'Increasing our global reach is key'

H. Ralph Hawkins, FAIA, FACHA, is president and CEO of Dallas-based HKS, Inc. He has been involved in the design of more than $1 billion of healthcare facilities, totaling 30,000 beds and 40 million sf. A past president of the Academy of Architecture for Health, Hawkins holds a BS in architecture from the University of Texas, Arlington, an MArch from Rice, and an MPH from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center.

BD+C: In 2006, HKS ranked fourth among A/E firms in our “Giants” ranking and second in healthcare revenues. How does your practice volume break down?

Ralph Hawkins: Healthcare is 50% of our work, hospitality 20%, sports facilities 20%, and commercial/corporate 10%. Twenty years ago, corporate would have been 90%. We do some government work, such as the new Census Bureau headquarters [see page 66]. We're seeing the entertainment and sports venues markets expanding. Likewise luxury hotels and destination hotels.

BD+C: Geographically, which are your strong markets?

RH: Nationally, we are predominately located in the Sun Belt. That's where about 70% of construction in the U.S. is taking place. Florida is huge, Texas is big, and California is a hot market right now. Business is strong in Atlanta, and there's a lot of commercial work in Phoenix.

BD+C:What about the international market?

RH: We have approximately 1,200 people in the U.S., 52 in London, 20 in Mexico. RyderHKS in London serves Europe. We've aligned QuddamiHKS in Dohar, Qatar, for the Middle East. In India we'll have an office in Chennai [formerly Madras]—that's the hot area right now—Shanghai for China, and Mexico City for Central and South America. We're doing sports facilities, hotels, and a soccer museum in Mexico.

BD+C: What are you doing in Asia?

RH: We're on our second project in Macau—hotels, condos, retail, and casinos. Based on our work in Las Vegas, where we did the second phase of The Venetian, the [client] wanted to pursue opportunities in China. We did the design work and contracted out with an Australian firm with a local office in Hong Kong. Macau could rival Las Vegas in a few years.

In terms of construction dollars spent, China is only third globally. Thirty percent of construction dollars are spent in the U.S., 13% in Japan, 7% in China, and if you add the EU countries together, they're only 16%. So our feeling is the U.S. market is going to be very strong for us.

BD+C: Talk about HKS's strong suit, healthcare.

RH: There are hot spots in healthcare throughout the U.S., due to the aging of the facilities themselves and the aging of the population pushing up demand on the healthcare systems.

Most older healthcare facilities were not built for outpatient services. So the patients that are in hospitals are much more acute, almost to a level of critical care. We have to change design to reach these much higher levels of acute care.

This shift toward outpatient care has pushed hospitals to be more efficient, mostly in their patient-care units. A lot of this is due to staffing shortages, especially of nurses.

Because of these larger changes, we're seeing a tremendous interest in redoing these facilities. It's a market like I've never seen in my lifetime. It's like the old Hill-Burton days [when hospitals were constructed on a cost-plus basis].

BD+C: What's your big headache or worry today?

RH: Capacity. If we grow, we need to increase staff to expand our markets. There just are not enough architects out there for the work. Fortunately, some professional services can be outsourced, which is why we're looking into India. We're trying to figure out how to cross geographic barriers with our staff. We have to be able to use our staff worldwide, and we're working out ways of communicating to move documents across timelines. Also, while hiring additional staff globally to meet demand can be a challenge when the market is in an upswing, what happens when the market shifts downward?

BD+C: How about staff retention?

RH: We've really focused on that. The AIA Large Firm Roundtable says there's a 15% voluntary turnover in professional staff. HKS's voluntary turnover is only 8%. We recently brought in Peter Braun from Lockheed Martin as VP of People and Organizational Development to address staff satisfaction, education, training, and performance criteria.

BD+C: What else is on your mind?

RH: Global competition is really heating up in the field of architecture. Firms from other countries are becoming major players in the industry, even here in the U.S. Increasing our global reach is key to continuing our success.