Our Values at Work

We live—and practice—in an extraordinary time. It is an era, admittedly, of great challenges. Yet I also believe it is a time for great opportunities. It is in times such as these when a firm's commitment to its values are tested and when its true character is revealed. At HDR Architecture, Inc., we contend that it's our values that have allowed us to grow to become one of the Top 10 architectural firms in America; that it's our values that will sustain our growth during these uncertain economic times; and that it's our values that will open doors to brand new opportunities in the future.

A dedication to establishing "clients for life" has always been one of our firm's foremost values. We are committed to creating rewarding and long-term relationships with our clients, as evidenced by our remarkable 80% repeat client base. As an employee-owned firm, each and every one of us feels a sense of accountability to our clients. Our culture of listening to our clients and acting on what they tell us is imperative to continue our success. Our architects, engineers, designers and planners are inspired by our clients and their work. We are honored to design facilities where scientists may someday discover a cure for cancer, where caregivers provide a healing environment for injured U.S. soldiers returning from deployment, and where the fundamental acts of the United States Judicial System are demonstrated in real life each day.

As we seek to design intelligent architecture expressing our clients' missions and values, we are also committed to fully developing the depth and breadth of our professional architecture and engineering experience. For example, we were one of the first design firms to establish a significant depth of expertise in the understanding of a single business type—Healthcare—which has helped differentiate us from other firms in the marketplace. To maintain our leadership status, however, we will continue to broaden our capabilities across all disciplines, as well as across all market segments in which we work: Civic, Science + Technology and Healthcare. We will never rest on our laurels, but will continue to pursue best practices, especially in Design Excellence. I am very proud of our ability to compete with the best national and international design talents. I am also proud that we have embraced advanced tools such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), which helps our designers, architects and engineers effectively collaborate to produce higher value designs, enabling our clients to experience virtual models of their projects long before construction begins.

HDR has grown to become a large, influential, international design firm, and we know that we must now exhibit bold leadership and common sense in response to growing environmental concerns. Consequently, we have signed the "Architecture 2030 Challenge," representing a significant step for HDR—one that I am confident is a prudent next step forward. We are one of only a handful of architecture firms to have endorsed this initiative, designed to achieve dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by challenging the more conventional ways buildings and developments have been planned, designed and constructed in the past.

It has never been more crucial for all of our professionals to be responsible gatekeepers of the built environment. The opportunities that lie before us are indeed challenging, but exhilarating as well, as we assist our clients in defining their missions through architectural form. At HDR, we believe there is no greater vocation.