DALLAS, TEXAS – HKS, Inc., a top-three architectural/engineering firm based in Dallas, was named one of the top green design firms by Engineering News-Record.  HKS is ranked fourth overall and is the top Texas-based green firm.

HKS continues to be a leader in the advancement of sustainable design.  The firm has used practices and standards of energy-conscious and site-sensitive design for over 15 years.  As of today, HKS’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certified and registered projects total more than 10 million square feet. The firm has more than 210 LEED Accredited Professionals on staff.

“Today, owners in all sectors – from commercial to healthcare – are asking that some or many sustainable elements are incorporated into their projects,” said Kirk Teske, AIA, LEED AP, principal and senior vice president.  “More and more, the firm’s proposals for design services request sustainable design information.”

HKS’s LEED projects include The Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., which was recently named the world’s largest LEED-certified building; St. Mary’s/Duluth Clinic in Duluth, Minn.; U.S. Census Bureau Headquarters in Suitland, Md.; 100 Seventh Street in Pittsburgh, Pa.; Sabre Headquarters in Southlake, Texas; and Lacks Cancer Center in Grand Rapids, Mich.

One Legacy Circle in Plano, Texas – designed by HKS – recently earned an Energy Star designation, sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency. The building is designed using the DOE Energy Model to use 26 percent less energy than comparable Dallas-area Class A office buildings.

The ENR Top 100 Green Designers generated $1.74 billion in revenue from such projects in 2007, $1.62 billion domestically and $121.2 million abroad. Companies are ranked according to revenue for design services generated in 2007 from projects that have been registered with or certified by a third-party organization that sets standards for measuring a facility’s environmental impact, energy efficiency or carbon footprint.

HKS, Inc. is a leading architectural design firm ranked among the top-three architectural/engineering firms, according to Building Design & Construction magazine. Since its founding in 1939, HKS has completed construction projects totaling more than $45 billion in more than 900 cities located in 46 states, the District of Columbia and 54 foreign countries.  HKS, headquartered in Dallas, has 23 U.S. and worldwide offices.