Week 9

This past week, I had alot of fun with people from work. We just found out that the FOOD ROOF is getting a $60,000 donation. So, we celebrated by dinner at the Ostafi's house. Mary and Jo Ostafi are definitely my people of the week. They both work at HOK and are super awesome. Mary is a sustainability specialist and Jo is the Vice-President of our S&T(Science and Technology) Group. Living in downtown, they all invited us over for dinner to enjoy some produce from the 1st Urban Garden site.

Mary Ostafi, founder of Urban Harvest stl at the Garden Site with her Sunflowers

I spent a portion of the week coordinating a marketing booklet for the Urban Farm. The other part of the week I spent designing the Taj Mah Toilets. This is project is such a nightmare, but it is going to be the best looking toilet. We've decided to use this beautiful Carvart glass toilet partitions and are inserting lightblocks into the ceiling... craziest bathroom ever. However, the client gave us some direction, so I will be representing the concepts based on the clients input.

These values guide everything HOK does for our clients:
We create exceptional environments that meet our clients’ most complex design challenges.
We inspire people through our work by expressing timeless cultural, organizational and personal values.
We connect people and place with ideas that come from many minds and imaginations.
We care about serving our clients, enriching lives, improving communities and protecting our natural environment through design.

These are the values of most every person I have met at HOK. I cannot believe how many creative, inspiring, connected, caring people I have been priveledged to work with this summer. The 4 principles of HOK, as simple and small as they may seem, truly guide and compromise what makes HOK one of the best design firms in the world. I will never forget my experience, and I will never forget the people who have molded my perspective on design and touched my life.