Building Design & Construction articles from February 2003

Building Design & Construction archives from February 2003

Soldier field criticism sickens lead designer. (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2003... Robert Cassidy's editorial in the December issue makes me as sick as he put ports to be when looking at the Soldier Field project under construction. From one of our industry's foremost publications, we should get more responsible journalism....

He's got the Wright stuff. (Editorial).(Gordon Wright)(Editorial)
February 1, 2003... January 22 was a special day here at Building Design & Construction and at our parent company, Reed Business Information. That's the day our own Gordon Wright celebrated 30 years with the magazine. Although we have many 30-year veterans in our...

German tower melds energy-conservation measures. (News & Trends).(Norddeutsche Landesbank's new headquarters is a 750,000 square foot building)
February 1, 2003... Behind an exterior highlighted by floors that project outward at different angles, the new headquarters of Norddeutsche Landesbank in Hanover, Germany, boasts an unusual combination of energy-conservation features. They include a heat-exchange...

Code group merger completed.(International Code Council)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The merger of the country's three model building code groups into the International Code Council (ICC) became official on Feb. 1. The consolidation was set in motion by the establishment in 1994 of the International Code Council, with the goal...

Library market books another good year. (News & Trends).(Illustration)
February 1, 2003... Despite the sluggish economy, library construction spending increased 12.9% last year, according to a recent report by Library Journal, a sister publication of Building Design and Construction. Between July 2001 and June 2002, more than...

A 250,000-sq. ft. headquarters. (Projects awarded).(Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will build a 250,000-sq.-ft. headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., that will include offices, mail distribution, production, and a museum on the history of evangelism. Charlotte-based developer The Keith...

California Department of Transportation District 7 headquarters. (Projects awarded).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Fuscoe Engineering will provide engineering services for the California Department of Transportation District 7 headquarters in Los Angeles, scheduled for completion in the fall of 2004. Other Building Team members include design architects...

80,024-sq.-ft. Middlesex County Jail and House of Correction. (Projects awarded).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Oldcastle Precast Modular Group recently received the contract for design, prefabrication, and on-site erection of 256 custom precast prison cells far the 80,024-sq.-ft. Middlesex County Jail and House of Correction in Billerica, Mass. The...

1.5 million sq.-ft. Los Angeles County and USC Medical Center Replacement Facility. (Projects awarded).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The 1.5 million sq.-ft. Los Angeles County and USC Medical Center Replacement Facility, to break ground this spring, will include a seven-story outpatient building, an eight-story inpatient tower, and a five-story diagnostic and treatment...

Precision keynotes design of laser facility. (News & Trends).
February 1, 2003... The ultimate purpose of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is to focus 192 laser beams, with an accuracy a fraction of the width of a human hair, on a target the size of an aspirin. This daunting challenge suggests the degree of precision...

EMCOR Group Inc., Norwalk, Conn., has acquired Consolidated Engineering Services Inc. (People/firms).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... EMCOR Group Inc., Norwalk, Conn., has acquired Consolidated Engineering Services Inc., Arlington, Va., a subsidiary of Archstone-Smith, Englewood, Colo., for $178 million.

Houston-based project management firm IrvinePCM. (People/firms).(buys The Mathis Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Houston-based project management firm IrvinePCM has acquired one of its local rival companies, The Mathis Group Inc.

MDCSystems. (People/firms).(names Mark D. Steele)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Mark D. Steele has been named vice president of MDCSystems, a Berwyn, Pa.-based construction management firm.

Walter P. Moore and Associates. (People/firms).(appoints Dennis Wittry)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Walter P. Moore and Associates, Houston, appointed Dennis Wittry managing director of the firm's structural engineering operations in Houston.

William A. Berry & Sons Inc. (People/firms).(promotes Shwan Donovan)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... William A. Berry & Sons Inc. promoted Shwan Donovan to corporate senior vice president.

Charles E. Smith Residential. (People/firms).(names Robert B. Eckstein)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Robert B. Eckstein has been named regional vice president for construction at Charles E. Smith Residential, an owner of luxury high-rise apartments.

