For 20 years, the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) has advanced the study of the genetic code through innovative research and policymaking to improve human health and further environmental sustainability. Related Links: New Bayside Museum Seeks Net-Zero Energy Goal David and Lucile Packard Foundation Designed for Net-Zero Energy Consumption The research institute now is applying its vision of sustainability to its new 45,000-sq-ft Western headquarters in La Jolla, being constructed by McCarthy Building Cos., San Diego. When completed in the fall, the $39-million campus will be on track to become the world's first net-zero energy use biological laboratory."We realized that
Two sports stadiums now under construction required intensive community outreach and careful coordination among the design and construction teams to become a reality. Related Links: Read about other challenging projects on the ENR Southwest Projects Page UNM Renovates Legendary 'The Pit' Arena in Albuquerque (Aug. 2009) Albuquerque Public Schools' $35.9-million Community Athletic Facility is the first stadium to be built by the New Mexico school district in more than 40 years. Meanwhile, the University of Arizona is expanding and improving its 84-year-old Lowell-Stevens Football Facility in Tucson.Welcome to the NeighborhoodFor decades, just two stadiums have been serving all of the
Okland Construction Co.'s Tempe, Ariz., office notched a stunning 98% increase in revenue in the Southwest region during fiscal-year 2011 at a time when many of its competitors saw plunging bottom lines. Okland was able to bring in $185.8 million in the region between October 2010 and September 2011. Related Links: Southwest Top Lists Rio Salado Audubon Center Wins Best Green Building Award But it was the firm's commitments to client service and sustainability that cinched its selection as ENR Southwest's 2012 Contractor of the Year."For sure, 2009 and 2010 were lean years for us, as with many companies," says
The Colonel Smith Middle School in southern Arizona intends to preach what it practices. Built on Fort Huachuca, the U.S. Army's leading intelligence-training post about 90 miles southeast of Tucson, the $22-million school will demonstrate sustainability to students and the surrounding community. It will also likely become Arizona's first—and the nation's 12th—net-zero energy use school. Related Links: Arizona's Other Net-Zero Project ENR Southwest Projects Page The Phoenix office of construction manager-at-risk Turner Construction Co. expects to deliver the one-level, 88,700-sq-ft building on schedule by the first week of August. Approximately 375 sixth- to eighth-grade students within the Fort Huachuca Accommodation
Educare Arizona, an early-childhood preschool designed to give a leg up to at-risk children, opened on the campus of the Brunson Lee Elementary School in Phoenix. Photo by Tom Spitz Four buildings cluster around a large central courtyard play environment, serving 191 children from low-income families. Image courtesy Urban Earth Design The project's unique landscaping includes both edible gardens, shade trees, hummingbird and butterfly habitat and children's play fields. Located on 48th and Culver streets, just south of McDowell Road, the $9-million, science-based school serves approximately 191 mostly at-risk infants, toddlers and preschoolers from the low- to moderate-income community served
While other Southwest subcontractors have struggled during these challenging economic times, Corbins Electric has prospered. The Phoenix-based company saw revenue rise 22% in 2010 to $42.8 million, one of the best performances by any regional subcontractor. The total includes $37.2 million from Arizona projects. Related Links: Corbins, which also has an office in Albuquerque, N.M., anticipates an increase of 28.5% in 2011 to $55 million, says Mark Fleming, president and CEO. In those roles since 2001 and a 25-year company veteran, Fleming estimates 2012 revenue of about $50 million.Despite the industry doldrums, the 268-employee company has thrived by effectively partnering
“DPR Exists to Build Great Things,” says the company's slogan. The Phoenix office of DPR Construction also builds for diverse Arizona clients, including itself. A sustainable regional headquarters project is currently under way. Related Links: Southwest Top Contractors Ranking “DPR is driven by two connected ideas: respect for the individual and a desire to change the world,” says Dave Elrod, DPR's regional manager. “We tell our employee candidates, 'We don't fit everyone.' Ours is not a prescribed, but a self-mediated environment, and all of our people are empowered to take on all the responsibility they can handle.”The 213 employees in
A dramatic pedestrian bridge under construction across Tempe Town Lake will soon connect the shores of the 220-acre lake's west end near the Tempe Center for the Arts. The 912-ft-long bridge will open to foot traffic in late August. Photo by James M. Doyle Crews placed the first of four 228-ft-long steel arch sections, each weighing in at 165,000 lbs, in mid-May. Photo by James M. Doyle Workers prepare the deck steel along the arch spans already in place while another span is readied for hoisting in the background. Related Links: Click here to view a video of the first steel arch
Article toolbar On March 18, 1911, Theodore Roosevelt pressed a button, releasing the first flow of water from a dam bearing his name, deep within the Arizona Territory. �If there could be any monument which would appeal to any man, surely this is it,� Roosevelt told the crowd of 1,000 who had assembled in the remote Superstitions Wilderness, 76 miles northeast of Phoenix. The former president had ardently campaigned for and signed the 1902 National Reclamation Act, making the dam, today�s Bureau of Reclamation and an irrigated West possible. �Great things will take place in the Salt River Valley due