Photo by Al Hurley Photo by Al Hurley Related Links: Best of the Best 2014 Central Florida Resort Project Transforms Former Mining Site With the nearest gas station some 20 minutes away and the closest town even farther, going out to lunch during construction of this luxury golf, spa and nature retreat was “next to impossible,” according to its builder, PCL Construction Services Inc. So the team set up an affordable, on-site cook shack and frequently hosted celebratory cookouts for workers and consultants to eat, gather and hang out.The resort’s out-of-the-way location—it is one of the more remote projects of
Related Links: Best of the Best 2014 The $4.35-million renovation of the Mission-style Tolman-Bacher house transformed a 1920s-era residence into a modern, 25,000-sq-ft compound with office and event space for Caltech's board and its Keck Institute for Space Studies.Repurposing the home required structural stabilization; upgrading interior finishes and room accessibility; and installing energy-efficient building systems. An integrated audiovisual system allows for control of lighting, projection equipment and blackout capabilities from a podium or digital tablet.When issues with the controls threatened the energy efficiency of a still-experimental variable-refrigerant-flow mechanical system, the contractor and mechanical engineer helped school facility managers troubleshoot causes
Related Links: Best of the Best 2014 Architectural Record profile of Novartis Campus Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. transformed its headquarters campus in New Jersey to create a world-class work environment to foster collaboration and innovation.In 24 months, NPC completed 1.2 million sq ft of construction, including the creation of three distinctive office buildings, the largest topped with a 300-kW solar array; a net zero-energy visitor reception center; reconstruction of the campus entrance; and construction of a 10-level parking garage for 1,700 vehicles. World-renowned architectural firms contributed signature designs, but collaboration and construction coordination also was in a class by itself.Despite the
Photo Courtesy of John Linden New construction at The Wallis in Beverly Hills included the 500-seat proscenium-arch theater. Photo Courtesy of John Linden Coupling the modernist-style new construction to the preserved 1930s U.S. Post Office required laser-scanned 3D models and precision work. Related Links: Best of the Best 2014 The Wallis The Annenberg Foundation During construction of a modernist-style, 500-seat theater to adjoin a preserved and repurposed 1930s U.S. Post Office, the project team was challenged with fitting together the structures, both physically and aesthetically.Best Projects’ judges say the resulting performing-arts venue and arts-education center in the heart of Beverly
Photo Courtesy of McCarthy Building Cos. Photo Courtesy of McCarthy Building Cos. Related Links: Best of the Best 2014 The safety plan implemented for the 279,000-sq-ft, six-story Banner Estrella hospital tower in Phoenix by McCarthy Building Cos. not only established new safety standards that are now used on all of the firm’s projects, but also contributed to zero lost-time injuries and a recordable incident rate of 0.47 during more than 850,000 worker hours."Each McCarthy jobsite has a site-specific safety plan, and it is not that we do it and review once a year. It is taken seriously and adjusted constantly,"
Photo by Andrew Rugge / Arch Photo Photo by Andrew Rugge / Arch Photo Related Links: Best of the Best 2014 Among the many structures destroyed by Superstorm Sandy were dozens of public lifeguard and comfort stations at several New York City beaches. This $106-million project consisted of the design and deployment of 35 steel-framed, waterproof modular structures to 15 sites in Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island within a five-month period.To meet this aggressive schedule, each building was constructed as a factory-assembled module. A flexible design accommodates various interior arrangements, including comfort and lifeguard stations. The modules, which are generally
Related Links: Best of the Best 2014 Best Overall Intermountain Project of 2014 NREL Energy Lab Could Help Expand U.S. Power Grid The 148,000-sq-ft Energy Innovation Laboratory houses Idaho National Laboratory's research and development programs. The three-story EIL provides reconfigurable, open-floor lab space and state-of-the-art equipment to encourage collaboration among INL researchers, students and partners who are working to modernize America's nuclear-energy systems. It also provides a venue for visiting scientists to work with INL researchers and engineers on innovative solutions to challenges in advanced clean energy.The EIL project team initially sought to achieve LEED Gold, but close collaboration with
Courtesy Canton, Mass., PD Youth hockey team evacuated Canton, Mass., rink 15 seconds before section of roof collapsed. The harsh winter of 2015 is taking a toll on the roofs of New England.At about 7:15 a.m. on Feb. 28, the Norwood Nuggets youth hockey team were filing onto the Metropolis Ice Hockey Rink in Canton, Mass., for practice when they heard a snap, followed by another. Immediately, a coach yelled for everyone to leave the ice and exit the building. About 15 seconds later, a portion of the roof fell.A blast of air pressure propelled a coach across the rink,
Image Courtesy of Middle East Development LLC. Construction of a $1-billion, 540-meter-tall tower in Casablanca, Morocco, is tentatively planned to commence in June. The planned tower would be tallest in Africa. Construction of a $1-billion, 540-meter-tall tower in Casablanca, Morocco, is tentatively planned to commence in June, bringing the prospect for superseding South Africa’s 223-m Carlton Centre in Johannesburg city as the tallest structure in Africa.However, project manager Amedee Santalo says the developer, Middle East Development LLC, has yet to put final touches on a deal with the Moroccan government, and with the tower being such a huge project, “it
Rendering by Safdie Architects Waterfall will be fed by rainwater draining from the atrium roof of the indoor garden. Rendering by Safdie Architects Glass-covered centerpiece of Changi Airport, which will link terminals and other services, will be both a retail mall and a public attraction. The architect for the 1.3-million-sq-ft landside centerpiece of Singapore's Changi Airport—a combination mall and glass-covered public garden—decided to take advantage of the area's daily rainfall by designing a roof that will drain water into the center of the indoor garden, creating a 40-m-tall waterfall that will also help cool the voluminous space, says Safdie Architects.The
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