HDR, Inc. is an employee-owned design firm, specializing in engineering, architecture, environmental, and construction services. HDR has worked on projects in all 50

U.S. states In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

and in 60 countries, including notable projects such as the

Hoover Dam Bypass Hoover may refer to: Music * Hoover (band), an American post-hardcore band * Hooverphonic, a Belgian band originally named Hoover * Hoover (singer), Willis Hoover, a country and western performer active in 1960s and '70s * "Hoover" (song), a 20 ...

, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, and

Roslin Institute The Roslin Institute is an animal sciences research institute at Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, part of the University of Edinburgh, and is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. It is best known for creat ...

building. The firm employs over 11,000 professionals and represents hundreds of disciplines in various markets. HDR is the 10th largest employee-owned company in the United States with revenues of $2.5 billion in 2021.
Engineering News-Record
' ranked HDR as the 5th largest design firm in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 2022.

History

In 1917, the Henningson Engineering Company started as a civil engineering firm in Omaha, where HDR's headquarters remain today. Willard Richardson and Charles W. "Chuck" Durham joined the firm in 1939 as interns. Circa 1950, Richardson and Durham had purchased shares in the firm, and it became known as Henningson, Durham and Richardson, Inc. The company's first project was designing a

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

for the city of

Ogallala, Nebraska Ogallala is a city in and the county seat of Keith County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,737 at the 2010 census. In the days of the Nebraska Territory, the city was a stop on the Pony Express and later along the transcontinental ...

. Similar projects followed as the firm built water, sewer, electric, and road systems for cities and towns throughout the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

, emerging from frontier status. In 1983, Bouygues SA, France's largest construction company, purchased HDR for $60 million. An employee group bought back HDR in 1996 for $55 million. The company has since grown from 1,100 employees to over 11,000.

Sustainability

HDR was the first A/E firm to join the

U.S. Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...

in 1994, and was involved in the development of the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating Tool. More recently, the firm received attention for its Sustainable Return on Investment (SROI) process, wherein clients evaluate sustainable strategies today and into the future. HDR also was one of the first firms involved with the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, which aims to do for infrastructure what the U.S. Green Building Council has done for buildings. HDR's project, the William Jack Hernandez Sport Fish Hatchery, was the first to receive an Envision rating from ISI. In the early 1990s, HDR formally established a Sustainable Solutions Program tasked with integrating sustainability into all business practices. Today, the program includes aspects of the A/E/C industry,

climatology Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , ''-logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of study ...

, building design, mobility, natural resources,

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, renewable energy, land-use planning, and economic and environmental modeling.

Acquisitions

Since the employee buyout in 1996 from the French conglomerate Bouygues, HDR has acquired over 60 firms around the world. In February 2011, HDR acquired Cooper Medical, an

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, based firm providing integrated design and construction services for healthcare facilities throughout the U.S. The new alliance, HDR Cooper Medical, will provide a service design and construction delivery model to healthcare clients. In February 2011, HDR acquired Schiff Associates, a recognized leader in corrosion engineering headquartered in Claremont, California, with offices in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

. Schiff is now conducting business as HDR, Schiff. In January 2011, HDR acquired HydroQual, Inc., which specializes in water resource management. Based in Mahwah, N.J., HydroQual has nine offices in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Florida, Utah and Dubai. HydroQual is now conducting business as HDR, HydroQual. Also in January 2011, HDR acquired Amnis Engineering Ltd., based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The firm provides engineering and consulting services in British Columbia and a number of international locations for hydropower and water resources infrastructure. In March 2013, HDR acquired TMK Architekten • Ingenieure, a German healthcare architecture firm. The merged company is the hub for HDR's healthcare and science design programs in Europe. HDR has offices in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Duesseldorf,

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, and

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, Germany. In April 2013, HDR acquired Salva Resources, a global provider of technical and commercial services for mining exploration and investment in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Australia. In July 2013, HDR acquired the business and assets of Sharon Greene + Associates, a firm specializing in transportation economics and financial analysis. In November 2013, HDR acquired Rice Daubney Architects, a firm in Sydney, Australia. The merged company conducts business as

