Bill Valentine, Design Leader Who Shaped HOK’s Legacy, Dies At 88

Bill Valentine, who helped solidify HOK‘s position as a global leader in sustainable, human-centered design through his role as principal, president and, later, chairman, died June 25 in Mill Valley, California. He was 88 years old.

As a pivotal member of the firm, which won a 2026 NYCxDESIGN Award for Terminal B, LaGuardia Airport, Valentine built a decades-long career, championing an approach to architecture rooted in simplicity, sustainability, and public service. He once said good design should be “a simple idea, elegantly executed and inspiring, with social significance and in harmony with the environment”—a philosophy that guided projects ranging from corporate campuses and civic buildings to airports and convention centers.

Since joining the firm in 1962, shortly after graduating from Harvard, Valentine connected to and fostered HOK’s culture as one of just 50 employees in a single office in St. Louis. As the firm grew so did Valentine’s commitment to its mission—he went on to mentor generations of designers and guide project teams there well into his 80s.

The Life and Career of Bill Valentine 

Esteemed projects Valentine worked on include Levi’s Plaza and the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco; corporate headquarters for Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and Biogen Idec; as well as civic buildings and global projects, including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

“Bill brought a lightness to the work that belied how seriously he took it,” said HOK Co-CEO Eli Hoisington. “He knew how to make everyone feel heard and then gently guide the team toward what he thought was the best design solution without anyone ever feeling pushed. And he never lost the sense that what we do, as important as it is, should be fun. That spirit is part of HOK’s DNA, and Bill is the reason.”

Guided by HOK’s co-founder and original design principal, Gyo Obaya, Valentine crafted his own distinct design philosophy and client approach. In a video tribute played at Valentine’s retirement celebration in 2012, Obata, who died in 2022, said: “Bill has the kind of personality that’s very cheerful, friendly and open. That makes it easy for clients to talk to him so he can get to the essence of what the solution should be.”

A Design Ethos Rooted In Bettering The Planet

Born September 3, 1937, Valentine grew up in Whiteville, a farming town near the North Carolina coast, working at his father’s tire-recapping shop. He earned his Bachelor of Architecture from North Carolina State University in 1960 and his Master of Architecture from Harvard University in 1962—two institutions he would later return to, sharing his knowledge as a teacher and speaker.

As an early member of HOK, joining seven years after Obata, George Hellmuth and George Kassabaum founded the firm, Valentine relocated to Northern California to help establish a San Francisco office, marking the firm’s expansion to the West Coast. “Bill was the heart of our San Francisco studio, even in retirement,” said Anton Foss, managing principal of HOK’s San Francisco office. “He softly but very intentionally instilled in all of us that our job is to solve our clients’ problems, not to design a monument to ourselves. That’s the mindset he passed down to generations of HOK designers.”

Serving as design principal and president from 2000-2005, and chairman until his retirement, Valentine led the firm’s adoption of sustainable design as a core value and spearheaded the publishing of The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design in 2000, just as LEED certification was emerging as the industry standard. Offering one of the earliest manuals for green building, the manual and HOK’s work in the area, helped push sustainable design from the margins into mainstream. In later years, he became a passionate advocate for net-zero carbon renovation, arguing that reusing existing buildings represented architecture’s most meaningful path toward environmental responsibility.

Always aiming to better the lives of those around him, Valentine and his wife, Jane—the two met in high school—donated $250,000 to help fund construction of a new Whiteville High School, their alma mater in North Carolina. “If you really want to help, and goodness knows this world needs more help than you can imagine, we’re your place,” Valentine once said of HOK. “I believe that in my soul.”

A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Valentine received numerous honors throughout his career, including Contract magazine’s 2007 Legend Award.

Valentine is survived by his children, Kayvee, Annie, and Will, as well as six grandchildren. He is predeceased by his wife, Jane Dorward Valentine, who died in 2022. A celebration of his life will be held later this summer with details shared by the family.