Case Studies Building for the Future

Like most students, Andrew Hartnett couldn’t wait to graduate high school. He imagined that whatever awaited him in the “real world” would be more interesting than going to Brentwood High School every day. Little did he know, he’d find his way back there 15 years later, this time by choice. “Clamoring to come back” when […]

Although an industry heavyweight in Canada, Magil Construction needed a tech upgrade a decade or so ago. The same held true for the industry itself. To be sure, Magil was capably managing construction of notable projects in Canada and elsewhere, but here it was, the mid- and late-2010s, and Magil had yet to replace its […]

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 […]

As the 2020-2021 academic year neared its conclusion at The Peck School, Mike Zulla could give his facilities department and himself more than passing grades. For it had been education as normal as much as practically possible at the prestigious K-8 school in Morristown, New Jersey. Most pupils were on campus from September through June, […]

There’s never a good time for a building to flood. The beginning of a global health pandemic is especially bad, though. In April 2020, this is the situation Lonnie Pilgrim faced when Fort McMurray Composite High School flooded with eight inches of water from a nearby river. As the school division’s director of buildings and […]

That oak tree out back is almost a member of the family. It’s held a tire swing or a hammock, and hints at changing seasons with green buds in the spring and orange foliage each fall. But now, it’s deemed a hazard to air traffic by U.S. Federal Aviation Administration rules. It needs to be […]

It’s the Wild West indeed when it comes to rental housing. So many incomers from all demographics, and while there’s not necessarily a shortage of apartment complexes and villages in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico, there is—in Ben Butler’s colorful words—an amenity war raging. The landlord who can provide the most comforts and conveniences will […]

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 […]

Kris Garnhart knows good looks doesn’t always mean lasting value. When installing new windows at a school, for instance, he needs to weigh his options. Does he go with the large floor-to-ceiling panes that designers want? Or does he go with smaller ones in a large grid frame? The second option might not be as […]

It’s not a Japanese bullet train, but employees at the Capital District Transit Authority are proud of upstate New York’s second Bus Rapid Transit line that hit the road last winter with a fleet of shiny blue and silver buses moving riders around Albany and surrounding communities. Known as the River Corridor Bus Rapid Transit […]