Case Studies

On any given Monday, L. Gerry Von Ville likes to take a walk. But not just any walk, and it doesn’t have to be Monday. Von Ville pokes around Concord University, the public university in Athens, West Virginia, where he serves as Director of Physical Plant. He might key his way into Marsh Hall, adorned with […]

A crew of workers clad in hardhats and neon yellow vests emerges from the bottom left corner of the screen. In the distance, a ten-story crane awaits the day’s first payload, while trucks carrying industrial pipes hug the massive concrete wall. It’s just past 7 a.m. local time in Bozeman, Montana, and the team at […]

The corner of 12th Avenue and Marion Street in Seattle is not what it used to be. Once at the heart of an industrial district that was also known for its auto dealerships, the intersection is part of a gentrifying neighborhood where single-story buildings are being replaced with condos, high-end retail—and, since it’s Seattle, more […]

When it comes to the facilities at Take-Two Interactive, one of the world’s largest interactive entertainment companies, few know the lay of the land better than Larry Charlip—its nooks and crannies, its quirks and idiosyncrasies. As a teenager working in the mailroom at a commodity trading company, MG Corp., Charlip learned his first lesson in […]

Most people go through life never having owned a business. Larry Wombles owns four in industries ranging from pump stations, sewer and lift stations, and grading operations, to agricultural, petroleum and public works. And while owning that many companies in such diverse industries has its perks, it also comes with many challenges, especially during a […]

It’s not a pleasant memory for Lavernne Hudson, that her late, sight-impaired grandfather needed care beyond what the extended family could provide. He spent his last years in a very institutional facility, and while the place wasn’t uncomfortable, something seemed to be missing. The man deserved better surroundings and more personal attention, she recalls, especially […]

A company’s reputation being priceless, Lee Drywall Inc. will spend more to get the job right, the Fort Myers, Florida, subcontractor deeming it “simply good business.” For when competitors were using cheap Chinese drywall, the company, founded in 1991 by the husband-and-wife team of Mitchell and Traci Lee, stuck to tried and true products. That […]

Lee Mayer says there are two things he’s going to miss when he retires in May; his amazing office in Washington DC and his feeling of connection and purpose with his coworkers and vendors at Atlantic Media. He’s seen a lot out of his Watergate office window in the past 19 years as the vice […]

Kevin Costner once heard a whispering voice telling him to build a baseball diamond in his Iowa cornfield. One state west, in Nebraska, Lee McQueen has not heard mysterious voices. Still, as the University of Nebraska at Kearney expands into acreage once used to farm corn and alfalfa, the expansion carries a “The Field of […]

While it’s true that a museum is often the best place to display and store art, rarely is it treated like a piece of art itself. But the Seattle Asian Art Museum—with its Art Deco aluminum façade, specially-designed glass infinity floor, and octagonal rooms with 14-foot tall windows set in a series of galleries—has been […]