The new $90-million Penta Career Center in Perrysburg, Ohio, is a three-story, 522,000-sq-ft landmark with three wings and a center core. The new facility is more than 200,000 sq ft larger than the old school and has a capacity for 2,000 students, including high school 10th graders who enroll in the new Sophomore Exploration Program that was introduced this school year. Photo: CHRISTOPHER LARK Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards Instead of a series of similar classroom areas, the varied curriculum requires a large number of classroom and lab areas with distinctly different construction requirements, fixtures and equipment.
In May, 2003, heavy rain led to the activation and failure of a fuse plug spillway at the Silver Lake Dam in a remote area of Marquette County, Mich. The resulting breach emptied the reservoir of 8 billion gallons of water and devastated the downstream river system. Loss of the Silver Lake Storage Basin also resulted in lost electric generation at downstream hydroelectric plants because spring runoff could no longer be stored to help generate power during dry months. The Upper Peninsula Power Co. determined that Silver Lake needed to be reconstructed to continue augmenting flow to the two hydroelectric
For the interior renovation of Societe Generale’s office space on the 38th floor of 190 S. LaSalle St., Chicago, designers sought to emphasize the arch of the barrel-vaulted window casings by incorporating converse rectilinear architecture within the space. The straight lines of the office fronts and other architectural details offset and emphasize the window casings. A mix of wood and glass allows a degree of visual privacy for the office dwellers, while providing clear views and natural day-lighting for employees seated at work stations in central work areas. Photo: PADGETT & CO Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards
Construction of the $215-million Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital expanded a medical office building into a uniquely styled full-service hospital designed to make patients and visitors feel at more ease. The public areas look like a homey village main street or a northern-Michigan lodge. Photo: COURTESY OF HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards Clinical areas are carefully kept out of site, and all in-patients stay in private single rooms that offer beautiful views and are decorated with colors and curves that create a soothing environment. The construction added an energy center, three in-patient towers,
The Gwen and Jules Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery at the University of Chicago’s Hyde Park Campus is a new 330,760-sq-ft research building. Photo: NICK MERRICK Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards More than half of it is dedicated to The Institute for Molecular Pediatric Sciences, which focuses on improving children’s health through team research on how genes influence disease. The remainder is the new headquarters of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center and houses the Ludwig Center, which studies how cancer spreads. Key Players Owner: University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago General Contractor: Turner Construction Co.,
The heavily wooded site for a new $6- million nature center for the Bolingbrook (Ill.) Park District influenced the building’s design to be similar to a tree house. The design places the nature center between two large oaks with decks around both trees, creating a treehouse feeling. Photo: PAUL SCHLISMANN PHOTOGRAPHY Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The project is pursuing LEED Platinum certification and has currently achieved LEED Gold through the initial design submittal. Project highlights include: two early-education classrooms, two multi-use rooms, staff offices and interpretive displays; a green roof; constructed wetlands for black water cleansing;
RSS