MBH Architects. (People/firms).(names Joseph Smart)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... MBH Architects, Alameda, Calif., has named Joseph Smart principal in charge of the Newport Beach office.

A/E HGA. (People/firms).(hires Thomas A. Bast)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Los Angeles-based A/E HGA has hired Thomas H. Bast as a principal in the firm's Sacramento office.

Perkowitz + Ruth Architects. (People/firms).(names Steve Ruth)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Perkowitz + Ruth Architects, Long Beach, Calif., has hamed Steve Ruth senior associate of the firm.

W.G. Yates & Sons Construction. (People/firms).(names Dennis Holley)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Dennis Holley has been named project executive at Atlanta-based W.G. Yates & Sons Construction.

Too little too late for Soldier Field protests. (Letters to the Editor).(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2003... Your editorial in the December issue was a strong condemnation! I can understand your frustration about the new Soldier Field, but at this point, there is nothing that can be done about it. It would have been better if you had expressed those...

Education is key. (Letters to the Editor).(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2003... Your magazine is always good, but the December issue was particularly thought-provoking. If the news of the desecration being done at Soldier Field happened anywhere but Chicago, I would not be so surprised. But for this to happen in the...

Why marry an architect? (Letters to the Editor).(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2003... Regarding the january editorial ("Now comes the hard part," page 5) on World Trade Center design proposals: I was quite shocked that you would suggested that "Mothers everywhere were surely inspired to advise their daughters to forget...

Atlanta tops multifamily construction market. (Industry Data).
February 1, 2003... Although rental vacancy rates rose over the course of 2002 and the pace of new household formation stagnated, the number of permits issued for apartment/condominium unit construction held up well. The total number of dollars spent on...

Hotel construction declines by 28%. (Industry Data).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Commerce Department estimates that a total of $8.80 billion was spent for new construction or renovation/remodeling of hotels and motels during the first ten months of 2002, a decline of 28.2% from the spending total for the same period of...

Office/industrial vacancies keep growing. (Industry Data).(Illustration)
February 1, 2003... National vacancy rates increased once again for both office and industrial space between the second and third quarters of 2002. Weak demand for new space on the part of both service businesses and manufacturers, coupled with the oversupply of...

Plumbing prices: copper/brass, plastics higher. (Industry Data).(Illustration)
February 1, 2003... Average prices for brass and copper plumbing products rose by less than 1% for the second year in a row during 2002. Through the first eleven months of 2002, the Labor Department's producer price index for these plumbing products had risen at...

Overcoming the dreaded `pay if paid' clause. (Legal Insights).
February 1, 2003... One of the most onerous construction contract clauses for subcontractors is a contingent payment clause, commonly referred to as a "pay if paid" clause. An enforceable "pay if paid" clause makes the subcontractor, instead of the general...

3-D fly-throughs are no fly-by-night at A/E firm. (Computer Applications).(Rosser International is involved)
February 1, 2003... It's safe to say that architecture has embraced digital design technology. From the first time designers put down the pencil and start ed clicking the mouse to create 2-D CAD drawings, computers have revolutionized the design process. ...

Designing for health: Smart Building Teams are using `evidence-based design' to improve healthcare. (Cover Story).(Editorial)(Cover Story)
February 1, 2003... Of all major building projects, hospitals are unique, not just for their complexity-the vast amounts of high-tech equipment, the mountainous record-keeping systems, the maneuvering of thousands and thousands of employees, patients, and...

Positive prognosis: architects and contractors are teaming with nurses, doctors, and administrators to build hospitals that demonstrably improve patient care. (Designing For Health).
February 1, 2003... There is a tide in the design and construction of hospitals, which, taken at the flood, could lead to significantly better medical outcomes for thousands of patients. At the same time, this movement could provide tremendous savings for...

