In an area where many people bank on their political capital, Washington, D.C.-area developers are aiming these days to build sustainability capital. Photo Courtesy KlingStubbins KlingStubbins, in association with RTKL of Baltimore, designed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Central Shared Use Facility in White Oak, Md. The design incorporated an early local example of a large vegetative roof. Photo Courtesy SmithGroup SmithGroup designed Goodpaster Hall at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, which achieved a LEED Silver rating. The building’s brick exterior blends in with the campus’ traditional 17th century style. Related Links: Top Design Top Design Ranking In light
Major projects booked before the recession allowed High Concrete Group of Denver, Pa., to more than double its revenue in 2009. The fabricator of precast and prestressed products for commercial buildings branched into the bridge business during the past year, tapping into the experience of sister firm High Steel. Related Links: Top Specialty Contractors “We’ve had to focus on the few segments were there is some money—the universities and schools,” says Tom McEvoy, executive vice president of High Concrete, which was founded in 1919. “And we’re doing more with the military. Those are markets that 10 years ago were not
Despite the dismal economy, electrical and electronics contractor M.C. Dean of Dulles, Va., shot to the top of the rankings this year. The firm’s substantial increase in revenue was largely a result of multiyear public and private work booked before the recession. Related Links: Top Specialty Contractors “We’re in some pretty strong markets, and we have a big design-build capacity,” says CEO Bill Dean, whose grandfather Marion Caleb Dean founded the company in 1949. “We are very competitive on large, complex projects. Fortunately, they still exist, but they are supercompetitive.” Military work contributed to M.C. Dean’s stellar performance. The company
Image Courtesy Eisenhower Memorial Commission A model of the planned Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, as designed by Frank Gehry. Gilbane Building Co. of Laurel, Md., is overseeing design and construction management of the memorial. Related Links: Washington, D.C., Report The ongoing effort to memorialize significant figures in U.S. history and honor the country’s diverse cultural traditions along the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is ushering in several large design and construction projects in the coming years. Next year, crews expect to complete the new Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial on a 4-acre plot along the Tidal Basin. The scope
No metro area has benefitted more from the uptick in federal spending on construction than did Washington, D.C., but the area hasn’t been immune from the woes of private-sector development. Contractors continue to see limited opportunities in commercial and multiunit residential work, making competition for federal work even more intense. One hope now is that once government projects start to slow down, the private sector can find its footing and begin to build again. Stephen Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., says he still sees a lot of hesitation in the
The new United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., will greet visitors to the nation’s capital with a sweeping white glass roof that evokes the image of a white dove of peace in flight. The 154,000-sq-ft, five-story office building, located in the northwestern corner of the National Mall near the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge, respects the context of its historic surroundings while offering a striking modern addition to the National Mall. Moshe Safdie Associates of New York designed the project as three buildings connected with glass-enclosed atria. The base buildings are clad in precast panels that blend with their
Electrical contractor Gill-Simpson of Baltimore moved up the Top Specialty ranks in 2009, with a substantial jump in revenue. Related Links: Top Specialty Contractors “We benefited from the growth related to BRAC, health care and transit,” says Chris Odell, president of Gill-Simpson, which was founded in 1932. Odell expects several large public projects, not tied to BRAC, will move forward, although the volume is decelerating. Therefore, Gill-Simpson is focusing on infrastructure work, data centers and renewable electrical generation, such as waste energy, wind and solar. In 2009 Gill-Simpson installed the electrical systems for the 1.6-million-sq-ft, design-build, fast-track Command, Control, Communications,
A new design for the 38,885-sq-ft Plaza at the Barclays Center that will serve as the primary entryway to the arena at Atlantic Yards has been released. The plaza will be located at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues and will include a new transit entrance with a green roof, 74% of open space for community events and 26% landscaping and seating. “The Plaza at the Barclays Center will quickly become one of Brooklyn’s great public spaces,” said Bruce Ratner, Chairman and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies.” “It will be an iconic part of the larger Brooklyn landscape.”
Public libraries across the country are cutting employees and closing facilities, but the one that serves the borough of Queens, New York, is taking an opposite tack: It’s planning to open one of its largest branches to date, and it’s hired architect Steven Holl to design it. Image courtesy NYC Dept. of Housing, Preservation & Development In Queens, an industrial area is being transformed into the Hunters Point mixed-use district. Steven Holl has been commissioned to design a new library for the neighborhood. Photo courtesy Steven Holl Architects The city announced in July that it had chosen Holl to design
Poor management of available resources at the Virginia Dept. of Transportation resulted in $877 million in transportation funds left unspent during the last two fiscal years, says an independent audit commissioned by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R).
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