Texas Children's Hospital and its family of medical facilities at Houston's Texas Medical Center are welcoming a new addition. The Pavilion for Women is a $575-million facility that will bring maternity and neonatal care capabilities to the hospital. Taking the pavilion from conception to birth is the most ambitious construction project in the hospital's history and the centerpiece of its $1.5-billion Vision 2010 expansion program. The 796,000-sq-ft, 90-bed facility combines an architecturally challenging design, a two-story signature pedestrian bridge that crosses a street and rapid transit line and one of the deepest excavations ever done at the Texas Medical Center
More than a year before the first exhibits open at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, a massive jigsaw puzzle is on display at the construction site in Dallas' Victory Park.
When traffic flows on all six lanes of the new $803-million Interstate-10 Twin Spans in New Orleans this September, the region that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 will receive a much-needed symbol of recovery. Related Links: Demoed Lake Pontchartrain Bridge Keeps on Giving While relief can't come soon enough for area residents, the Twin Spans' build team worked diligently to fast track the project, which is scheduled to open almost a year ahead of schedule.The bridge connects east-west I-10 traffic over Lake Pontchartrain. Katrina's 30-ft storm surge on Aug. 29, 2005, tore apart the 1960s-era crossing with uplift
When the 5.5-mile Interstate-10 Twins Spans crossing over Lake Pontchartrain was beaten up during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it seemed to spell the end for the well-used structure. But the team rebuilding it devised a way for its debris to keep giving back to local residents. Photo courtesy of Louisiana Dept of Transportation and Development Contractors are using debris from more than nine miles of demolished bridges on Lake Pontchartrain to build artificial reefs for local marine wildlife. The demolished bridges have been repurposed to create a new fishing pier on the north side of the lake. And old materials
Article toolbar The companies on this year’s ENR Texas & Louisiana Top Design Firms listing shifted from last year, with AECOM Technology Corp. coming in first with $293.17 million in regional billings. The magazine ranks participating firms by the previous calendar or fiscal year for work performed in Texas and Louisiana. Photo courtesy of Chuck Smith, Charles Davis Smith Designing k-12 Corgan Associates, this year’s Top Design Firm, is the architect for the new Red Oak High School near Dallas. Cadence McShane Cos. completed the 40,000-sq-ft, three-story masonry and glass facility. Related Links: Top Designer of the Year Top Design
Article toolbar While the recession has brought pink slips at many design firms, Corgan Associates of Dallas says it has not laid off a single employee. While the firm has diversified by geography and market niches, it is still honing its reputation as a global leader in aviation and data center markets. Photo by Chuck Smith, Charles Davis Smith Career Oriented John A. Dubiski Career High School in Grand Prairie, Texas, boasts floor-to-ceiling windows. A palette of bronze hues and dark wood add to the school’s professional look. Related Links: Texas & Louisiana Top Design Firms Top Design Firms Main
Article toolbar Rising fuel costs and limited public school funding have heightened the interest of more than a few Texas school districts in greener, more energy-efficient schools. “They all want to save on energy costs,” says Susan Smith, vice president of Dallas-based design firm Corgan Associates. “It comes out of their operations and maintenance [budgets], so they are poised to save funds.” She adds that more school boards and constituents “want to see recycling and buildings that sustain themselves.” Photo courtesy of Corgan Associates Solar Power Charter Builders is constructing the net-zero Lady Bird Johnson Middle School. Corgan Associates designed
Article toolbar Austin's $508-million Water Treatment Plant No. 4 required engineers and contractors to creatively address a host of environmental concerns to ensure that the city could provide enough water for its growing population through the century. Photo Courtesy of MWH Constructors Pump station A pump station is being built between the lake and the new water treatment plant. “It's a backbone project for us, not just in terms of the next few years but for decades to come,” says Greg Meszaros, director of the Austin Water Utility. Participants not only have to build the plant on a hilltop, but
Article toolbar The sudden abundance of natural gas in the U.S. has owners of two new, but practically unused, liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals in Louisiana and Texas proposing expensive conversions to export the fuel—an unthinkable proposition just five years ago. Photo Courtesy Of Freeport Lng Development LP LNG transport Transfer arms will move liquefied natural gas from vessels docked at the Freeport LNG terminal. Freeport LNG and Cheniere Energy Inc., both of Houston, have announced separate plans to convert their existing LNG import terminals into export-import terminals, plans that would cost each company about $2 billion. The firms
By June 1, when the 2011 hurricane season starts, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its industry and municipal partners will have delivered the bulk of a $14.6-billion program to provide New Orleans and surrounding parishes with what they say will be the best flood protection ever.
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