Gehry Forms Alliance of Architects To Promote Technological Integration

Architect Frank Gehry caught the A/E/C industry's interest with ">news in October that the firm Gehry Technologies would form a new strategic alliance of "prominent architects and construction professionals to serve as an advisory board that will promote new technologies in design and construction."  While the bulk of Gehry Technologies work today is in consulting on projects, the firm continues to produce BIM-related software. At an event at Washington D.C. held prior to the McGraw-Hill 2012 Outlook Conference, Gehry described to ENR one such GT tool as "a Google Docs for 3D." The collaborative software allows multiple users to work simultaneously on a BIM file online. Gehry Technologies is working on several software tools to aid their customers, and is considering possible commercial releases.

Ground Zero, Ten Years After

As Nadine Post noted in ENR's cover story, "">At New York's New World Trade Center, Uncommon Cooperation," the $19-billion redevelopment of the original World Trade Center, destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001 by terrorists, is loaded with memories of the tragedy. But for the thousands rebuilding the 16-acre site, the work also is loaded with patriotism, indomitable spirit and a collective will to succeed.That's fortunate because, depending on who is counting, there are at least seven major projects currently under way, each with its own team and schedule but not its own site, at least not below grade. All the projects overlap in a four-level basement. Readers commented on the sheer complexity that the special package of stories brought forth.

Kiewit Earns $300,000 Bonus On Quick Finish of L.A. Freeway Bridge Demolition

In July, ENR captured another sample of sentiment about critical infrastructure repairs with stories about major projects such as the Los Angeles Freeway bridge demolition in the "Carmageddon"-that-wasn't event. Many readers responded to the story, which ">reported that Kiewit earned a $300,000 bonus on the quick completion of the I-405 freeway partial bridge demolition in Los Angeles. The contractor had faced penalties of $72,000 an hour for any delays past the agreed shutdown time.

How to Close a License Loophole

Many viewpoints resonated with readers all year but this op-ed by Jon A. Schmidt, PE, an associate structural engineer at Burns & McDonnell in Kansas City, Mo., generated passionate replies by readers with insights about whether the way engineers are licensed is a true reflection of their competence. As Schmidt ">wrote in January, the licensing process uses education, experience and examination to identify those who have presumably acquired sufficient competence. However, in most jurisdictions, once engineers become licensed, it is entirely up to them to define their own areas of competence within the profession as a whole. Engineers should no longer be expected to evaluate their own competence and practice accordingly; instead, they should be required to remain strictly within the scope of the examination that they passed to become licensed.The so-called Dunning Kruger effect that the writer explored in the viewpoint lit up the comment boards and contributed to the issue.

Casual Insults Sap Prestige, Power

This was another viewpoint that garnered a lot of traffic and comments. Rakesh Tripathi, who has has served in management and executive positions for state departments of transportation in both Texas and Arizona, wrote in his guest commentary, "">Casual Insults Sap Prestige, Power," that "engineers should not lead organizations. Engineers are rigid, politically unsophisticated, unimaginative, uncommunicative and oblivious to the big picture. They lack the needed qualities for leadership and are best suited for lower-level supporting roles. You hear these comments all the time. Had these comments been made about an ethnic group or nationality, the comments would be condemned as stereotyping and the speaker as a bigot. But it's quite acceptable if you make remarks such as these about engineers. Our profession is painfully self-effacing, deafeningly reticent and jarringly unsure of its importance," he continued, before quoting poet Rudyard Kipling's ode to engineers in "The Sons of Martha." Readers wrote in droves about the issue, proving in the process that engineering can also be its own kind of poetry.

Top Design 500 Design Firms: 2010-2011 at a Glance

ENR's Top Lists are a perennial favorite with readers, but the Top 500 Design Firms edition, which ran in April, ranked as the most-read of the lists all year. It also contained some bright economic news As ">Gary Tulacz reported, "For the first time in over three years, the construction industry is seeing signs that the deep industry recession has bottomed out and the market is turning around. But among large design firms, no one is ready to pop any corks to celebrate. However, most firms believe the recovery will be a long, slow climb with some bumps along the way."

Skanska Agrees to $19.6M Payment to Avoid Fraud Charges

The firm was caught up in a federal probe but agreed to pay $19.6 million in late May to settle an investigation into disadvantaged-business-enterprise subcontracting practices among contractors on New York City. But, as ">Debra Rubin reported,  "in a related indictment of owners of one of the contractor’s DBE subcontractors, Ridgefield, N.J.-based Environmental Energy Associates (EEA), prosecutors say that on one project, Skanska USA Civil Northeast 'effectively self-performed the work…and helped create the appearance that EEA had done commercially useful work on the project.'" Skanska USA Civil Northeast put out a statement saying the firm "learned a tough lesson and we urge others in the industry to learn from it as well.”

Turner Caught up in New York City Cost Dispute

As"> ENR reported back in March, New York City's Economic Development Corp. reacted strongly to an audit by the city comptroller that said the agency allowed locally-based Turner Construction Co. to rack up more than $3 million in "dubious" payments on a construction and facilities management contract. The audit by City Comptroller John Liu said the contract had ballooned to nearly $74 million from $7.5 million in three years, covering a variety of projects, including a garage and pedestrian protection during pier repairs. A Turner spokesman said that the company complied fully with the audit and cooperated with the EDC. The article sparked many readers to comment with opinions about how the construction business works in New York. Other readers pointed out at the time that Liu also harbored plans to run for mayor. (In November, the New York Times reported that Xing Wu Pan was ">arrested on charges that he helped illegally funnel thousands of dollars into Liu's campaign funds for citywide office.)