Thomas Knittel

Design Director @HDR

Los Angeles, CA, US

Tom is our design director for sustainability and a design principal in the Los Angeles studio. He actively leads the design direction of projects and our global efforts on low-carbon solutions. His current mass timber projects on the U.S. West Coast use HDR\'s carbon-balancing methodology, targeting net-zero emitted carbon on day-one for structure, core and shell.\\\\n\\\\nHis recent mass timber projects include the Orange County Sanitation District HQ, the WSU Plant Sciences Research Building in Pullman, WA the net-zero 10 story Behavioral Health Institute pre-design in Seattle, and the CLT educational kiosk at the University of Montana.\\\\n\\\\nHe\'s a frequent lecturer on design innovation, and the potential for long-term carbon sequestration of buildings at-scale, to reduce the climate impact of urbanization. Tom earned a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and is a recipient of over 25 design awards. He was the pro-bono design leader for an all-volunteer team for the U.S. Green Building Council\'s Children’s Center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The LEED Platinum and WELL Gold orphanage has achieved triple net-zero performance.\\\\n \\\\n\\\\n \\\\n \\\\n\\\\n \\\\n