University of Minnesota Bee and Pollinator Research Lab, St. Paul, Minnesota
It’s the best of both worlds at the state-of-the-art Bee and Pollinator Research Lab at the University of Minnesota. Inside, scientists are studying how to reverse the decline in wild pollinators and honeybees, while outside, robins and cardinals stand a significantly better chance of avoiding potentially deadly collisions with the building’s windows, thanks to energy-efficient, bird-safe glass combining technologies from Vitro Glass and Walker Textures®.
Camp Havaya Eco-Village, Pocono Mountains, Pa.
Camp Havaya is an environmentally focused summer camp designed to Reconstructionist Theology; “Tikkun Olam – fixing of the world is in our hands.” It is built of earth-friendly materials such as: recycled plastic decking, milk crates, bottles and reclaimed doors; solar heated hot water, waterless urinals; PV panels and rain gardens. This summer camp teaches campers Reconstructionist Jewish precepts of saving the earth and enjoying life, using powerful social spaces and demonstrating sustainability with earth friendly materials.
New York’s The Forge showcases distinctive, copper anodized, aluminum wall panel system
Opened this spring, The Forge, a 272-unit luxury residential tower in Long Island, New York, features a façade of copper-colored anodized aluminum cladding. Designed by FXCollaborative, its distinctive, artistically inspired, industrial-influenced, exterior is composed of Dri-Design’s aluminum wall panel system finished by Linetec. The project is pursuing LEED® Silver certification.
UCLA Luskin Conference Center sets a high bar for hospitality sustainability, features Wausau’s windows, doors and curtainwall
The recently opened University of California Los Angeles’ Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center (UCLA Luskin Conference Center) sets a new standard for conference centers and hotels, not just in a campus setting, but for the hospitality industry as a whole. Last year, the $162 million building earned LEED® Platinum certification and is considered one of the most sustainable hotels in the United States. Supporting UCLA Luskin Conference Center’s sustainability goals, acoustic performance and access to natural light were key contributors. Windows dominate the conference center’s lobby and meeting rooms, flooding the interior with sunshine. Wausau Window and Wall Systems provided high-performance windows, terrace doors and a curtainwall to help manage exterior noise and interior comfort, while contributing to the building’s overall energy efficiency.
KWK Architects Designs Multi-Phase Community Replacement
The University of Missouri (Mizzou) in Columbia, MO is bustling with two new residence halls; a state-of-the-art, multi-restaurant dining facility; and a Starbucks coffeehouse – all designed by KWK Architects as part of a multi-phase community redevelopment project. The three-phased, master plan would include a total of five new residence halls and a distinctive dining facility to replace an outdated dining hall and three residential towers, all of which were demolished to make room for the new buildings.
The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Center at Cornell Tech, Roosevelt Island, New York
Architects specify rainscreen systems to fulfill two primary functions: the first is to keep moisture from entering a building; the second is to prevent heat from escaping. Thanks to a collaboration between Morphosis Architects, A. Zahner Company and PPG, the rainscreen system on The Bloomberg Center at Cornell Tech does more than serve those purposes – it also works as a color-shifting wall of art.
Ashley McGraw Architects Designs New MacArthur Elementary School in Binghamton, NY
In 2011, the existing MacArthur Elementary School was destroyed when the Chenango and Susquehanna Rivers flooded due to Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene. The school was the heart of a vibrant city neighborhood and served an ethnically, socioeconomically and racially diverse student population. Ashley McGraw Architects aimed to redefine what an urban elementary school could be, restore and revitalize the surrounding neighborhood and create a deeply sustainable and resilient building and site.
Los Gatos Library, California
Nestled at the foot of a wooded hillside, the new Los Gatos Public Library is a key element within a master plan that strengthens the connection between the town’s civic center and historic Pageant Park. With its rectangular form, the two-story public library complements the adjacent 1960s Civic Center, an elegant masonry building split into quadrants and located partially below grade. “We wanted to create a connection with, and a contrast to, the existing 1960s-era Civic Center building,” notes Chris Noll, FAIA, Principal in Charge and co-founder of Noll & Tam.
Orlando International Airport’s South Intermodal Terminal Facility topped with Acurlite skylight, finished by Linetec
The ITF is expected to be the first building on the Orlando International Airport campus to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® v4 certification standards. Featuring an 8,000-square-foot, heavy-duty commercial skylight, the ITF’s daylighting system helps connect those arriving and working within the space to the welcoming surroundings and Florida sunshine outside. Acurlite Structural Skylights, Inc. manufactured and installed the low-rise, segmented barrel vault skylight. Linetec provided stretch forming, thermally improvement and finishing of the skylight to meet the airport’s aesthetic, sustainability and high-performance requirements.