Matters of the heart: cardiac-care hospitals are finding their niche in the specialty hospital market with facilities designed to improve patient outcomes and caregiver efficiency. (Designing For Health).
February 1, 2003... A proliferation of specialty hospitals, predominantly cardiology, oncology, and orthopedic facilities, are adding fuel to the fire that is the red-hot healthcare market. Lured by the opportunity to escape from under the thumb of...

Cardiac patients benefit from environment-based design, data shows. (Designing For Health).(Clarian Health Partners redesigns cardiovascular comprehensive critical care unit)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Patients in a cardiovascular comprehensive critical care (CCCC) unit in Indianapolis are reaping the benefits of patient-focused design targeted at reducing stress, increasing safely, and improving overall outcome, according to health...

`An opportunity for wellness': architects and contractors are teaming with nurses and doctors to build hospitals whose design contributes significantly to how well patients do. (Design For Health).
February 1, 2003... Can the design of a hospital or healthcare facility actually help patients heal better? The idea may seem preposterous, yet hospitals around the country are employing so-called "evidence-based design" to directly impact not only patient...

Time to get hip to HIPAA: new federal rules governing the privacy of patients' conversations with healthcare providers will require changes in hospital and medical facility design. (Designing For Health).(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
February 1, 2003... Remember the early days of the Clinton administration, when 'ol Bill anointed his wife Healthcare Czarina and threw her to the lions, with orders to come back with medical insurance for all Americans? Alas, poor Hilary got eaten alive by...

So you don't do hospitals: can evidence-based design, which is transforming the healthcare sector, be applied to other types of projects? The experts offer a resounding yes. (Designing For Health).
February 1, 2003... Your firm doesn't "do" healthcare, you say. Fine. How might the principles of evidence-based hospital design be applied to your work on other types of facilities? Leonard L. Berry. Distinguished Professor of Marketing and holder of the...

The softer side of marketing: design and construction firms are finding more subtle ways of promoting themselves to their target markets. (Marketing).(Industry Overview)
February 1, 2003... Some fast-paced design and construction companies are enhancing their standard marketing tools, such as firm brochures and direct-mail newsletters, with innovative approaches to get their message out. These A/E/C firms are "breaking away...

Power of reflection: new energy codes, government initiatives, the LEED movement--all driving growth of "cool" roofs nationwide. (Energy-Efficient Roofing).
February 1, 2003... From sunny San Diego to frigid New York, roofs across America are slowly becoming whiter, brighter--cooler. Most traditional dark-colored roofs absorb 70% or more of the solar energy striking them, resulting in peak roof temperatures of...

Traditional still the roofing: BD&C study verifies that the industry workhorses--EPDM, metal, and built-up--continue to dominate roofing. (Roofing).(ethylene propylene diene monomer)(Illustration)
February 1, 2003... The roofing market is saturated with new materials and construction methods. It is the old standbys, however, that continue to dominate the roofing for nonresidential construction. EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer), metal, and...

"Switchable" glass and light. (Glass & Glazing).
February 1, 2003... In a world that demands products that are energy-efficient as well as offering privacy and security, switchable glass has emerged. This new technology uses an electrical charge to control the amount of light passing through glass. It provides...

See-through block. (Glass & Glazing).
February 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Translucent float glass has a frosted appearance that allows for privacy without sacrificing light transmittance. According to its maker, it achieves 85% light transmittance while diffusing rays, due to a proprietary...

Outerspace glass. (Glass & Glazing).
February 1, 2003... Insulating glass spacer system uses a breakthrough technology to create a tubular design, incorporating a proprietary molding process to manufacture a flexible glass, says the manufacturer. Insuledge features a non-metal, corrugated tube, which...

A glazing spectacle. (Products at work).
February 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The American Airlines terminal at Los Angeles International Airport was decorated with architectural glass designed by Colopro and architect Susan Narduli. Entitled, "The Wonders of Heavens and Flying," the work...

Go team go! (Products at work).
February 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Now sports fans can watch the University of Tennessee football games at Neyland Stadium with a clear view, from 78 new luxury skyboxes, thanks to an anti-reflective glass. Amiran glass is in the front viewing window...

