DAN NOBLE, FAIA

By Douglas Dover

Dan Noble, FAIA, FACHA is president and CEO at HKS, where he leads the strategy and development of the global design firm. Under his leadership, the firm has won numerous design awards from organizations such as the World Architecture Festival and Fast Company. Columns visits with Dan about practicing architecture, both globally and locally.

Did you always want to be a designer?

Since I was 13, I wanted to be an architect. Growing up in Aberdeen, South Dakota, I’d visit construction sites and doodle. I designed and built a bunk bed and dresser for my brother. Growing up, the distinction between designer and architect wasn’t there. I still don’t think it’s a distinction.

How do you define globalization?

I define globalization beyond the physical idea of worldwide locations. It’s an all-encompassing concept of influence or shared knowledge. You are informed by the cultures and experiences. You understand and include voices from a wide swath of people, race, ethnicity, education, religions, cultures. We have offices in Shanghai, Singapore, India, Mexico, London, the Middle East. We have had offices in Abu Dhabi, had offices in Chennai, and now we have it in Delhi. The more you travel, the more you see people are similar and the more you see their differences and missions are similar. You’ll also see how fortunate we are in the U.S., contrasted with the poverty of the rest of the world and the dire circumstances under which many people live. You become aware of the human condition and of our connection to the planet and how people’s actions affect that relationship. I think it’s more of a cultural awakening and an awareness of the impact that design can have on the world and being in tune with where you’re working. You’re talking about how people are similar, but people are also very different. That cultural manifestation, or the symbolic built manifestation of that culture, is different everywhere.

How do you account for local traditions and practices?

You do research. Every project should start with this idea, brainstorming on what is the culture, what is fitted, what is the proper fitting for this culture in this site, this context? You research the tighter site and the community, the civic aspects of the site. And you collaborate with the owner, with the consultants. Ideally you work on-site for a time and come back to the office, tighten things up, then go back on-site. Sometimes we camp out on-site. In our Shanghai office, we have over 60 people, and 99 percent of them are Chinese nationals. They live there, so they understand the culture. Every one of our international offices, a vast majority are from the area, region, and country.

At what point did you discuss going global?

Around 20 years ago. I was director of design of the firm, and we committed to go global in a big way in the downturn in about 2010. In 2000, before 9/11, we had offices in Mexico, we had a partnership in London. I think we had opened our office in Shanghai by then.

In our strategic plan, we said we wanted to be more diverse. We want to be more than just an architecture firm. We want to be a design firm that helps solve problems. We have an advisory group. We have doctors on staff, nurses on staff, former athletes on staff. We have economists, sociologists, psychologists, Ph.D.s in research. All these people are helping us to create another offering with the firm that’s based on intelligence.

Thinking about sustainability and the environment, should all architects be considered global?

Exactly. Certainly this COVID situation shows we are all in this together. A sneeze in China is now affecting millions of people around the world. That should be a wakeup call: We are connected in how we interact with each other and with the planet, how we are sensitive and empathetic to others. When people urge wearing masks, they are talking about you helping others. You may be fine, but you may be an unintentional carrier. This is about being conscientious of your neighbor.

How do you feel when other global architects get hired for prestigious commissions in Dallas? Does that bother you? Or do you welcome that?

I wouldn’t say I welcome it, but I wouldn’t say it bothers me. We are a local architect and a global architect. This is the competitive edge for architects who are active in the Dallas marketplace, with strong relationships with clients, with consultants, with governing bodies, their deep expertise in a particular project type, their ties to the local supply chain, and their knowledge of the local culture. All I ask is that, when these opportunities arise, local architects get an equal opportunity. I don’t mind if we lose the commission in a fair fight. But when we aren’t even invited to the dance, that is a problem.

Does the HKS participate in pro bono work?

Oh, yes, an awful lot. We have a group called Citizen HKS, and we do pro bono work annually. You can see it on our website.

We did a birthing clinic with Kachumbala, Africa, where we did the design work for free. We went to Kachumbala, met with a tribe. They had a birthing clinic where the infant mortality rate was terrible. We lived among them for a few weeks, saw what they were doing, sketched out ideas, and put together a design package.

They couldn’t come up with the money. We had an internal fundraiser and raised around $55,000 through HKS employees. That was enough to get the materials for them to finish it. And we sent some of our people to Africa to help them build it.

Lane Technology, a project in Fort Worth for the homeless, we did pro bono. We put hundreds of thousands of dollars a year into pro bono work.

Interview conducted by Douglas Dover, senior architectural designer at Strand Architecture. It has been edited for brevity and clarity.