint and carpeting and other materials are free of noxious fumes. Carpeting was not laid until paint had cured and dried.

The company even made use of ductwork left by the previous tenant and recycled 18,000 pounds of old materials removed during the demolition phase instead of having it trucked to a landfill.

Source: "Arido Awards: An Advertising Profile Celebrating Corporate Ingenuity and Success, National Post (Canada), September 29, 2006.