HED is pleased to announce its merger with Puchlik Design Associates, also known as PDA, an award-winning architectural firm specializing in healthcare facility design headquartered in Pasadena, CA.

According to Peter Devereaux, FAIA, Chief Executive Officer of HED, this is a natural step for the firm. “We have partnered with PDA on several occasions and have not only been successful but gratified in the similarity between our two cultures. HED has a large presence in southern California and we have been serving clients in the healthcare sector in other parts of the country for decades. Bringing in PDA was a natural step towards deepening our commitment to southern California and to our expansive set of healthcare clients to provide greater, nationwide service.”

HED leadership recognizes that healthcare remains an important, fast-growing sector throughout the U.S. and beyond. According to a recent report released by the financial analysts at Deloitte, “aging and growing populations, a greater prevalence of chronic diseases, and exponential advances in innovative digital technologies” are all compounding to create a rapidly accelerating growth in this U.S. industry that affects hundreds of millions of people every year

The firm’s further embedding into the California healthcare market is one of several efforts to invest in its healthcare clients in the region and nationally. As Devereaux points out, “Our firm will always seek out methods to provide greater depth and nuance in our services to our clients. This is especially important in technically complex, mission-driven sectors like healthcare, which stand to create the greatest impact for our communities. By bringing PDA into the HED family we are continuing our commitment to design excellence and creating positive impact for our clients and communities. PDA’s decades of knowledge in California, a geography that leads the nation in healthcare trends and standards, combined with our existing depth of talent and national reach will bring tangible benefits to our healthcare clients.”

The PDA leadership and staff will join the HED Los Angeles team in their expanded location in 2020, punctuating the firm’s success and expansion in the region. They join other teams working in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco, bringing the firm’s total staff to over 470 people.

“We believe that this merger is one of complementary cultures,” says Gerry Puchlik, Principal of PDA, “Like PDA, HED advocates that the role of the designer is to directly and positively impact end users, and they seek to produce designs that create this positive impact for clients and communities through deliberate decision making that contributes to care delivery, health, and wellbeing of the people who inhabit these spaces. I can’t imagine a better fit for the future of our talented team.”

Our President Michael Cooper was recently a guest on the Jon Dwoskin THINK Business podcast, speaking directly to client insights and how to value the relationships and information clients provide.

"If I want to understand our markets, I want to talk to our clients," says Michael, "I want to talk to our partners and hear from them. What are you pain points? What are your challenges? What keeps you up at night?"

in this episode, Michael shares insights on several topics, including:

- Client Insights
- Leveraging Research
- Building a "People First" organization
- Mentorship


Jon Dwoskin is a business coach, executive coach, author, speaker and podcast host who provides leadership training, business coaching and executive advising to shift mindsets, recharge batteries and get executives to start thinking, acting and leading like CEOs of their own companies. His podcast, THINK Business, features 1:1 in-depth and soulful conversations with executives, managers and sales people who are making a difference in their companies, communities and in themselves.

You can listen to this and other episodes of his podcast using the link below.

Hear HED's Science & Technology Studio Leader Louis Hartman's take on "Designing for a Forensic Crime Laboratory," in this free webinar from Lab Manager! The piece also features Ken Mohr, Sr. Forensic Planner/Programmer of HED's joint-venture DBA, Crime Lab Design.

Forensic crime laboratories are unique in the sense that these facilities house laboratories of all sciences. Biology labs are used by pathologist to examine decedents or to detect possible body fluids on evidence and perform DNA analysis. Chemistry labs are used by chemists to test controlled dangerous substances and drugs or perform latent print collection and identification. Cyber labs examine computers, cell phones, and other devices for intelligence information evidence. Physical labs perform ballistics tests and conduct firearm and toolmark examinations. There are a lot of moving parts. And these sciences are ever evolving, forcing the forensic industry to evolve and crime lab facilities to expand as well.

Additionally, each crime lab facility presents a unique set of design considerations. From an architectural and engineering perspective, no cookie-cutter solution exists when creating forensic facilities. There are specialized considerations and unique challenges of forensic laboratories, including evidence intake, chain of custody, and storage; proper ventilation and contamination/odor control; changing technologies / methodologies; current accreditation criteria; operational efficiency; security; and health and safety. Ultimately, a specialized process of programming, planning, design, and construction of these facilities require integrated architectural, engineering, and lab planning solutions.