Glass on the web. (Products at work).
February 1, 2003... The National Glass Association (NGA) has redesigned and enhanced its Web site, www.glass.org. It now offers users a fast and easy way to stay updated on the glass industry, from the latest industry news and technical support to online...

Preserving history. (Products at work).
February 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum fitted its windows with film that reduces sun glare in order to preserve irreplaceable historic exhibition pieces. The N-1050 Neutral Window Film blocks 99% of the...

Warm up. (Glass & Glazing).
February 1, 2003... Insulating glass spacer provides reduced edge-zone heat transfer by up to 50% because it reduces thermal conductivity, says the manufacturer. The maker also says that Warm Edge insulating glass has been shown to reduce energy costs and the...

Fire wall. (Products at work).
February 1, 2003... Clear and wireless fire-rated glazing is made of transparent ceramic far a high heat tolerance. The FireLite family of glass carries fire ratings up to 3 hours and offers high impact safety ratings where required. FireLite is also available in...

High peak. (Products at work).
February 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] At an altitude of 5,250 feet above sea level, the city of Denver is subjected to extreme weather conditions. Solar control window film was therefore applied to windows of city-owned buildings. The Ambiance VE35 Low-E...

Sun block. (Glass & Glazing).
February 1, 2003... Solar reflective glass block has a metal oxide coating that controls the passage of sunlight, creating a more comfortable environment for commercial and institutional buildings. Each block is individually coated, reducing heat gain, and making...

Let the light in. (Products at work).
February 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Solar-control, low-emmissivity glass takes on a satin reflective appearance in bright sunlight, and a transparent steel jade look when shaded from the sun, providing solar control performance and the transmission of...

Grand view. (Products at work).
February 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Seattle's 35-story Elliott Grand Hyatt needed a large quantity of custom doors for entryways and operable vent windows. Due to the building's size, architect Mulvanny/G2 wanted to minimize the bulk and scale of the...

Shot back. (Windows & Doors).
February 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bullet-resistant doors for interior or exterior use are manufactured to meet UL752 Level 1 or Level 3 protection. The standard size is 36-in. by 84-in. Available with or without vision windows, all doors and frames...

A view from the ages. (Products at work).
February 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In search for energy-efficient windows to glaze the two-story atrium at Prestwick Chase Senior Living Community, Rucinski Hall Architecture chose 1,500 Single Hung, Double Hung and Picture windows for the complex...

Tough suites. (Windows & Doors).
February 1, 2003... The Embassy Suites Hotel Dorado del Mar Beach & Golf Resort in Dorado, Puerto Rico needed the toughest PVC windows and patio doors for its ocean front view. Meeting the strict specification demands for the hurricane-prone Caribbean climate,...

Swing open. (Windows & Doors).
February 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Luxury French swing doors for condominiums and hotels are available with inswing or outswing hardware and may be combined with one stationary or two operating panels. The Series 7000 Doors are available with 2...

Color coordinated. (Windows & Doors).
February 1, 2003... Exterior aluminum window and door cladding is available in 50 standard colors, meeting AAMA 2604 standards and matching most building's siding, brick or trim. Eagle Window & Door. Reader Service No. 300

Open book. (Products at work).
February 1, 2003... Advantage pre-engineered aluminum windows were chosen for Leslie High School in Leslie, Mi, which was originally built during Abraham Lincoln's presidency The doors were installed quickly and within the school's budget.. The doors are available...

Replaced door. (Windows & Doors).
February 1, 2003... Replacement door system is pre-assembled and ready to install into existing metal or wood frames with minimal prep work. The Readymount system's 14 gauge steel sub-frame attaches directly to the existing frame. It is available in either 18 or...

I'll be back. (Windows & Doors).
February 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Doors that integrate the workspace directly into their design help create a functional surface for offices, schools, hospitals, dorm rooms, conference rooms, and hotels. Workable Surfaces Doors are available with dry...