Michael Nicolaus Email Address

Commercial Mixed Use Practice Leader--Principal

HKS, Inc. is an international architecture firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas (USA). It was founded in 1939 by Harwood K. Smith.

Michael co-leads HKS’s commercial mixed use practice based out of HKS’s Washington DC office. He is passionate about the link between design strategy and development strategy and is a proponent of Smart Growth, transit oriented development and the continuing revitalization of cities. His early roots as a retail focused architect inform his thinking about mixed use and the value of creating amenitized mixed use environments With over 25 years of planning and design experience focused on commercial mixed use projects and clients, Michael has been an integral part of the development of mixed use buildings, neighborhoods and communities throughout the United States and abroad. His work has been honored with design awards from both the AIA, and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). As an outwardly focused thought leader, Michael has served on various committees in the Urban Land Institute including the Trends Conference planning committee, the National Fall Conference planning committee and the ULI Washington Mentorship Program. Michael’s background as a real estate design strategist is coupled with the insight gained from his mid-career return to graduate school to obtain an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.