Fiona Cousins specializes in translating sustainability from an abstract idea into concrete solutions on the ground. Originally trained as a mechanical engineer, Cousins now leads sustainable consulting and building design teams as a principal in ARUP’s New York office. n addition to her sustainability consulting, Cousins is kept busy directing several construction projects, including the new chemistry building at Princeton University - a site she visits once a week. Related Links: Two Weeks in the Life of Langan International’s George Leventis A Day in the Life of USGBCNY’s Russell Unger COUSINS Sustainable building captured Cousins’s interest early in her career.
The often-dangerous leap into international work was a work in progress for Langan Engineering & Environmental Services for more than a decade. And for George Leventis, it was a labor of love. Langan International serves as the lender’s technical advisor on the Elefsina-Korinthos-Patrea-Tsakona Motorway in Greece. When a 20-story office tower with 5 levels basement in Abu Dhabi encountered uncontrolled groundwater during excavation, Langan was called to review all work performed and provide recommendations for remedial action, which included additional testing to assess the stability of the underlying rock to serve as foundation for the structure. Related Links: A Day
Russell Unger, executive director of the New York Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, wants to make green building the norm in New York City. Russell Unger, Executive Director of the New York Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBCNY), conferring with Yetsuh Frank, Director of Programs. Unger’s days are filled with a mixture of green building events, in-person meetings, phone calls and mountains of emails. Related Links: Two Weeks in the Life of Langan International’s George Leventis A Day in the Life of ARUP Engineer Fiona Cousins To date, most green buildings in New York are high-end,
The Architecture, Construction and Engineering Mentor Program offers high-school students a chance to discover a range of opportunities in design and construction – and scholarships to help them achieve their goals. More than 50,000 high school students nationally have participated in the ACE Mentor Program since its inception in 1995, with 9,300 taking part in it this year. “This program has taken kids with an interest in building and shown them being an engineer is more than being a math geek,” says Denise Richardson, managing director of the General Contractors Association of New York. More than 50,000 high school students
Hill International has received construction management contracts for two publicly funded performing arts centers on two college campuses located in the tri-state area. The first is a $69 million, 30-month contract from the City University of New York to provide construction management on a performing arts center at Brooklyn College. The project will include the partial demolition of the existing Gershwin Theater, which along with the Whitman Theater is part of the original Brooklyn College Theater Complex built between 1953 and 1955 and the construction of a new 60,000-sq-ft multi-purpose theater. The new theater will consist of music rehearsal space,
The New York City Center has unveiled plans to modernize and restore its historic midtown theater with a project designed by Polshek Partnership Architects who was careful to respect its original Moorish-accented design. Originally constructed in 1923, the building was dedicated by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia 20 years later as Manhattan’s first performing arts center. Now, the center will undergo a series of upgrades including improved seating and sightlines and new amenities. A new canopy with additional exterior lighting and signage will also be added, subject to the approval of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. In the interior, the
As professional sports teams in dozens of markets around the nation built 63 new stadiums and arenas since 1990, the New York metropolitan area stuck to its aging facilities � until now. But the sudden surge of projects raises capacity questions. Related Links: The Stadium Specialists New York sports fans have been living in the past. While baseball fans across the country have been treated to trendy new stadiums over the last 15 years, Yankees and Mets fans have continued to watch paint peel at their aging, outdated ballparks. As state-of-the-art venues popped up around the National Football League, Jets
As sports fans in the New York City area have watched new stadiums and arenas pop up all over the country, they may not have known that many of the new baseball, football, and basketball venues – including major and minor league, as well as collegiate – were designed by Kansas City’s HOK Sport + Venue + Event. Related Links: Prime Time: New York Region Finally Kicks Off New Generation of Sports Facilities The architecture firm, which spun off in 1983 as a stand-alone affiliate of its parent firm, St. Louis-based Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, has dominated sports venue design
Like many large U.S. cities, Newark has spent the better part of the last 40 years struggling with unemployment, crime, and a flight of residents to the suburbs. The once-thriving metropolis mirrored the freefall that stalled similar-sized cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis. But Newark’s advantageous geographical position – near the heart of the greater New York City region and with one of the nation’s largest international ports – may give the city a leg up on the rest of the country’s struggling metropolitan areas that are attempting to revive themselves. In fact, the city of
New Jersey Department of Transportation recently broke ground on the second phase of a major replacement project on the Route 52 causeway near Atlantic City, improving a key link to the southern Jersey Shore tourist region. NJDOT spokesman Tim Greeley says the $251 million project has been boosted by $70 million in AARA funds and will create 500 new construction jobs throughout its three-year duration. The project will replace two existing lift bridges at each end of the causeway with fixed spans, as well as make additional improvements to linking roads. The second phase will also eventually create a new
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