Case Studies

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 […]

Its heavy equipment is a go-to for construction, engineering and agriculture, but not every corporate client can afford to buy what’s on a Caterpillar lot. Even the automotive companies in Michigan often opt to rent rather than purchase machinery when upgrading their production lines. So noted MacAllister Machinery a decade ago. An Indianapolis-based renter and […]

Though her stamp was already on much of modern Manhattan, Rey Black still wanted to do more when she brought her architectural skillset to The Howard Hughes Corporation in 2018. “I had built so much, but never a pier,” she tells Blueprint in August. “We were pulling out old piles and driving in new ones […]

In 1913, Henry Ford developed his assembly line for mass production, famed for its efficiency. In the 1930s, Toyota took it a step further, developing a manufacturing production method—often referred to as LEAN—which not only limited waste and overproduction, but made it possible to create more variety of cars. Since then, the LEAN process has […]

As a slew of general contractors will attest, there’s a definite shortage of young people entering the trades, but those who do are well-positioned for career growth. At least in some locales, the message seems well taken, including at Patrick & Henry Community College where there’s been a waiting list of students seeking training in […]

For Ronald Reed, switching from a career in baking to one in construction was easier than he thought. If you’re used to reading a recipe, you can easily understand construction guidelines, he explains—just replace one-third of a cup for one-third of a building. After 13 years of running The Dessert Company, a bakery and lunch […]

When Rick Fox saw kids using a bike park recently, he couldn’t help but feel proud. As they raced around the colorful tracks, the kids showed Fox the impact of his work with their laughter and smiles. The director of facilities management for Timberland Partners likes knowing the features he adds to apartment complexes are […]

After 33 years working in the same industry, Ralph Knese had a choice to make. He figured he could stay in his comfortable, predictable job until he was ready to retire, or he could finish his career with a new, exciting challenge. He knows it’s a little unconventional, but he’s happy to have gone with […]

Robert Jones feels the impact of his work every day. While a construction crew builds the new Arrowhead Elementary School, students are eagerly watching next door. The school’s principal tells Jones that kids line the playground fence during recess as heavy machinery and people in hardhats dig holes and put up the new structure. Jones, […]

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across the country shifted to remote and hybrid models of learning. While many districts invested in virtual infrastructure to help ease the transition (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, for example), others opted for a slightly different approach—investing in physical infrastructure in addition to the requisite tech upgrades. Case in […]