INSIGHTS & EXPLORATIONS: A Look Inside of HGOR
Newsletter Series
CELEBRATING
Awards
2023 has been incredibly generous to our firm and we are especially grateful for the recognition our HGOR team has earned thus far.
The April ASLA SE Regional Conference was the beginning of much excitement for our team. The CITY PLACE | MARIE SIMS PARK project received an Honor Award recognizing Principal Chris Mutter and his team for exceptional design innovation of a dual-purpose urban space catering to surrounding residents’ needs while providing centralized stormwater solutions within a park.
Atlanta Business Chronicle’s annual Best in Real Estate Awards identified ROWEN, the 2,000+ acre research epicenter driven by a focus on environment, agriculture and medicine, as the most significant land planning development for 2023. Spearheaded by Principals Bob Hughes, Todd Fuller and Steve Sanchez, Rowen’s goals are monumental, with plans to create up to 100,000 jobs and $9 billion in ongoing labor income by full buildout.
On June 23, HURT PARK was recognized by the Atlanta Urban Design Commission, with an Award of Excellence for Parks & Landscape Design. Hurt Park played a prominent role in downtown Atlanta morphing into a thriving city center, and later served as a venue in 1963 for Martin Luther King Jr to address civil rights activists. Principal Lauren Standish led the team alongside project partners to revitalize the site by designing a safe, equitable, inspirational park space.
MORE CELEBRATING
This summer, HGOR was the recipient of five awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects’ Georgia Chapter for projects in the parks, healthcare and planning and analysis sectors and one very prestigious honor--Firm of the Year.
Since founding HGOR, we have sought to improve our communities by delivering meaningful places of value for the users and our clients, and our mission has never changed. We are incredibly thankful to be honored with the FIRM OF THE YEAR award, as it validates the importance of our commitment to defining sustainable environments and recognizes our commitment to making contributions to the landscape architecture industry.
PROGRESSING
Mercer Atlanta Administration & Conference Center
Learning spaces have come a long way over the past few decades! This spring, the team of Smith Dalia Architects and HGOR completed a project with Mercer University’s Administration and Conference Center—originally constructed in 1974. With modernization and sustainability at the forefront, HGOR integrated green infrastructure approaches utilizing a 100% native plant palette to deliver a 1.25-acre accessible green roof with multi-functional outdoor areas ideal for dining, events and brainstorming sessions in nature. Combining contemporary innovations with respect for Mercer’s heritage allowed us to breathe new life into the space, making it relevant and appealing for today’s campus users.
Assembly Atlanta
It feels like a dream to see the realization of Assembly Atlanta becoming a reality! Recently, we have experienced a surge of satisfaction and pride as we witness our plans for our client’s vision coming to life--now visible from I-285. We feel a profound sense of excitement with eager anticipation for what this mixed-use film and tv mega-entertainment destination’s positive impact on the community will be.
VOLUNTEERING
THOUGHT-PROVOKING
What type of programming would you like to see us design in our next project that promotes the future of open space in today’s communities?
EDUCATING
This spring’s American Society of Landscape Architects Southeast Regional Conference provided several opportunities for our team to share innovative concepts and insightful approaches with industry colleagues.
Southeast Regional Conference Educational Session
Through the conference’s theme of resiliency in design, HGOR showcased in-depth planning and design methodologies for Rowen, a massive research hub defined by environmental resiliency and people-oriented spaces that foster groundbreaking agricultural and medicinal discoveries. We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in such a tremendous knowledge exchange with respected industry colleagues.
CONNECTING
Principal Steve Sanchez is recognized for his contributions toward specialized planting design. Throughout his 36+ years of experience, he has acquired an intimate understanding of a broad array of plant materials from around the world, and has helped introduce several selections of native species into the ornamental trade, ensuring our built canopy is part of the living ecosystem. To expedite the design process, Steve has created a database containing over 8,000 plants from varied climatic regions, each with more than 300 characteristics identified per species, and is eager to share his valuable insight on nursery availability and planting implementation strategies.
Interested in having Steve speak at your upcoming industry event? Please contact marketing@hgor.com.
