Case Studies Region: West

Ellie Daneshnia | Executive Director, Capital Planning & Construction| Highline Public Schools 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 […]

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 […]

Magicians may be able pull rabbits out of hats, but Hugo Ojeda has a more impressive trick. For two decades, he’s been turning drawings into buildings. “I’ve always enjoyed the construction and facilities operations of high-tech companies,” says Ojeda, who started his career at IBM. “Each time I pass a building I helped create, I’m […]

In Southern California, some public schools are overcrowded, leading to a lack of individualized attention for students with the most need. These students often struggle to keep up their grades and confidence. “In many Southern California communities, students don’t have access to high quality public schools, so to be able to offer them a charter […]

As part of efforts to imagine patient care of the future, John Ellis helped Intermountain Healthcare develop two rooms equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including advanced telemetry, real-time location services, in-room diagnostic equipment and electrically tinted glass. However, Ellis, the corporate director of facilities management, says conversations are now more about the patients of the future […]