With all of these different components, how do a design team, laboratorians, and forensics lab managers address planning for a new crime laboratory sufficient for today and well into the future?

This session explores:

- A scenario of planning for a 50,000 to 150,000 sq. ft. crime lab facility
- The role and involvement of end users
- Organization of the planning team
- Architectural and engineering solutions
- Cost to design and build a forensic laboratory

Listen to the full piece using the link below.

HED, along with Herrero Builders, a San Francisco-based general contractor specializing in IPD and Lean construction, are pleased to announce the completion of the South Wing Renovation of the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center hospital campus. The team used a LEAN Integrated Delivery Process to design and construct a brand-new Dietary Center, a new MRI Suite, and a new Doctor's Lounge within one of the campus' most visited buildings.

This 37,000 square foot ground floor renovation is the second of a series of projects undertaken by the joint team as a part of a large facilities Master Plan developed by HED for Sutter Health, focused on three distinct areas of improvement: seismic compliance, service line enhancements and infrastructure improvement. The facilities master plan, completed in 2018, ultimately organized and sequenced over 70 individual projects to be undertaken across three campuses over the course of the next decade.

"As we looked at the varied needs across the campuses, we knew one thing clearly – we never wanted to undergo a renovation project in the same space twice and wanted to make these renovation disruptions as minimal as possible," said Shurid Rahman, a Project Manager with Sutter Health.

The $30 million ground level renovation project incorporates several different uses in the South Wing of the Alta Bates Campus building. Given an expanded need for MRI imaging, an MRI suite was added through the project with significant inpatient holding space to accommodate a growing stroke program.

In addition, to support the growing patient and visitor population, the campus dietary space was expanded and reimagined to provide enhanced food preparation and delivery and an elevated dining experience for staff, patients, and guests. Finally, to support the intensified efforts to recruit Doctors amidst California's growing population, a comfortable, well-lit Doctor's Lounge was added within the space as well.

"The interior renovation of this building incorporated a complete reconfiguration of uses to adapt to the changing needs of the Sutter Health organization," said Brett Paloutzian, Principal with HED. "Through our integrated partnership with Herrero Builders and Sutter Health, we were able to deliver this complex renovation project utilizing LEAN construction principals and met Sutter Health's goals for the project's schedule and budget."

Beaumont Hospital has been a longtime leader in cardiovascular care and developed the Max & Debra Ernst Heart Center to research better approaches to congestive heart failure, improving patient quality of life. They turned to HED for the firm's experience and specialization in heart centers.

"This kind of focused, Heart Failure Clinic is becoming ever-important to today's patient populations. The design incorporates a mix of highly technical solutions and operational efficiencies that will impact the quality of care and quality of life for both patients and providers."
- DAVID JAEGER, AIA, LEED AP, EDAC | HED HEALTHCARE STUDIO LEADER

With heart failure as the top reason for hospitalization of people 65 and older, the disease can greatly undermine patients' quality of life. Heart Failure Clinics are not yet common around the U.S., but their growing prominence is linked to a decrease in the number of deaths caused by heart failure or coronary heart disease over the past several years.

This new center is designed to treat 100 patient visitors per day in an outpatient setting, reducing emergency room visits and hospital stays. Comprehensive services include 12 patient care rooms, echocardiogram, stress testing and medication infusion treatment rooms.

You can also read more about this success at Beaumont in Crains Detroit Business, Building Design + Construction, and Healthcare Design.

Julia C. Lathrop Homes was originally designed by a collective of architects and constructed in 1938 as a New Deal model for public housing. Today (10/15/2019), Lathrop has completed its multi-phase transformation into a new mixed income residential and commercial community led by Lathrop Community Partners, a partnership of Related Midwest, Heartland Housing and Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation with HED acting as the Executuve Architect for Phase one!

Lathrop is unique in terms of its location on the Chicago River on the northside, the recently rehabbed North Campus includes the original Administration Building, updated apartment buildings and rowhouses, Prairie style landscape architect Jens Jensen’s Great Lawn, and the re-activated riverfront.

