The National Asphalt Pavement Association has named Denver’s Brannan Cos. a finalist for a 2012 Asphalt Operations Safety Innovation Award. The company was recognized July 15 at a ceremony during the association’s midyear meeting in Boston. Photo courtesy of Brannan Cos. Brannan designed and installed a new safety mirror to help drivers see directly in front of large trucks, particularly tractor trailer and tandem vehicles. The award recognizes companies that develop innovative ideas or achieve practical outcomes leading to improved worker safety in a roadway, plant site or quarry, and whose safety practices go above and beyond normal safety practices.Brannan
Fees often define a design firm’s ability to win work and execute a project profitably. With competitive pressures now higher than ever, setting these fees has been a difficult task for most architectural, engineering, planning and environmental consulting firms. Just over half of firms in the industry update their billing rates yearly, according to ZweigWhite’s recently released 2013 Fee & Billing Survey. Over the past three years, these rates have seen meager median increases of just 3%. Firms still felt some pressure to reduce or discount fees for various reasons, with 52% reporting discounting project fees over the past year.
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recently released the results of a survey of more than 4,000 landscape architecture firms about residential and hospitality design and product selection. “Among the most frequent requests we receive from landscape architects is for more information on outdoor furnishings for residential and hospitality projects,” said Ann Looper Pryor, managing director of publishing and resource development for ASLA.“This survey confirmed anecdotal evidence that most landscape architects now select the furnishings for their projects, from contract to custom. This is a new lucrative market for high-quality outdoor furniture, appliance and accessory companies.”Here are some highlights of
The new NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center (NWSC) has won the 2013 Datacenter Dynamics North American Green Data Center award. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the facility operator; and Lakewood-based engineering firm The RMH Group accepted the award at a ceremony held in San Francisco on July 12.NWSC is a $70-million, 153,000-sq-ft facility located in Cheyenne that provides advanced computing services to scientists studying a broad range of disciplines, including weather, climate, oceanography, air pollution, space weather, computational science, energy production and carbon sequestration.The architect on the NCAR project was H+L Architecture, Denver, and the facility was built by Saunders
Alongside Arvada city management, elected officials and city employees, Adolfson & Peterson Construction, Aurora, broke ground in late June on two new community police stations. Photo courtesy of A and P Arvada city officials celebrated the late June groundbreaking for two new police stations that will expand the citys community-based policing capabilities. The Lake Arbor Community Station at 81st Avenue and Vance Street and the West Woods Community Station at 64th Avenue and Kedrick Drive are slated to open in February.“This is a significant day in the history of how we serve our community,” said Police Chief Don Wick. “When
Denver-based Burkett Design was recently honored by the American Society of Interior Designers with a first place national Elevate Award for Best Office-Corporate Design for the firm’s work on the Holland & Hart law office in Salt Lake City. Photo courtesy of Burkett Design A combination of traditional materials such as wood, glass and metal identifies the law firm as a being rooted in tradition. Photo courtesy of Burkett Design A bold bumblebee stripe was carried throughout the offices millwork and more subtly in the flooring and ceiling of the boardroom. The ASID Awards represent the highest level of professional
The 95% revenue growth for ECI Site Construction Management—even during the downturn of Colorado’s construction industry the past five years—has made the firm Northern Colorado’s fifth fastest-growing company. The Northern Colorado Business Report recently awarded ECI a Mercury 100 Award for its rapid growth. From 2010-2012, revenues of the Loveland-based general contractor nearly doubled, and the company added eight full-time employees. ECI, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, now employs 23 staff members. ECI helps design and build community parks, athletic fields, specialty sports parks and civil projects across the state.The projects that ECI has completed over the years
The International Parking Institute (IPI) recently awarded the 2013 national Sustainable Parking and Transportation Facilities Award of Excellence to the new parking structure on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory campus in Golden. Photo by Frank Ooms The garages open sides allow for natural ventilation, and 99% of the structure is day lit. Photo by Frank Ooms The facility has 36 spaces with electric-charging stations, with a future capacity for 360 more. The design-build team responsible for the project included Haselden Construction and RNL, with DESMAN Associates as the structural engineer and parking consultant.The five-level structure with 1,800 parking spaces is
Studio NYL Structural Engineers is no longer the new kid on the block in regional, national or international design markets. The Boulder, Colo., engineering firm, founded in 2004 by principals Chris O'Hara and Julian Lineham, has pushed the boundaries of structural design, tackling new project types and geography that have made it one of the most sought-after structural designers in the region. Related Links: CSM Celebrates Opening of New Marquez Hall Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art Renovation Recent work illustrates the firm's diversity: devising a stainless-steel skeleton to fit within the body of a skier in "The Skier's Edge," a
Piper Electric Co. Inc. is celebrating 30 years of business this year. During its history, Piper Electric transitioned to Revit/BIM design and coordination systems, moved to a 15,000-sq-ft facility and provided electrical services in addition to its design-centered approach. Piper Electric built the first parking facility to receive LEED-Gold designation at Denver International Airport. The company continues to design and install energy-efficient electrical systems that receive LEED certification.Piper Electric has completed noteworthy projects for dozens of large local companies, including Lockheed, Coors, Conoco-Phillips, Ball Packaging and CU’s Folsom Field. The company's design-build philosophy led to its 2011 IEC Summit Award, which recognizes