In this tale of two cities, it may be the best of times and—though far from the worst—a very challenging time for the construction industry. For reasons unique to San Francisco and Houston, the building business is indeed booming in and around these great cities, with cranes pointing skyward like index fingers signaling victory. But […]
Case Studies Region: West
Tona Khau – Sno-Isle Libraries
Tucked away on islands and small inland towns, some libraries are barely bigger than a living room, while others are almost twice as large as a retail store. More than places to get a book, they’re education hubs, community centers and places to gather. Yet to fulfill these many roles, the Sno-Isle Libraries system north […]
Dan Cress – Premier Equipment Rentals Inc.
Blessed and cursed by nature, the high desert cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, California, would seem to an observer. Located in the very scenic Antelope Valley just 70 miles from downtown Los Angeles, those two cities can boast views of the San Gabriel Mountains to the south and the Tehachapi Mountains to the north. They […]
Kent Marsh – University of Colorado – Colorado Springs
When two halves amount to more than the sum of their parts, the effects can be powerful—even transformative. Case in point: the symbiotic public-private partnership between the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) and the city that shares its name. Separately, the two entities suffered from traffic congestion and deficits in construction funding. In the […]
Ken Ziff – TTEC
Hurricane Harvey having slammed into Gulf Coast of Texas in late summer of 2017, the Federal Emergency Management Agency needed a strategic partner—and fast—to help spread word of relief efforts and to alert residents of further danger. Though based in Englewood, Colorado, and having made its mark by establishing contact centers for commercial clients worldwide, […]
Steve Deering – Spec Formliners Inc.
You can’t complain too much when the traffic backs up on Interstate 405 between Seal Beach and Costa Mesa. For many of the 16 car-jammed miles, the vistas of wildlife are breathtaking. Well, sort of. The scenes of plants and animals are at once real and imagined, molded and engraved into the concrete walls, dividers […]
Dan Zalkow — Portland State University
A $100 million construction project is hard enough for any one builder, even with the best of plans. Now try it with four vested stakeholders in the project, three of them viewing it as crucial to the future of the educational opportunities they offer. Such is the case in Portland, Oregon, with 4th & Montgomery, […]
Charlotte Johnson – Upwork
The requests have been many, and interesting at that—comfy chairs, sit-to-stand desks, an espresso machine, a “brainstorming room,” a running track inside the office and even a beach volleyball court. And one by one, Charlotte Johnson the head of workplace at California-based Upwork, checks off the boxes if she is able. This paralegal-turned-planner joined the […]
Mike Spindler – Spindler Construction Corp.
When he says it’s the nicest building of its kind in Logan, Utah, Mike Spindler may not just be boasting. The three-story structure that is Jon M. Huntsman Hall would grace any academic campus. But it seems most appropriate as the complementary addition to the Eccles Business Building on the southern edge of Utah State […]
Chris Holman – Sangamo Therapeutics
In a tale of two Bay Area cities, Sangamo Therapeutics is stretching genomic science across San Francisco Bay. This spring, the company moved into a new 100,000-square-foot headquarters south of San Francisco in Brisbane, California. In converting the five-story office building, Sangamo becomes part of the cluster of biotech companies between San Francisco and San […]
