Article toolbar Engineering and architectural firms took some hits last year, as ENR California’s Top Design Firms ranking indicates, but a big-picture look at the data provides some reason for optimism. Rendering courtesy of Smithgroup Downtown SF Medical Center SmithGroup, No. 14 on this year�s Top Design Firms list, designed the California Pacific Medical Center campus at Cathedral Hill. Related Links: Top Designer of the Year Top Design Firms Main List Top Design Firms List by Market Sector California revenue for major design firms declined just 1.2% in 2010 to $3.23 billion, compared with $3.27 billion in 2009. Lists for
SnapShot June 6, 2011 Submitted By: Ben Heckscher, Freelance Photographer, The Launch Box Blog, New York “Shooting in black and white, I felt, would allow me to focus on the shape and form of what has been photographed without being distracted by color,” says Heckscher. He took this shot of the Second Avenue Subway tunnel-boring machine near 92nd Street with a Canon PowerShot G11 camera at f2.8 and a Manfrotto monopad. Using a flash was prohibited so as not to disturb the sandhogs starting the machine's second drive. Photographer: Ben Heckscher
WALDRONJack Waldron, URS Corp.'s vice president of design-build for the West group in Santa Ana, was promoted to senior vice president and national director, transportation design-build projects. Waldron is responsible for leading the URS transportation design-build practice for all modes, including highways, bridges, rail transit, freight rail, airports and marine ports. Waldron began his career with URS in 1986 and served as its California transportation division manager until 2001. He was chief operating officer at T.Y. Lin for five years before rejoining URS. Tim Youngpeter has joined ARB Structures Inc. as business development manager. Youngpeter has more than 30 years
Kaiser Permanente announced three finalists in its hospital design competition: Aditazz, Palo Alto; Gresham, Smith and Partners, Columbus, Ohio; and Mazzetti Nash Lipsey Burch, San Francisco. KP says that some of the ideas presented for the firm’s “Small Hospital, Big Idea” competition included transparent roofs that produce energy and collect rainwater; interactive walls patients could use to Skype with family or physicians; and a pneumatic pharmacy distribution system that delivers medications to patients’ rooms. Each firm will receive compensation of up to $750,000 to flesh out their winning concepts over the next several months, KP says, with the final designs
Norwegian architect Sn�hetta released its preliminary design for the 225,000-sq-ft expansion of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of Sn�hetta General contractor Webcor Builders will have to grapple with a compact urban site, currently a maze of alleyways, that is 335 ft long but only 98 ft wide. The project includes a public promenade with an entrance to the wing, which will sit behind the Mario Botta-designed original that opened on Third and Howard streets in 1995. A more detailed design, executed in partnership with SF’s EHDD Architecture, is scheduled for completion by the end of the
California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently toured the under-construction UC Davis West Village student housing complex, claimed to be the largest zero net energy development in the country. Debuting this fall, the 130-acre mixed-use community will feature housing for 2,000 students. Its SunPower solar system will provide 4 megawatts of power, which will support 100% of the development’s electricity needs. The system is comprised of both rooftop solar power installations and solar canopies over parking areas. UC Davis West Village is the product of a public-private partnership between UC Davis and West Village Community Partnership, LLC, a joint venture led
Associated Builders and Contractors reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) for the first quarter of 2011 averaged 7.3 months, a 4% increase from 7.1 months during the fourth quarter of 2010, and up from 6.1 months, or an increase of 21%, from one year ago. According to ABC, CBI is a forward-looking indicator that measures the amount of construction work under contract to be completed in the future. “If construction materials prices are better behaved going forward, the recovery in commercial and heavy industrial construction may accelerate,” says Anirban Basu, ABC’s chief economist. “However, infrastructure-related construction is largely dependent
AGC of California held its annual spring state and division board meetings and conference last week at the Monterey Plaza Hotel in Monterey. More than 150 AGC members and guests from across the state were in attendance. Matt Schmitz, special assistant to the division administrator at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), addressed the AGC Joint Engineering Division. Pictured to his right are division leadership including Director Sam Hassoun, AGC; Chair Jim Troup, Monterey Mechanical Co., and Vice Chair Clint Larison, Reyes Construction, Inc. The two AGC division boards of directors tackled a range of topics during their quarterly meetings. During
The AGC Construction Education Foundation (AGC CEF) has formed an official partnership with the ACE Mentor Program in California. While the two organizations have partnered on the national level and have worked closely on local levels for years, this is the first formal statewide partnership between an AGC state chapter and ACE Mentor affiliate. AGC CEF and ACE will work together to address the full pipeline of workforce regeneration from high school through training and/or post-secondary education. AGC CEF Board of Directors Chairperson Michelle Loveall says, “The partnership just makes sense; it makes sense for both organizations when it comes
New construction starts in April were reported at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $400.2 billion, basically the same amount as March, according to a monthly report from McGraw-Hill Construction. Nonresidential building slipped back after its elevated March pace, while nonbuilding construction (public works and electric utilities) continued to retreat, MHC says. In contrast, residential building in April registered a moderate gain, helped by upward movement for multifamily housing. During the first four months of 2011, total construction on an unadjusted basis came in at $122.1 billion, down 9% from the same period of 2010. “The pattern of construction starts
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