Case Studies

It’ll be the borough of Brooklyn’s first public school that adheres to Passive House standards. That’s a relatively new construction designation for a structure whose heat is at least half supplied via passive solar power such as sunlight streaming through energy-efficient, south-facing windows. Another 15 to 30 percent comes from heat recovery or other internal […]

There’s a bed shortage at UMass Memorial Medical Center, as there is at many hospitals around the country. Hours may pass before an emergency patient can finally lay down in an appropriate place—a situation intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. At this sprawling three-campus facility in Worcester, Massachusetts, the issue is being dealt with. Not as […]

At Criterium-Dudka Engineers, President and Owner Andrew Dudka has built work-life balance into the foundations of his firm. An affiliate of Criterium Engineers, a national engineering-consulting company, Criterium-Dudka has been family-owned since 2017. And if anyone knows how important it is to have a life outside of work, it’s Dudka. “The thing about my office […]

Growing up in Houston, Allysia Kizzee recalls seeing the grandeur of Rice University while passing by—the quads with vibrant green lawns bordered by brick buildings, many connected by covered walkways with majestic arches.   “Looking at it from the outside, it may seem simple,” she says. “When you come inside the hedges, we have a complex, […]

A 2022 article in Bloomberg magazine emphasized how recent labor shortages have led to women smashing past the concrete ceiling in the construction industry. Meticulously charting her path through the similar and adjacent boy’s club of corporate real estate, Andrea Wolf spent the past three decades firmly ignoring ceilings. Instead, she developed her guiding philosophy […]

Tunnels are the perfect fodder for a host of myths, urban legends or, in the case of Southeast Missouri State University, campus lore. So, in October 2022, with Halloween right around the corner, SeMo students tracked down the campus director of facilities management, Angela Meyer, to debunk the mystery. Meyer, who’s been on campus for […]

Even in today’s Amazon-driven economy, some things just can’t be bought online. Among them, the store experience. Not just any store experience, says Alex Klimsiak who has done much to enhance Holt Renfrew locations over the past year. The luxury department store chain is Canada’s version of such south-of-the-border high-end retailers as Saks Fifth Avenue […]

The dust has long settled, and the horses and livestock have returned to the ranches of Western Canada and elsewhere. What, for 10 roarin’ and rompin’ July days, had been the Province of Alberta’s third-largest city—actually, a city within the city of Calgary—has been mostly vacated. But a year passes quickly for those entrusted with […]

It’s not that other facilities managers don’t have to consider how to place electrical outlets or add plexiglass to workstations as part of their jobs. But the stakes are higher for Amanda Stephens, director of facilities management for one of Methodist Healthcare’s nine hospitals in San Antonio, Texas. In fact, designing, planning and building spaces […]

One of the worst things a pet owner can experience is having to bring their sick or injured animal to an emergency veterinary hospital. Waiting anxiously in the lobby while their beloved pet is taken behind closed doors; worrying how the pet is reacting to strangers and other animals: it’s a situation ripe for stress. […]