Shepley Bulfinch and University of Houston Celebrate Grand Opening of Health 2, the University’s Second Health and Biomedical Sciences Building
Shepley Bulfinch announced today the completion of Health 2, the University of Houston’s (UH) second health and biomedical sciences building. The newest component of Houston’s Carnegie-Designated Tier One public research institution, Health 2 is a nine-story, 300,000 SF facility that provides a new home for the University’s College of Pharmacy, the Student Health Center, community clinical and wellness spaces, and two floors of expanded research space.
High Performance Systems performs floor installation for electrical generation facility in New Jersey
This flooring project was completed for one of the largest electrical generation plants in New Jersey. More specifically the new flooring system would be installed in the machine shop of the facility. In the machine shop old generators and parts were refurbished which, required heavy machining equipment, forklifts, and a 50-ton hoist. Due to the heavy loads and substances required to complete daily machine shop operations, the floor needed to have excellent scratch, abrasion, impact and chemical resistance. To complete the project, High Performance Systems, a local resinous flooring contractor was hired to replace the existing 14,000 sq. ft. floor with a new epoxy system in 3 days. To avoid a plant shutdown, the project was scheduled to start on New Year’s Eve.
CJ Blossom Park Named the Best New Laboratory in the World
The design of CJ Blossom Park is founded on CannonDesign’s “New Scientific Workplace” concept — a radical design approach that replaces traditional laboratory planning ideas with integrated innovation strategies to create dynamic, boundary-less environments that increase productivity, efficiency and creativity.
St. Elizabeth’s Hospital features inviting canopies outside, patient-focused care inside
“Design goals from the start included addressing wellness, systems and integration, and patient and staff experience throughout the facility. We additionally challenged the team to incorporate themes around our patron saint, Saint Elizabeth, and her history of serving the sick and the poor,” says Susan Holloway, RN, BSN, director of construction management for HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.
Bruciato on Bainbridge Island, Washington
Above the fifteen-seat bar – inlaid with Carrara marble in a chevron pattern – and along the eastern wall, hang steel light fixtures designed by Eerkes and Perhacs Studio, both island residents. Salvaged church benches serve as seating for the two-top tables, which feature old growth, salvaged fir. Weather permitting, a custom galvanized-steel bi-fold door opens the restaurant directly to the sidewalk, merging inside with outside. In the back corner of the restaurant, next to the brick pizza oven imported from Stefano Ferrara of Naples, is a custom-designed, blackened-steel, diamond-structured firewood rack. About the feel of the space, which seats 90, Eerkes notes, “The island is very community-focused. I wanted to design a comfortable place I’d be proud to take my friends. Bruciato has become the island clubhouse.”
Carbon neutrality is now reality at American University
American University publicly pledged to become carbon neutral by 2020 in 2010. Due to the commitment, leadership, and innovative strategic planning of its staff, faculty, and students, AU has reached its goal two years early. AU is not only the first carbon neutral university in the nation, but also the first urban campus and the first research university to accomplish this important achievement. AU has met the guidelines set by Second Nature, a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating climate action in and through higher education, to become a carbon neutral university.
Metal Design and Sleek Coatings Provide Air-Like Aesthetic for Renovated Boeing Facility
Calloway Johnson Moore & West of Lexington, PA was hired as the architecture firm for the development. Due to the heavy industrial use of the facility, CENTRIA’s Formawall® Dimension Series® insulated metal panels were chosen to provide thermal efficiency as well as wind and flame resistance. The panels offer superior weather protection, and deliver a sleek façade. The CENTRIA metal wall panels were coated in Sherwin-Williams Coil Coating’s Fluropon® Classic metallic coating in the colors Pewter and Silversmith – providing an air-like aesthetic to the facility’s exterior with the main overcast gray tone perfectly accented by the dark gray.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland improves energy efficiency with 3M™ Sun Control Window Film Prestige Exterior Series
The Hall and Museum are housed in an iconic geometric building designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei. The main tower soars more than 160 feet (48.7 meters) into the air and supports a dual-triangular-shaped glass “tent” that contains more than 55,000 square feet (5,109 square meters) of exhibition space, along with administrative offices, shopping space and a cafe. All of that glass allows the Hall to present priceless artifacts in natural light. However, protecting those treasures from the effects of ultraviolet (UV) rays and keeping the building cool on sunny days also presents a challenge to building managers.
DePauw University’s new Dining Hall reflects historic campus design, meets LEED Gold criteria
Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA), DePauw University’s Hoover Hall provides a new dining hall for the Indiana university, while carrying forward the Georgian character of the campus and complementing the historic East College building. The $32 million project was completed on time, under budget and to meet U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Gold criteria.