HNTB Corporation Shining Under St. Louis' Arch by Chris Dimond, FASLA, and Russell Volmert, ASLA St. Louis is a vibrant, visionary city where great things are happening. Civic pride, a strong corporate and philanthropic community and broad-based leadership that is focused on continually improving the quality of life for the area's citizens makes St. Louis an ideal home for this year's ASLA national convention. At the same time, the city is an ideal office location for the most recent addition to HNTB Corporation's national urban design and planning practice. New Office Part of Bigger Picture For more than 25 years, HNTB's urban design and planning professionals have shaped the character of communities across the United States. Extensive growth and exciting project opportunities have lead to a significant expansion of the firm's urban design and planning practice in the past three years. HNTB counts 120 urban designers, planners and Landscape Architects - positioning the firm as the nation's third-largest practice. The firm's professionals work on projects either independently or in concert with HNTB's national network of architects and engineers. In addition to St. Louis, HNTB has established urban design and planning practices in Baton Rouge, LA; Boston, MA; Charleston, WV; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Houston, TX; Indianapolis, IN; Kansas City, MO; Lansing, MI; Milwaukee, WI; Nashville, TN; Orlando, FL; and Seattle, WA. While HNTB has the expertise and resources to undertake any project assignment, the company focuses on several primary urban design and planning markets - transportation enhancements, urban design, community planning, development planning, recreation development and campus planning. Detailed strategic plans for each market have enabled HNTB to win major commissions while also attracting talented staff. Meeting client requirements is obviously critical, and HNTB provides a range of services to ensure that it can continually fulfill client expectations. Urban design and planning, landscape architecture, community involvement, environmental assessments, GIS, and real estate analysis are only a few of the comprehensive services offered by the firm. The firm's in-house New Media Services group and graphic design professionals have helped HNTB establish itself as a recognized leader in the development of communications vehicles to support client projects. Among the vehicles gaining the attention of clients and prospective clients are Web sites, interactive CD-ROMs, videos and newsletters. St. Louis Site Gets Off to Fast Start HNTB's urban design and planning practice in St. Louis was established in June and is already off and running. The practice was started to build upon the tremendous success of the firm's multidisciplinary St. Louis office, which opened two years ago. Early successes of the office, which initially was opened to provide transportation design services, include two major projects with significant transportation enhancement components - the New Mississippi River Bridge and the New I-64. The initial focus of the office's urban design and landscape architecture professionals involves transportation enhancement, urban design and park and recreation projects. Numerous opportunities exist in the St. Louis area for work in these markets. For transportation, improvements to the Metro East area of Illinois via the New Mississippi River Bridge and the expansion of MetroLink offer exciting opportunities. Both projects are expected to facilitate the growth of communities on the Illinois side of the river. The formation of a regional parks district early in 2001 will promote increased recreation facility development throughout the St. Louis region, and the renaissance of downtown St. Louis is expected to continue well into the future following the adoption of the city's Downtown Now! Master Plan. LASN HNTB teamed up with renowned architect Dan Kiley and Jaquelin Taylor Robertson to provide architectural services for the Henry Moore Sculpture Garden. Under the shadow of the famed St. Louis Arch, leaders of HNTB's expanding urban design and planning practice celebrate their recent entry into the St. Louis market. Pictured are (left to right) Doug Mann, ASLA, leader of HNTB's Dallas practice and an expert in transportation enhancement services; Chris Dimond, FASLA, director of HNTB's national urban design and planning practice; and Russell Volmert, ASLA, who joined HNTB in June to head up the new St. Louis office. The award-winning, 17-acre Henry Moore Sculpture Garden has been recognized both locally and nationally by the ASLA. The Plaza Tennis Center in Kansas City, completed in 1995, features 14 courts and a 2,500-square-foot clubhouse. HNTB's design incorporates a brick-paved terrace seating area, a water fountain that mimics tennis volley action with water and a court pavement design that facilitates drainage and reduces maintenance costs.