HDR Rice Daubney HDR Rice Daubney, formerly Rice Daubney, is a Sydney based architectural practice with over 100 staff. It was established in 1976 by Kevin Rice and John Daubney, both formerly of Fombertaux Rice Hanly Since 2003 the practice's head office has bee ...

and is the hub for HDR's healthcare, defence, retail, and commercial work in Australia and HDR's retail and commercial work throughout the globe. In January 2015, HDR acquired the assets of MEI, LLC, a liquid natural gas engineering and consulting firm based in Pooler, Georgia. In July, 2015, HDR acquired CEI Architecture of Vancouver, British Columbia, an architectural, planning and interior design consultant. In September, 2017, HDR acquired long-time partner, Maintenance Design Group, a firm specializing in the planning and design of vehicle and fleet operations and maintenance facilities. HDR sought to add MDG's strengths in facility planning and design to complement its asset life-cycle approach to infrastructure development. In 2018, HDR expanded its water resources services by acquiring the assets of David Ford Consulting Engineers, a firm based in Sacramento, California. The firm specializes in water hydraulics, flood risk analysis, reservoir systems and operations, water resource planning and hydro-economics. In May 2019, HDR acquired Calthorpe Associates, an internationally recognized firm in regional planning, urban design and transit-oriented development.

Hurley Palmer Flatt

In July 2019, HDR expanded its footprint in Europe and Asia by acquiring the British firm Hurley Palmer Flatt, as well as its subsidiaries; Hurley Palmer Flatt rebranded to HDR in early 2022. Hurley Palmer Flatt was a multi-disciplinary

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

consultancy based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It provided mechanical and electrical engineering consultancy and associated services. It was established in 1968 in the UK by John Hurley as a building services consultancy. It expanded into a global company operating in Dubai, India, Australia, Singapore and the US, engaging in both public and private sector development across various fields. In 2009 Hurley Palmer Flatt acquired ATCO Consulting, expanding its reach in Scotland. In 2014 it acquired London-based mechanical and engineering firm Andrew Reid and Partners (AR&P) and took a majority controlling share of the business. AR&P had been established in 1970 by Andrew Reid. Its core services included diagnostic assessments of under-performing buildings and the management or independent validation of building engineering services commissioning. Its work in commissioning began at the

Barbican Arts Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhib ...

, through all 14 phases of London's Broadgate development to the present day including the 750,000ft2 headquarters for UBS at 5 Broadgate in London. From the late 1990s, AR&P successfully commissioned data centres for several of the world most successful brands. Its design engineers were involved in work at

The National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director of ...

from the mid 1980s when the company designed the building services for the new Sainsbury Wing, and have been involved in other museums and galleries including Dulwich Picture Gallery, the National Maritime Museum and the Imperial War Museum. In 2016, Hurley Palmer Flatt acquired a majority share in the civil and structural engineering business, Bradbrook Consulting, which had UK offices in London, Kingston, Watford, and Manchester, and a Dubai office. In 2016, the company moved its central

office to 240 Blackfriars at the

South Bank Tower Southbank Tower (formerly South Bank Tower King's Reach Tower until 2013) is a high-rise building in Stamford Street, Southwark, London. It was originally a thirty-storey structure high and was completed in 1972, designed by the architect Ric ...

on a 10-year lease as part of its expansion plan.

Notable Hurley Palmer Flatt projects

* Sea Containers House, UK *

Taymouth Castle Taymouth Castle is situated to the north-east of the village of Kenmore, Perth and Kinross, in the Highlands of Scotland, in an estate which encompasses 450 acres. It lies on the south bank of the River Tay, about a mile from Loch Tay, in the ...

, UK * 195-197 Kings Road, UK, for Martins Properties *

Weston Library The Weston Library is part of the Bodleian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford, reopened within the former New Bodleian Library building on the corner of Broad Street and Parks Road in central Oxford, England. Histo ...