HED contributed its integrated design expertise and extensive housing knowledge to modernize the historic structures, address accessibility challenges and coordinate new systems not imagined in the original structures. However, the tradition of collaboration among architects and designers has also been continued in the Lathrop redevelopment. The project was master planned by Farr & Associates and HED leveraged the talents of project designer JGMA, landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh (MVVA) Historic Preservationist McGuire Igleski & Associates (MIA), and Civil Engineering by Terra.

Together, this team has reimagined the historic 35-acre development through a multi-phased masterplan that honors the original intent of the famed landscape architect Jens Jensen and creates a vibrant attraction on the City’s rapidly redeveloping riverfront, including the preservation and modernization of 16 historic buildings on the north half of the site and creating six acres of green space. Lathrop is now a bustling, diverse and sustainable neighborhood connecting two of the City’s most prominent areas.

“Related is proud of our long history of successfully preserving and developing affordable and mixed-income communities that serve the needs of all residents and the neighborhood,” said Curt Bailey, president of Related Midwest. “For Lathrop, we worked closely with our partners to revitalize and reimagine a historic riverfront community rooted in a rich cultural past. Through the Lathrop Partners public-private partnership, we have brought to life the first phase of a vibrant mixed-income community that everyone can call home.”

HED's Sustainability Leader Daniel Jaconetti, AIA, LEED is attending the Architect 2030 Carbon Positive Summit - an invitation only gathering of the world’s most influential architecture, planning, engineering and construction firms to establish a plan of action for dramatically reducing embodied carbon in the built environment.

Over the next 4 decades, the world is projected to construct 230 billion square meters (2.5 trillion square feet) of buildings, an area roughly equal to the current worldwide building stock, or the equivalent of adding another New York City to the planet every 34 days.

The upfront carbon emissions associated with just three materials used in the construction of new buildings and infrastructure nearly equals annual building sector operational emissions.

By 2050, the embodied carbon from these materials in all new buildings and urban infrastructure, if built to western standards, could consume 60% of the world’s 2°C carbon budget, unless we change course, quickly.

"We are committed to advancing our clients world, and believe that this promise includes using our influence and buying power as a firm to create a positive and sustainable future for all," says Jaconetti.

The firms invited to participate in this event are currently responsible for approximately $2 trillion, or 20% of annual new construction globally. The CarbonPositive‘19 Summit will convene the leadership of these most influential architecture, engineering, planning and construction firms to take action on embodied carbon in the face of unprecedented global construction and urbanization. Discussion will focus on the most impactful and innovative design strategies, material technologies, policies and tools for rapidly driving global change through CarbonPositive practice.

HED is excited to partner with Michigan Technological University (MTU) to create a new H-STEM Engineering & Health Technologies Complex, which will house MTU’s integrated educational programs that apply engineering and science to issues related to human health. The complex will co-locate multiple departments including Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Kinesiology/Integrated Physiology to work together in shared collaborative space to advance learning, develop new technologies and prepare a technologically skilled future workforce. One of the leading STEM Universities in the Midwest, the new H-STEM Complex will allow MTU’s scientists and engineers to make new discoveries through research, by supporting workforce and economic development in the state of Michigan and strengthening the University’s role as a leader in STEM education and innovation. The project will also look to advance MTU’s sustainability goals to create environments focused on the health of building occupants and efficient use of energy and resources.

HED is inspired by MTU’s vision for the H-STEM project and its proposed plan to reimagine its existing facilities to create new state-of-the-art instructional and research spaces to support team-based learning and encourage interdisciplinary relationships. HED brings significant higher education, STEM and laboratory programming and planning experience to this project and will provide architectural design, lab planning, MEPFP engineering and landscape architectural design services for the project, on MTU’s campus overlooking Portage Lake in Houghton, Michigan. As part of this effort, HED will support MTU in securing State of Michigan approval at each project milestone.

The H-STEM Complex will be designed to support the University’s mission - to create solutions for society’s challenges by delivering action-based undergraduate and graduate education, discovering new knowledge through research, and launching new technologies through innovation.

The project is targeting completion by fall, 2023.