Case Studies January 2022

When college students at Vancouver Island University have an issue in their room, say a flickering light or broken heater, they submit a maintenance request to the facilities department. While not all work can be completed immediately, students are typically satisfied if the problem is fixed in a few days, Burke Gulbranson says. However, if […]

Caitlin Summers’ unorthodox first steps on the road to sustainability were taken on a softball pitch. Playing across the nation, Summers learned how to cope with high pressure situations, wisely manage her time, and deal with different personalities to work as a team. She also received a softball scholarship from LaFayette College, where she went […]

Ask Corey Jackson and he’ll tell you that if there’s one thing America’s high schools should be emphasizing, it’s training in the trades. Now the vice president of facilities for Bancroft—a nonprofit providing day and residential services for people with autism, intellectual disabilities, strokes and brain injuries—Jackson has built a career with his hands. In […]

Like so many places, the wellness center at the Medical University of South Carolina shut its doors in March 2020. Unlike other buildings, though, this one was converted by the MUSC hospital in just two weeks into a field hospital—300 cots replacing exercise equipment. As James Tomsic recalls, the university’s hospital had seen the state […]

Ear protection clamped securely, John Barella steps onto the nearly four-acre flight deck atop the USS Kitty Hawk. Around him, jets refuel and takeoff every 20 seconds. His head on swivel, he tracks a F/A-18 Super Hornet jet that slingshots off the deck to pierce the skies at a top speed of nearly 1,200 mph. […]

With 17 stories and 202,000 square feet of office space, 2 MiamiCentral is highlighting a neighborhood transformation in the south Florida city. Underneath it is Brightline’s Miami Central station, which provides inter-city railroad service extending to West Palm Beach (and beyond, including Orlando, in 2022). Adjacent is 3 MiamiCentral, with 12 stories of office space, […]

Nobody is sure exactly when Lawndale Christian Health Center’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Wayne Detmer and Windy City Harvest’s Program Director Angela Mason met, but one thing is for sure: their collaboration bore fruit and is helping to feed the City of Chicago. Lawndale’s Facilities and Construction Director Joseph Lesch says their chance introduction occurred […]

Ken Bennett clearly remembers his first “aha moment” with contemporary art. He was helping install the exhibition, “Between Action and the Unknown: The Art of Kazuo Shiraga and Sadamasa Motonaga,” at the Dallas Museum of Art. Sixty works by the two Japanese artists were on display from February to July of 2015. When Bennett, the […]

Early in his life, Leo Bourgeois dreamed of being a jazz musician, performing in legendary music venues in New Orleans and other spots around the country. As he went through high school and into college, his enthusiasm for music changed when he realized he likely wouldn’t be a famous performer. Now, more than 20 years […]

The Kenilworth Apartments were built solidly enough during the 1960s to still be home to several hundred dwellers, but Avanti Residential saw need for upgrades after buying the Prairie Village, Kansas, complex last year. “Though well maintained, the place still feels like it need modernization,” says the young but very seasoned man who’s been directing […]