, Oxford University, UK, shortlisted for the 2016

Stirling Prize The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The S ...

. * Renovated Archive & Book Storage Facility, Bodleian Library, Oxford University, UK * Aberdeen Exhibition And Conference Centre Energy Centre, UK, for

Henry Boot Henry Boot (1851–1931) was the founder of Henry Boot PLC. Henry Boot was the eldest surviving son of Charles and Ann Boot. He was born on 9 December 1851 in Heeley, a small village two miles outside Sheffield. Henry's father had described him ...

Developments *

Singapore Changi Airport Singapore Changi Airport, commonly known as Changi Airport , is a major civilian international airport that serves Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. As one of the world's busiest airports by international passe ...

, Singapore * New Data Centre Australian Securities Exchange, Australia * 1 Knightsbridge, for

JP Morgan JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in City of New York, New York City and Delaware General Corporation Law, inco ...

, UK * Croydon Data Centre, for

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

, UK *

Dundee railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Dundee Railway Station and Sleeperz Hotel.jpg , borough = Dundee, Dundee City , country = Scotland , coordinates = , grid_nam ...

, UK * 10 Upper Bank Street & The Zig Zag Building, Victoria, for

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

, UK * 131 Sloane Street, for Marshall Wace, UK

Notable Andrew Reid and Partners projects

* The Imperial War Museum *

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unite ...

* Broadgate development, London *

Mary Rose Trust The Mary Rose Trust is a limited charitable trust based in Portsmouth in the United Kingdom. Its primary aims are to preserve, display and spread knowledge about the 16th century warship ''Mary Rose'' which sank in the Solent on 19 July 1545 ...

* Ashmolean Museum *

University of Greenwich , mottoeng = "To learn, to do, to achieve" , former_name = Woolwich Polytechnic(1890–1970)Thames Polytechnic(1970–1992) , established = , type = Public university , budget = £214.9 million (2020) , administrative_staff = , chancel ...

* Guildhall School of Music

Hurley Palmer Flatt awards and recognition

* Number 34 in Top 150 Consultants 2016 by ''

Building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fu ...

'' * View58 (58 Victoria Embankment) was Highly Commended the 2016 Property Awards in the Sustainability category. * Nominated for the Training Initiative of the Year at the Consultancy and Engineering Awards 2016. * Weston Library won AJ100 Building of the Year. * Weston Library also won the

RIBA National Award RIBA National Awards are part of an awards program operated by the Royal Institute of British Architects, also encompassing the Stirling Prize, the European Award and the International Award. The National Awards are given to buildings in the UK w ...

2016, RIBA South Award 2016 and the RIBA South Building of the Year 2016. * Winner in the Affordable Housing category at the Scottish Design Awards 2008 for Fyne Homes & CP Architects Gigha project in West Scotland. * Nominated for the

CIBSE The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE; pronounced 'sib-see') is an international professional engineering association based in London, England that represents building services engineers. It is a full member of the Co ...

Employer of the Year 2017 Award *Number 24 in Top 150 Consultants 2019 by ''Building''

Controversies

Prison design

HDR Architecture's jail and prison design projects have faced criticism from advocates in communities where the projects are proposed. In 2019, advocates in Travis County, TX opposed the construction of a new women’s jail, arguing the resources would be better spent on programs to address concerns like addiction and mental health. Following community pressure, Travis County commissioners indefinitely paused HDR's $4.6 million contract to design the women's jail in June 2021. HDR also faced criticism from advocates in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

after being selected in 2021 to design a new women’s prison for the

Massachusetts Department of Correction The Massachusetts Department of Correction is responsible for operating the prison system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The Massachusetts Department of Correction is responsible for the custody of about 8,292 prisone ...

. Advocates opposed all new prison construction and particularly argued against HDR’s proposed “trauma-informed” design, saying it was not possible in a prison environment.

