A recent visit from some Lehigh University students to HDR’s Lawrenceville office. (Photo courtesy of HDR)

By Anne Levin

Giving to those less fortunate is a regular part of the culture at HDR’s Lawrenceville architecture office, formerly known as CUH2A. The office recently won the AIA New Jersey 2017 Firm of the Year award. Managing principal Eric Jaffe credits the company’s commitment to community service as a key factor in earning the distinction.

“AIA always recognizes firms for design, and we’ve gotten design awards before, which is fantastic,” Jaffe said. “But the Firm of the Year award is one we’ve never gotten before. And I think they recognize firms for being well rounded and giving back to the community and doing work that’s meaningful.”

Among HDR’s projects are a school supply drive for a local school; a candy drive; Cell Phones for Soldiers; Healing for Haiti; and the Soldiers’ Angels Adopt-A-Family program, which helps needy military families. The organization is also involved with the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, CASA for Children, the March of Dimes, HomeFront, and Habitat for Humanity. The Sunshine Foundation and One Simple Wish are next on the list.

“The interesting thing is that this office has been doing this for a very long time. We’ve just never told people about it,” said Jaffe. “We do a tremendous amount of work but we’ve never really publicized it. We’re the number one health care design firm in the world, and you can go to Robert Wood Johnson [medical center] and they’ve never heard of us.”

It was while getting the paperwork together to apply for the AIA award that HDR principals decided it might be time to do a bit of bragging. “We noticed when we put together the application that we actually do a lot of community service, and we are very passionate about our people and our clients and the work that we do,” Jaffe said. “So we felt it was a good time to get it out there.”

HDR recently gave $15,000 for relief efforts in Haiti. During time there, HDR principal Allison Arnone became particularly passionate about helping those in need. “When she was there, she noticed that the ground is not paved, that people are walking around barefoot or on old soda bottles. So now, we’re collecting shoes for Haiti,” Jaffe said. A “pizzathon” on January 11 will donate money in exchange for pizza to cover the cost of shipping the shoes.

The supply drive for a local school was initiated by employee Pat Little, whose niece teaches first grade at the school. Stories her niece told her inspired Little to start a nine-week campaign during which employees donated everything from crayons to socks. Senior project coordinator Tara Jones started the candy drive, which continues through this Friday, November 17. Leftover Halloween candy can be donated to the HDR office. If a child brings in candy, he or she receives a toy donated by an employee.

HDR has been collecting cell phones for the past six years, recycling them for credits that go toward the purchase of phone cards. The Cell Phones for Soldiers drive helps troops deployed in more than 25 countries stay in touch with those at home. Members of the community can donate phones at the office, at any time. Call (609) 844-1212 for directions and information.

HDR acquired CUH2A, which had been in the area for more than four decades, in 2008. The merged company has 225 locations around the world, with some 10,000 employees providing engineering, architecture, construction, and environmental services.