We’re excited to see continued progress on several of our projects, including The Research Operations Support Center (ROSC). The ROSC building is a design-build project on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) campus, with as the contractor. The one-story building is designed to house the protective forces and fire department for the ORNL campus.

The building is designed to house all necessary response features for both the protective forces and fire department, including: locker rooms, fitness room, showers, open office areas, kitchen with dining and lounge, and apparatus bay for emergency response vehicles with small maintenance area. The entry to the building also has display areas for small artifacts. The building façade is handsomely designed with brick, large windows allowing natural light, and two colors of fiber cement panels corresponding to the interior program. Construction is expected to be complete in August of this year.

MHM is excited to announce the first UTK College of Architecture & Design MHM Endowed Professor, Maged Guerguis. Established to promote design excellence through teaching by an internationally or nationally recognized practicing architect, the MHM Professorship is the result of a gift from MHM.  This endowment will give students the opportunity to explore design through the lenses of Maged’s expertise and experience as teacher. 

“Maged Guerguis is an Assistant Professor of Design and Structural Technology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK), College of Architecture and Design. Maged is a designer, researcher, and educator who has received recognition with awards such as the SOM Foundation Research Fellowship and Travel Award, AIA Chicago Divine Detail Award, United States Green Building Council Emerald Award, Architizer A+ Awards, and Fast Company World Changing Ideas Award.”

In addition to his work for The College of Architecture, Maged is the director of , a multidisciplinary design firm, and research laboratory investigating areas where design concepts overlap with sciences such as Biology, Biochemistry, Robotics, and Differential Geometry.  We are especially inspired by Maged’s recent COVID-19 response.  Through his research for UTK, Maged & his team have designed a new PPE designed for healthcare workers weighing only two ounces.  Designed with 3D printing technology, it can be assembled in 5 seconds and provides improved comfort and maximum protection for medical professionals.

Image Credits: (Top) © 2020 University of Tennessee College of Architecture + Design, (Bottom) © 2020 University of Tennessee Research Foundation

We are pleased to announce that MHM’s Emerging Professionals were recognized at the recent Design Gala held by AIA East Tennessee. The Living Lattice project took home the Citation Award in the Emerging Professionals category.

The project was a design/build/engage/grow initiative for Park(ing) Day Knox displayed temporarily on Gay St. in downtown Knoxville, and later permanently installed at Beardsley Community Farm in North Knoxville. The project team collaborated with Blaine Construction and two local nonprofit organizations, Keep Knoxville Beautiful (KKB) and Beardsley Community Farm. Based on our partners’ visions, goals were established to create a sustainable, reusable, and educational structure that would support the Beardsley Farm mission when relocated to its final home. 

As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 situation, our team remains committed to providing the highest level of service and responsiveness.  The foundation of our efforts is connectivity, reflected in the strong teamwork and relationships that have made MHM a for the past two years.

We continue to explore innovative technologies to stay connected.  Our monthly “Wild Wednesday” events have shifted to a digital platform, allowing us to enjoy collaboration and conversations with our whole team.  Events like these are allowing us to maintain an open dialogue that gives every member of the firm a voice.  We believe these initiatives are reflected in the successful work we continue to produce for our valued clients and partners.

MHM is continuing its strong relationship with The University of Tennessee (COAD).  In addition to participating as project review critics throughout the semester, several members of our team teach graduate & undergraduate level architecture courses, and our Vice President, Margaret Butler, currently sits on the college’s Board of Advisors.

Through our collaboration with the college, we have had the opportunity to see firsthand the COAD community’s ability to pivot and continue to move forward this semester.  We are extremely inspired by the end of the year by its talented students and staff.  More than ever, we offer our congratulations to the graduating class of 2020!