Bill Hellmuth

{{short description|American architect (1953–2023)}}

File:Bill_Hellmuth_HOK_2015.jpg

File:Udvar-Hazy Center center outside view.jpg in Chantilly, Virginia]]

Bill Hellmuth (June 3, 1953 – April 6, 2023) was an American architect who designed several notable projects worldwide. Since 2005, he had been president of HOK, a global architecture, engineering and planning firm, while also heading its Washington, D.C., office.{{cite news| url=http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/11/17/tidbits10.html?b=1226898000^1734031&page=1 | first=Deborah K. | last=Dietsch | title=HOK's Bill Hellmuth: On top of the world | date=November 17, 2008}}{{cite news| url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/37915871.html?dids=37915871:37915871&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+09%2C+1999&author=Benjamin+Forgey&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Two+Modest%2C+Modern+Buildings%3B+Pair+Evidences+Distinct+Style+ofWilliam+Hellmuth&pqatl=google | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131150136/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/37915871.html?dids=37915871:37915871&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+09,+1999&author=Benjamin+Forgey&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Two+Modest,+Modern+Buildings;+Pair+Evidences+Distinct+Style+ofWilliam+Hellmuth&pqatl=google | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 31, 2013 | title=Two Modest, Modern Buildings; Pair Evidences Distinct Style ofWilliam Hellmuth | first=Benjamin | last=Forgey | date=January 9, 1999}}

In April 2016, Hellmuth succeeded Patrick MacLeamy as HOK's CEO while continuing to serve as the firm's president and design principal in Washington, D.C.{{cite news|last1=Arsenault|first1=Haley|title=HOK Names Bill Hellmuth as Chief Executive Officer|url=http://www.contractdesign.com/news/people/HOK-Names-Bill-Hellmuth-as-Chief-Executive-Officer-37733.shtml|date=27 January 2016}}

Life and career

Hellmuth was a nephew of George F. Hellmuth,{{cite news |title=Nancy R. LeSage, W.K. Hellmuth, Architect, Wed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/20/style/nancy-r-lesage-wk-hellmuth-architect-wed.html |accessdate=January 17, 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=June 20, 1982}} who founded HOK and its predecessor, Hellmuth, Yamasaki and Leinweber, in 1949.{{cite web|url=https://dynamic.stlouis-mo.gov/history/peopledetail.cfm?Master_ID=2163 |title=George Hellmuth |publisher=city of St. Louis |accessdate=January 15, 2020}}

Hellmuth received a Bachelor of Science (Architecture) degree from the University of Virginia, and, in 1977, a Master of Architecture from Princeton University, where he studied under Michael Graves. After leaving school, he joined Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. In 1991, he joined HOK (the "Hellmuth" in HOK was his uncle), and became president of the firm in 2005.

As a longtime champion of sustainable design, Hellmuth began integrating sustainability into projects long before LEED certification became commonplace.{{cite news|last1=Brennan|first1=Vince|title=HOK names new CEO in succession plan|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2016/01/hok-names-new-ceo-in-succession-plan.html|accessdate=18 March 2016|publisher=St. Louis Business Journal|date=25 January 2016}}

In 2014, Hellmuth was named a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council, an interdisciplinary network of design, product and construction leaders.{{cite web|title=Design Futures Council Announces 2014 Senior Fellows|url=http://www.di.net/news/design-futures-council-announces-2014-senior-fellows/|website=DesignIntelligence|accessdate=11 September 2014}}

Hellmuth was married and had two children. He died of Glioblastoma on April 6, 2023, at the age of 69.[https://www.bdcnetwork.com/bill-hellmuth-faia-chairman-and-ceo-hok-dies-69 Bill Hellmuth, FAIA, Chairman and CEO of HOK, dies at 69]

Projects

Projects that Hellmuth has designed include:

References

{{reflist}}