Monitoring of activists

In August 2021, a Motherboard story detailed HDR's monitoring services provided to government agencies conducting controversial projects. The report highlighted HDR's "corporate counterinsurgency" work, especially social media monitoring, to anticipate and disrupt public opposition to projects, including highways built through sacred Indigenous sites and prison and jail construction.

Awards

In 2018, the American Council of Engineers awarded the Grand Conceptor Award to HDR and joint venture partner WSP USA for the design and construction of a new roadway within the steel-arch Bayonne Bridge—64 feet above an existing highway it was to replace. The Grand Conceptor Award signifies the year's most outstanding engineering achievement. The recognition marked HDR's fourth Grand Conceptor in the company's 100-year history, and the second time that HDR received the award two years in a row. In 2017, the State Route 520 floating bridge earned the American Council of Engineering Companies' Grand Conceptor Award. HDR also won back-to-back Grand Conceptor Awards in 2010 and 2011. The 2011 award winner was the Hoover Dam Bypass. HDR was the project manager for this project. The Hoover Dam Bypass won several other industry awards. The 2010 winner was the Gills Onions Advanced Energy Recovery System in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

, which uses onion waste to produce renewable energy.

Select designs

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (كليفلاند كلينك أبو ظبي, known as CCAD) is a multi specialty hospital located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The 364 bed luxury hospital, part of Cleveland Clinic Foundation, USA, has been open ...

, Abu Dhabi,

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (often abbreviated to The Cronkite School by its students and faculty), is one of the 24 independent schools at Arizona State University and is named in honor of veteran broadcast jo ...

building at Arizona State University,

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

* Historic Fourth Ward Park,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

* Holland Performing Arts Center,

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

* Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute,

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

San Antonio River Walk The San Antonio River Walk is a city park and special-case pedestrian street in San Antonio, Texas, one level down from the automobile street. The River Walk winds and loops under bridges as two parallel sidewalks lined with restaurants and shop ...

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

*The new

Parkland Memorial Hospital Parkland Memorial Hospital is a public hospital in Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the main hospital of the Parkland Health & Hospital System and serves as Dallas County's public hospital. It is located within the Southwestern Medical Di ...

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

* Bill Young Reservoir,

Bridgepoint Health Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital, formerly Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, is a complex care and rehabilitation hospital in Toronto. It is a member of the Sinai Health and affiliated with the University of Toronto In October 2021 Sinai Health announ ...

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

* Fort Belvoir Community Hospital,

Fort Belvoir, Virginia A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

* Tappan Zee Bridge Replacement,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Baxter Arena Baxter Arena (previously known under the working name UNO Community Arena) is the sports arena owned and operated by the University of Nebraska Omaha located in Omaha, Nebraska. Completed in 2015, Baxter Arena serves as the home of several of the ...

, Omaha, Nebraska *

Humber River Hospital Humber River Hospital is a major acute care hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the northwest part of Toronto, near Highway 401 and Keele Street. It is a large community hospital offering emergency and intensive care services, mater ...

, Toronto, Ontario File:Ark-Coca Cola Place, viewed from Mount St April 2012.jpg, Coca-Cola Place, North Sydney, Australia File:Bridgepoint Health May 2013.jpg, Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, Toronto, Ontario File:ASU Downtown - SoJ SWC - 2008-12-29.jpg, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, Phoenix, Arizona File:Riverwalk20.jpg, San Antonio River Walk, San Antonio, Texas File:MikeO'Callaghan–PatTillmanMemorialBridge.jpg, Hoover Dam Bypass, Arizona-Nevada File:Fourth ward park.jpg, Historic Fourth Ward Park, Atlanta, Georgia File:Flickr - Official U.S. Navy Imagery - Fort Belvoir Community Hospital (27).jpg, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Fort Belvoir, Virginia

References

{{Authority control Design companies established in 1917 Architecture firms based in Nebraska Construction and civil engineering companies of the United States Engineering consulting firms Companies based in Omaha, Nebraska 1917 establishments in Nebraska Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1917 Business services companies established in 1917