Case Studies Region: West

It’s not like adding a wing to an apartment complex or hotel. So, muses Sean Tracy about the ongoing modernization he oversees at Castle Rock Adventist Hospital in Colorado. Last year, this community hospital run by Centura Health in the town of Castle Rock added 36 beds for post-surgical patients on a shelled out fourth […]

When Cal State LA was built in the 1950s, it was designed to be a commuter campus. At the time—and for many decades to follow—students lived in nearby neighborhoods and could drive or take public transportation to their classes. But now, with monthly rents spiking across Los Angeles, many students can no longer afford to […]

When visiting a pool, people may think about cooling off in the water, getting some refreshing exercise or simply having some fun. Most aren’t considering the air quality around an indoor pool. And at Wood River Community YMCA they don’t have to because Property and Facilities Manager Brian Dirksmeier has it under control. When he […]

Young people being the future of any community, schools should be built to be safe, modern and inviting. Yet during the 1950s and ‘60s, many districts hastily constructed California-style, concrete-block schoolhouses—ones that bandages and remodels couldn’t sustain forever.  This has been the case at Highline Public Schools in King County, Washington, though that may be […]

People tend to associate colors with feelings. For example, red often relates to anger or love, yellow to happiness and blue to serenity. The psychological effect of colors can go even deeper, to the point of subconsciously changing one’s attitudes and mindsets. Fascinated by these findings, Louise Lamb is using colors to enhance the employee […]

Before a neurosciences center can be built, the organization behind it must become qualified to provide such advanced care. Sharp Grossmont Hospital, located in East San Diego County, got the green light in early 2020 when it received accreditation as a comprehensive stroke center. Now, after weathering the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital […]

Different as these two places are, they’re among those where market-rate residential properties are most in demand. Sacramento, California, and the Island of Hawaii—commonly referred to as the Big Island—each are experiencing a housing crisis. Well, the grounds for making a difference are literally being laid in both locales. Market-rate, of course, is a relative […]

It can be a riskier workplace than might be realized by those who don’t earn their livelihood at hospitals. Aside from being in proximity to ill and infectious patients, there’s the very real possibility of being assaulted by patients whose conditions might be aggravated by substance abuse. Or the hospital itself might be under threat. […]

She hasn’t quite been on the job for three years but already Kim Alpert can divide into distinct thirds her time overseeing global properties for Udemy Inc. Hired in October 2019, she spent the first six or seven months learning the ways of this San Francisco-based MOOC—massive open online course provider—whose platform is accessed by […]

A few years ago, if a light went out or a sink was leaking at Clark County School District, it could take days, or even weeks, before someone could get there to fix it. Now, facilities issues like this are resolved within hours. That’s because, in 2019, the Nevada district started a pilot building engineer […]