The University at Buffalo, a flagship institution of the State University of New York system, has embarked on a $360-million capital improvement program designed to prepare the school to serve more than 38,000 students by 2020. Photo: Cannon Design Cannon Design created the South Ellicott Housing building at the University at Buffalo’s South Campus. Related Links: Market Report: Upstate New York “We just finished a university master plan, which is part of President John Simpson’s vision for UB2020, which is to expand the university by approximately 10,000 students and 2,000 faculty and staff,” says Kevin M. Thompson, director of facilities
The biggest technological advances for landscape architects have come from the integration of the pen and pencil with the computer. Graphics programs have made presentations, and sharing plans, easier than ever, but the greatest new tools come in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), allowing study of the work site long before an actual site visit. Related Links: No Longer Misunderstood Landscape Architects Enjoy Renaissance Not Just a Walk in the Park “[We are] using GIS at the planning level in terms of recreational uses, in terms of identifying travel routes, scenic value of those routes, studying impact of
Landscape architects are shaping the future of our cities as seen from the sidewalk – and the roof, and the internal courtyard and along the highway. They are responsible for keeping human waste out of our beaches, our cities from burning up in a haze of melting asphalt and our fragile psyches from self-destructing due to too much stress. Image: Field Operations State Island’s Fresh Kills park will create 2,200 acres of park space out of the world’s largest landfill. Designed by New York City-based Field Operations, the park will feature wetlands, waterways, hills, and skyline views. It is expected
While the rest of the country percolated with construction activity before the recession hit, Upstate New York construction activity seemed to lag behind, but now technology companies have discovered its attributes and major state and federal projects dot the landscape. Related Links: Big Ideas “We’ve had in the last five or six years an increase in construction activity,” says Paul O. Cannon, principal and regional director for Cannon Design of Grand Island, N.Y. “I don’t think we are as susceptible to the ups and downs of the marketplace as other regions might be. We don’t see the big ups and,
Featured Product October 2009 Sockets with a positive impact Rugged bolting, fastening and anchoring applications are tackled by the high-strength Hilti Impact Sockets. Available in standard and deep confi gurations, Hilti’s new lineup of Impact Sockets is built for quick attachment and durable performance. Hilti Impact Sockets are constructed of hardened alloy steel for long-lasting service. Use of the hardened alloy steel allows the socket walls to be thin for use in tight spaces, yet strong enough to handle diffi cult torque and working conditions. The quick attachment time of the new Hilti Impact Socket portfolio improves productivity. Two beveled
The New York Landmarks Preservation Commission recently held a dedication ceremony to mark BellTel Lofts located at 365 Bridge Street, as a city landmark. Pictured from left are: Ilan Bracha of Bracha Group, Prudential Douglas Elliman, David Bistricer of Clipper Equity, Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz and JJ Bistricer of Clipper Equity. Photo courtesy of Rubenstein PR. The Pike Company recently took home a top award for its Sports and Medical Sciences Academy Project at the 2009 Connecticut Building Congress Project Team Awards. (L-R) David Carlson, CBC President and Melvin Strauss, project director, The Pike Company.
Reception Commemorates Park Opening September 2009 Louis Kahn-designed Roosevelt Island park is celebrated. Also, ACE Mentor Program announces 66 scholarships. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park recently held a reception at The Lori Bookstein Fine Art Gallery located at 37 West 57th Street on the third floor to celebrate the creation of the park on Roosevelt Island which was designed by legendary architect, Louis I. Kahn and will be his last project and the only design which can still be built. The park will serve as a tribute to President Roosevelt and create an extraordinary new civic space in the
Products: September 2009 World�s First Hybrid Bulldozer Keeps Up With the Bigger Cats The world’s first hybrid dozer will cost about $100,000 more, or 20%, than a comparable non-hybrid of the same size but will do more work and pay for itself in about two and a half years, says Caterpillar Inc. Performance is tracking well in field trials, said Cat managers on June 23, as Cat rolled out the machine for press evaluation at the firm’s training facility in Edwards, Ill. The D7E starts production in October and carries a list price of $600,000, says David E. Nicoll, product
After years of controversy and a total redesign, Forest City Ratner Cos., the developer of the Atlantic Yards megadevelopment in Brooklyn, N.Y., says it expects to begin construction of the development's centerpiece, an arena for the NETS basketball team, later this year. Ratner "anticipates" opening the facility, called Barclays Center, for the 2011-12 basketball season. Image courtesy of SHoP Architects and Ellerbe Becket Redesigned basketball arena in Brooklyn. Ratner released renderings Sept. 10 of the redesign by Ellerbe Becket in collaboration with SHoP Architects. The original architect was Frank Gehry. Under the new design, the 675,000-sq-ft arena is clad in
Construction costs in New York City and throughout the region have declined in response to the softening economy, according to a report recently released by the New York Building Congress. A Building Congress analysis of McGraw-Hill Construction’s F.W. Dodge data on new buildings, shows that hard construction costs which are defined as physical costs of construction such as materials and labor, for offices and banks have declined ten percent between 2008 and 2009, while apartment construction hard costs have declined nine percent over that period. The category of new buildings that includes schools and libraries has similarly dropped by eight