HED has pledged to continue its support of The 2030 Challenge and now the Carbon Positive Reset, a full day live educational webcast led by Ed Mazria, intended to educate, inspire, and mobilize our colleagues and allied professionals worldwide to embark on a course of action which can rapidly change our world. The global teach-in will showcase the most effective building materials, construction methods, design tools, architecture and planning strategies, practices and policies for dramatically and rapidly reducing the embodied and operational carbon emissions as we RESET our targets and actions to meet the Paris Agreement.

As Carbon Positive states: "It’s clear we can grow our economies, create and support livable communities, and phase-out fossil fuels to solve the climate crisis. Now is the time to collectively accelerate our motivation and actions – designing buildings with no on-site fossil fuels; innovating and shifting to carbon positive buildings, materials, construction and infrastructure; creating building decarbonization and clean energy jobs; integrating passive design strategies and renewable energy in projects; and addressing the root causes of increasing and projected climate catastrophes and pandemics. The world will certainly be better equipped to confront potential disasters if we readily and immediately share resources, expertise, and information.

As it now stands, we can still retain a high probability of meeting the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target and avert the most dangerous aspects of climate change by reducing annual CO2 emissions 50% to 65% in the built environment by 2030, and completely phasing-out of fossil fuel CO2 emissions by 2040."

With buildings and infrastructure responsible for well over half of all annual global emissions, the international architecture, engineering, construction, planning, and building community must play a key role in meeting the 1.5°C target. Actions and support from leaders in A/E/C are crucial. As economies emerge from the global pandemic and building and infrastructure construction recover, sector actions will send a strong market signal and give governments the confidence to act in line with the remaining global carbon budget.

We have affirmed our commitment and pledged financial support for this cause, and we hope that other firms will join in the effort!

HED welcomes Ronda Paradis, MBA to the firm as Associate Principal, Healthcare Sector Strategy & Development for the Boston office, bringing 30 years of experience in executive-level strategy and business development in the A/E/C industry. In this role, Ronda will collaborate with leadership and local design team to develop and execute effective strategies for growing the Boston office and presence in the Northeast. Her industry network, knowledge of market trends, and focus on client needs will complement the seasoned team she is joining at HED.

Prior to joining HED, Ronda acted as the Vice President of business development for the health and science practice of Suffolk Construction in Boston, MA, the largest construction management company in Massachusetts and the premiere healthcare and S+T builder in New England. Prior to that she held positions at HDR, Inc. as Principal, Education, Science & Technology Development and Principal of Healthcare and S&T Development in the Boston office, where she expanded visibility for their service offerings and led client relations.

Ronda’s passion for team-oriented problem solving will be integral to HED’s effectiveness toward its mission: Advancing Your World, through the Positive Impact of design, our teams create exceptional solutions for our clients, the community, and the world.

As a collectively diverse group of people that seeks to create Positive Impact, the employees of HED have been jolted by the social unrest and cries for justice following the death of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer.

We denounce racism, hate and violence and stand together in protest and call for justice, equality and respect for all humankind.

We pledge:
• Our commitment to peace and support of the National Organization of Minority Architect’s (NOMA) call to be B.R.A.V.E.

• To be of service to our neighbors and our communities.

• To provide equitable opportunity within our profession in support of the extraordinary and overlooked potential within the communities we serve.

HED is pleased to announce that we have recently been selected as the Prime Architect for the Los Angeles Trade Technical College (LATTC) new Design and Media Arts Center (DMAC) building project!

The new DMAC building will replace the existing Sage Hall and consist of approximately 80,000 gsf of design and design-related programs brought together in a state-of-the-art facility that includes technology and media rich lab and lecture spaces. Students will have access to industry standard tools in a setting that encourages innovative practices in teaching and learning. The DMAC will consolidate the Fashion Design, Fashion Merchandising, Digital Media, Visual Communications, Sign Graphics, and Tailoring programs, along with room for potential growth in Communications Technologies.

Poised to be an innovative hub and a gateway for the campus, DMAC will sit on the campus’ most prominent corner – an excellent opportunity to showcase design labs and their creations near LA’s Fashion District, with a location along the elevated light rail line. A place for all students to congregate and be supported, DMAC will be both a welcoming and motivating force on the campus while connecting students to many facets of the College. HED is thrilled by the prospect of contributing to another project on LATTC’s campus, especially a project that will create positive impact in the global design community for decades to come!

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.