HKS

About HKS

HKS is an interdisciplinary global design firm founded in Dallas, Texas in 1939 by Harwood K. Smith. What began as a Texas architecture practice has become an international organisation whose team extends well beyond architects to include researchers, urban designers, nurses, anthropologists, artists and scientists.

That composition is deliberate rather than decorative. A firm designing hospitals benefits from employing nurses who have worked in them; a firm designing for communities benefits from anthropologists who study how people actually use space. The mix reflects HKS's position that design should be driven by research and a deep understanding of human needs.

Origins

Harwood K. Smith was a gifted painter who studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before choosing to channel his artistic training into architecture. He moved to Dallas after graduating and founded the practice in 1939. The firm describes the Texan spirit - entrepreneurial, proud, resourceful and independent - as still underpinning its culture.

What HKS Believes

The practice states that design should build trust between collaborators, clients and the people who inhabit the places it designs, aiming to inspire and empower the communities that encounter its work while creating places that conserve and rejuvenate natural resources.

Practice Areas

• Health - hospitals, clinical facilities and specialist care environments, a long-standing core strength
• Sports and entertainment - major stadiums and arenas, including SoFi Stadium
• Hospitality - hotels and resorts internationally
• Life science - research and laboratory buildings
• Aviation - terminals and airport facilities
• Education - university and campus buildings
• Mission critical - data centres and continuously operating facilities
• Cities and communities, arts and culture, government
• Mixed-use, office, multifamily residential and senior living

Services

Beyond architecture, HKS offers interior design, landscape design, planning and urban design, structural engineering, sustainable design, equitable design, experiential branding, advisory services, alternative project delivery and dedicated research. Citizen HKS is the firm's public-interest design programme.

Research and Computational Design

Research is a named service line rather than an internal function, covering evidence-based design in healthcare, the effects of environments on wellbeing, and computational design methods that let teams test and evaluate options quantitatively. In healthcare particularly, evidence-based design has measurable consequences - room layouts affect infection rates, falls and staff walking distances.

Global Reach

HKS operates from offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, including Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, London, Dubai, Riyadh, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, New Delhi, Brisbane and Mexico City.

Recognition

Recent honours include a 2024 AIA Architecture Award for SoFi Stadium, two 2024 AIA Healthcare Awards, a 2023 AIA COTE Top Ten award for the UC San Diego Living and Learning Neighborhood, recognition as a Forbes Best Mid-size Employer, an Equality 100 award for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion, and a MIPIM Asia Gold Award.

Market Position

HKS competes among the largest global architecture firms, with particular authority in healthcare and sports - two sectors where technical complexity and stakeholder demands are unusually high.

Why AEC Teams Should Know HKS

For owners and designers working on hospitals, stadiums or research facilities, HKS is a leading reference point for evidence-based and research-led design across the built environment.