2024-12-25T20:56:08-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150345721/hok-ceo-and-chairman-bill-hellmuth-passes-away-aged-69 Josh Niland 2023-04-10T18:00:00-04:00 >2024-10-25T04:07:38-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/fe/fe5f19f19d140a0e27e8b671adad66c1.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p><a href="https://archinect.com/firms/cover/9343/hok" target="_blank">HOK</a> has announced the passing of CEO and chairman Bill Hellmuth on April 6th at the age of 69 following a long illness.</p> <p>Hellmuth had been in the chairman&rsquo;s post since 2017 after serving as the firm&rsquo;s president since 2005. Working out of HOK&rsquo;s D.C. office, where he remained as a design principal throughout, he helped lead the development of several well-recognized projects both in domestic markets and internationally. Hellmuth, whose work won 29 AIA awards, originally joined the firm in 1991 at founder <a href="https://archinect.com/news/article/150301961/hok-cofounder-gyo-obata-passes-away-at-99" target="_blank">Gyo Obata</a>&rsquo;s personal urging after practicing in New York for 14 years.</p> <figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/b6/b621d17ffd1200c98696df443cd969ae.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;enlarge=true&amp;w=1028" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/b6/b621d17ffd1200c98696df443cd969ae.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;enlarge=true&amp;w=514"></a></p><figcaption>King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center Residential Community. Image courtesy HOK.</figcaption></figure><p>A firm statement said: &ldquo;Hellmuth was exceptionally optimistic about the ability of design to improve people&rsquo;s lives. A strong advocate of sustainable design, he believed architects had a moral obligation to design projects with minimal impact to the environment. Under his tenure, HOK designed hundreds of green-certified pro...</p>