HOK’s Denver office planning 2014 Russian Winter Olympics.
Denver already is flying the Winter Olympics flag, years before a possible bid to host the 2018 Games.
The Denver office of HOK Sport Venue Event is working as the master planner for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
“We are deeply involved in planning for every Olympic venue being designed and built in Russia,” said Kevin O’Grady, a senior associate with HOK and project manager for the Sochi Games.
It’s a tall order. The sprawling city on Russia’s Black Sea coast will have about 200 Olympic buildings and facilities. In the nearby Caucasus Mountains, HOK will guide the planning for alpine and nordic events in three newly developed ski areas.
HOK helped Russian officials create their bid to the International Olympic Committee that was awarded to Sochi in 2007.
It’s nothing new for Kansas City-based HOK. It has worked on the planning and design of almost every Winter and Summer Olympics since at least 1996 and also is involved with London’s 2012 Summer Games and Chicago’s bid for 2016.
O’Grady said the Sochi work has occupied the full-time efforts of six to 10 Denver HOK workers and teams from other offices in Kansas City and London. Steve Raabe, The Denver Post
