John Haymaker joins Perkins+Will as Director of Research

ATLANTA, Jan. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Global architecture and design firm Perkins+Will announces that John Haymaker Ph.D., AIA, LEED AP has joined the company as Director of Research. Haymaker will oversee Perkins+Will's Innovation Incubator, the firm's practice-based knowledge centers, and project-based integrated research. Haymaker will also oversee Perkins+Will's AREA Research, a non-profit organization which conducts research related to the built environment for public benefit. The organization covers several areas of inquiry including health, cities, workplace, education, process, technology, and sustainability.

Haymaker will be working closely with the firm's principals, knowledge managers, and designers to advance the firms knowledge and enable state of the art of design. He will also be collaborating with researchers and donors outside the firm to expand Perkins+Will's knowledge base and learn how to best present and deliver research.

By developing an interface between researchers and designers, Haymaker foresees an increase in research projects as well as more process and systems expertise integrated into designs.

"It is a critical step for Perkins+Will to have John join us as our first Director of Research. This step highlights the growing importance of research as an essential part of design practice." said Perkins+Will President and Chief Executive Officer Phil Harrison, FAIA, LEED AP.

For the past five years, Perkins+Will has shared its internal research in the firm's research journal, a peer-reviewed publication dedicated to documenting and presenting practice-related analysis associated with buildings and their environments. Recently, the firm released the 10^th issue of the Perkins+Will Research Journal which covers a variety of topics including current trends in low-energy HVAC design and how to best use Building Information Modeling (BIM) for high-performance buildings.

"I am excited to oversee all of the critical research at Perkins+Will," Haymaker said. "Our projects need to both solve today's problems and answer larger questions involving our environment, organizational excellence, social advancement, and human well-being. My goal is that our research leads to more resilient, sustainable, and affordable designs for clients and communities."

Haymaker is an Assistant Professor of Architecture and Building Construction at The Georgia Institute of Technology. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Architecture from the University of Michigan, Masters in Architecture from the University of Illinois-Chicago; a Masters in Design and Computation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. Haymaker was named Fiatech's Outstanding Early Career Researcher in 2012 and was selected a Future of Engineering speaker by the Academy of Engineering. He also received the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Technology and Practice award for Course Development in 2008.

About Perkins+Will

Perkins+Will is an interdisciplinary, research-based architecture and design firm established in 1935 and founded on the belief that design has the power to transform lives and enhance communities. Each of the firm's 24 offices focuses on local, regional and global work in a variety of practice areas. With hundreds of award-winning projects annually, Perkins+Will is ranked as one of the top global design firms. Perkins+Will is recognized as one of the industry's preeminent sustainable design firms due to its innovative research, design tools, and expertise. The firm's 1,500 professionals are thought leaders developing 21^st century solutions to inspire the creation of spaces in which clients and their communities work, heal, live, and learn. Social responsibility is a fundamental aspect of Perkins+Will's culture and every year the company donates 1% of its design services to pro bono initiatives. For more information, visit www.perkinswill.com.

SOURCE Perkins+Will