Structural Engineer

HKS announces Regenerative Design team. HKS has launched a new Regenerative Design team, deepening the firm's commitment to a systems-thinking approach to design that aims to create net-positive impact for people, planet and ecosystems across projects and practices. "Regenerative design reflects a necessary shift in how we think about the built environment - moving beyond reducing harm to creating places that actively restore and strengthen ecological and community systems," said Tony Montalto, HKS Chief Design Officer. "We have an opportunity to design places that give more than they take. By establishing a dedicated regenerative design team, HKS is expanding our ability to create buildings and environments that help ecosystems recover, strengthen communities and generate lasting value for our clients and the people they serve." The new HKS team brings together expertise in regenerative design, net-positive projects and nature-based solutions. With their HKS colleagues, they will continue the firm's exploration of a holistic approach to design that considers how buildings, landscapes and communities can respond to climate, restore habitats, generate clean energy, balance water cycles, sequester carbon, support material health and circularity, and expand wellness, equity and access. "Regenerative design begins with asking better questions, those 'what if' questions that can lead to regenerative outcomes," said Yasemin Kologlu, Director of Regenerative Design at HKS. "When we take the time to truly understand a place - its climate, ecosystems and communities - we start to see opportunities that traditional approaches or checklists often miss. Our goal is to translate those insights into designs that improve people's lives while contributing to the long-term positive impact for people and the environments around." Rather than a one-size-fits-all formula or checklist, the Regenerative Design team will collaborate closely with HKS project teams to shape strategies tailored to each project's context and opportunities. Their approach begins with climate-responsive passive design and extends through design and delivery by strategically aligning vision, rigor and positive outcomes through the life of a project. Working across scales, disciplines and typologies, the team will help unlock connections between natural and built systems. With their expertise, HKS will continue to explore how design can create positive impact and contribute to healthier ecosystems, stronger communities and a more resilient future over time. The team includes: Yasemin Kologlu, Director of Regenerative Design. Yasemin Kologlu is the Director of Regenerative Design at HKS. A recognized leader in building design and construction, Yasemin has over 20 years of experience in design and implementation of innovative and net zero energy/carbon/water/waste buildings. She adopts a holistic design approach that integrates well-being, environmental design, the latest material and building technologies to create positive impact for people and planet. Yasemin loves tackling the untackled issues in its industry and create innovative solutions with likeminded industry partners. In addition to her role at HKS, she actively serves the building communities with voluntary elected roles such as President of Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization (CSU), Senior Fellow with Architecture 2030, Co-Chair of American Institute of Architects COTE in NY and ULI NY's Sustainability and Climate Council. Matthew McGrane, Senior Regenerative Designer. Matthew McGrane is a Senior Regenerative Designer with over 20 years of experience in high-performance and Regenerative Design across the Midwest. Matthew has designed some of the region's first net-zero, passivehouse, and Living Building Challenge buildings. Working across markets and at multiple scales, the consistent thread through Matthew's career is a deep commitment to empathetic engagement, climate justice and social equity. Jennifer Preston, Senior Regenerative Designer. Jennifer Preston is a design leader with more than 20 years of experience integrating regenerative, high-performance, and climate-responsive strategies across architecture, interiors, and master planning. She brings clarity to complex design challenges by bridging analytical rigor with ecological sensitivity and human-centered values, while cultivating cultures of curiosity, empathy, and innovation. Her work is grounded in expanding and translating the wisdom of nature into design solutions that support resilient, adaptive, and life-enhancing environments. Olivia Raymundo, design professional. Olivia Raymundo is an artist and designer from South Florida who holds both a Bachelor of Design and a Master of Architecture from the University of Florida. During her time as a student, she worked both as a Teaching Assistant and a Research Editor for the School of Architecture's graduate publication Vorkurs. Her research centers on domestic craft as documentation, with a focus on issues of memory, ephemerality, and identity. E.J. Shin, design professional. E.J. is an entry-level designer with a background in civil and structural engineering and architecture from Columbia University. She approaches design through an interdisciplinary lens and values integrity, logical thinking and meaningful program solving in her work. Across both practice and theory, E.J. seeks to balance qualitative and quantitative design methodologies as an interdisciplinary designer. Amir zarrabi, computational designer. Amir is a regenerative computational designer with a PhD in Sustainability who advances performance-driven design through integrated, systems-based thinking. Working at the intersection of architecture, ecology, and human well-being, he embeds energy, carbon, microclimate, daylight, water, and living systems into early-stage decision-making using parametric and AI-enabled workflows. His work supports buildings and landscapes that generate clean energy, store carbon, restore water cycles, and strengthen biodiversity and community resilience.

HKS named fast Company's #1 Most Innovative Architecture Firm. Recognition highlights Astra Tower as a prototype for buildings that address climate and civic health. Fast Company has named HKS the #1 Most Innovative Architecture Firm and #31st on its 2026 World's Most Innovative Companies list, reflecting the firm's leadership in shaping the future of global business, technology and culture. The recognition is driven by the firm's work on Astra Tower in Salt Lake City, a residential high-rise designed to address one of the city's most urgent public health challenges. It also reflects how HKS is using architecture as a tool to improve human, urban and ecological outcomes. Salt Lake City's geography and seasonal atmospheric inversions trap pollution in the valley, contributing to some of the worst air quality in the United States. At Astra Tower, a key innovation is the building's centralized air intake, which subjects outdoor air to hospital-grade filtration before distributing it to residences. The system is designed with the aspiration of returning cleaner air to the surrounding environment than the building takes in, advancing a net-positive approach to urban air quality at scale. A second strategy focuses on awareness and behavior. In partnership with Utah Clean Air, Astra Tower uses its presence on the skyline to communicate real-time air quality levels through a color-changing LED crown, as well as displays within elevators and shared spaces. These signals help residents and the broader community better understand changing environmental factors and make more informed daily decisions. Together, these strategies point to a future in which buildings go beyond mitigating environmental challenges to actively improving the environments around them. That vision translates into healthier air and stronger connections between people and their surroundings at Astra Tower. "At HKS, we believe every project is an opportunity to make the world better than we found it," said HKS CEO Heath May. "Design isn't just about what happens within a building. It's about the conditions we create for communities and environments to thrive. This recognition affirms our belief that the most meaningful innovation in architecture is measured by how it strengthens the people we serve." Astra Tower reflects an approach HKS is applying more broadly - using research and interdisciplinary collaboration to address environmental, human and urban challenges through design. "Astra Tower was designed in direct response to the realities of living in Salt Lake City, where air quality is an important public health issue," said Emir Tursic, HKS Salt Lake City Office Director. "Together with our client, Kensington Investment Company (KIC), we saw an opportunity to create a building that not only supports the people inside it but also engages with the environmental conditions shaping daily life in the city."