Work

HOK wins the protocol wars: Corporate architecture, network infrastructure, and the global city

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This paper examines the role of computer networking in the development of corporate architecture in the 1980s, focusing on the firm of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK). In 1981, HOK installed one of the first international corporate intranet systems at an architecture firm, called HOKnet. This enabled a shift in emphasis at HOK to service delivery—a transformation that is in line with the developments in corporate practice outlined by Saskia Sassen in her analysis of the global city, an emerging urban paradigm in the 1980s.

Source: Perspectives in architecture and urbanism.

DOI: 10.1016/j.pau.2025.100027

Author: Matthew Allen

Institution: Washington University in St. Louis

Language: English

Topic: Global Urban Networks and Dynamics

Subfield: Urban Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid:

OpenAlex ID: W4407104593

FWCI:

Cites: 12

Cited by:

Related to: 10