Case Studies

It’s said that locks are only for honest people, but that might be more for the basic door. For the specialty wares furnished and installed by J.S. Archer Co. Inc. in Ashland, Virginia, keep more than burglars out. There are also the fires, explosions, floods, storms, vehicular crashes or whatever else that must be withstood. […]

At 5:04 p.m. it struck: A 6.9 magnitude earthquake. For 15 seconds, the earth shook; structures collapsed like dust, bridges were wrenched like toys, craters ripped open to swallow people and vehicles. It was October 17, 1989—the infamous Loma Prieta earthquake, which ultimately killed 67 people and caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage across […]

Jon Papps likes to joke that he was the first person in history to bring the University of South Carolina and Clemson University—heated rivals whose football teams have divided the state for more than a century—together for a common cause. The mission: to save lives and improve medical care in one of the state’s largest […]

Walking around the campus, hand in hand with his wife, John Morris is mesmerized. Time stands still on the quad where tawny late afternoon light bathes the classic historic homes that make up the College of Charleston. Soft Spanish moss gently sways in a subtle breeze from trees that have grown here for hundreds of […]

To most, the saying “giving 110 percent” is considered a positive one. For the folks at Texas Children’s Hospital, however, the idiom had taken on a slightly different meaning in the fall of 2013: The facility was consistently over capacity, and the impacts—on patients and physicians alike—were starting to take a toll. That November, leaders […]

So how does one get into the profession of managing the physical facilities of a multinational? Nowadays, a university student so inclined might find specific courses on the subject. Then there are the old-school types like Jim Zuiderhoek, since November 2009 the director of global real estate and facilities services for Risk Management Solutions in […]

A night at the movies calls for more amenities than in years past, and the same may hold true for breakfast the next morning at a restaurant. Today’s consumer can be more demanding, and for any company to be thriving tomorrow, it had better have its eyes on the future. Which is where Jim Cornwell […]

Originally built in 1912 and sited just blocks from the leafy hallows of Harvard Yard, the four-story Winthrop House stands as a jewel of the school’s turn-of-the-century expansion. In the building’s endless brick and the white-trimmed windows, Harvard’s federal-style aesthetic echoes like an architectural clarion call. So when Joe Umosella learned his company had won […]

Patience is both a virtue and a sound business practice, especially in the residential HVAC and plumbing construction industry. Building solid customer relationships takes time and requires providing honest, prompt and professional service, time and time again. It doesn’t matter how small the job, every customer and every home matters. It is a tenet that […]

History and architecture have always been inextricably linked. From ancient ruins to the most gravity-defying postmodern structures, our buildings tell stories, and like any world-changing book or glass-encased document, it’s our duty to preserve them. If the structure happens to be in or near St. Louis, Missouri, there’s a decent chance James G. Staat Tuckpointing […]