Article toolbar With tight budgets and financing issues putting the squeeze on base-building projects during the recession, lingering opportunities in the renovation market have proved to be a lifeline for some contractors trying to keep crews working. Although analysts note that the renovation market was not immune from the economic downturn, the option of renovating or rehabilitating existing facilities has proved viable for some owners with immediate needs and limited funds. Image Courtesy Of Aislinn Weidele/Polshek Partnership Architects Picture Perfect Gilbane is overseeing a $50-million renovation and expansion at the Brooklyn Museum “By and large, it has to do with
With a $215-million budget, the rehabilitation of a two-mile stretch of Route 18 in New Brunswick, N.J., was the largest project in the history of the N.J. Department of Transportation when it broke ground in March 2005. One of the state’s most congested corridors, the route saw 85,000 motorists daily and is a critical connection to Rutgers University, the world headquarters of Johnson & Johnson, three major hospitals and the New Brunswick Station rail lines. Photo Courtesy Of The Conti Group Related Links: Best of 2010 Given the project’s complexity and impact on the local community, team members carried out
Design of the $31 million Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC) at SUNY Stony Brook, N.Y., is the ultimate example of an institution practicing what it preaches. Related Links: Best of 2010 “In a nutshell this building walks the walk and talks the talk,” says Barbara Chernow, Stony Brook’s vice president for facilities and services. AERTC, located at Stony Brook’s Research and Development Park adjacent to the campus, is the centerpiece of a partnership among academic institutions, research institutions, energy providers, and corporations created to develop advanced sustainable energy and storage technologies. Flad Architects, New York, teamed with Stony
Related Links: New Meadowlands Stadium High-Tech Extra Points No element of football and construction is more similar than the importance of teamwork. Protecting the quarterback and not leaving a wide receiver vulnerable for a vicious tackle on a reception are basic football tenets that aim to prevent injuries. But the project team on the New Meadowlands Stadium went farther than the standard practices when it tackled the topic of safety for workers on the $1.6 billion project. The team used a multi-layered plan to inculcate and reinforce safety thinking at every step of the project, starting with mandatory drug tests
The master plan New York’s Lincoln Center decided to undertake in early 2000s required opening up the campus of performing arts centers and increasing engagement with the city at large. The renovation and expansion of the Juilliard School, which is, in addition to a performing arts school, also a place of study in multiple disciplines, was a particularly challenging project. But long before the team started analysis on all the different acoustical needs of the existing 1969 building and the additional 39,000 sq ft of space, the approach was laid down that would guide the entire capital plan. Photo Courtesy
With its highly-sustainable design and luxury finishes, The Lucida is a first-of-its-kind condominium on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The 20-story 500,000-sq-ft building represents the redevelopment of 11 contaminated Brownfield lots. Multiple “green” aspects were added to the building’s design, which is seeking LEED-NC Silver certification. A strict air quality plan was enforced, including the use of low VOC paints, glues and carpets and air-tight sealing of units. More than 20% recycled and regional material content was used and more than 80% of construction waste was recycled. Water runoff is reduced by the courtyard garden, which uses a lightweight soil that
Every construction project demands collaboration, but the new $178 million, 1,800-student Union City High School in Union City, N.J., offers an elaborate example. It was among many notable aspects – such as a three-acre artificial turf field atop the 360,000-sq-ft structure’s roof – earning it recognition as the region’s top K-12 Education project. Photo Courtesy of Epic Management Related Links: Best of 2010 The partnership paired the school district, which needed to replace two aging high schools, with a huge supporting cast: the state, which chose the effort as a high-profile but much scrutinized “demonstration project”; the city, which wanted
The new 70,000-sq-ft 3-story Westchester Community College Gateway Center was developed to help the college bolster its focus on workforce development. The V-shaped building, designed by Ennead Architects of New York City, includes state-of-the-art classrooms, seminar rooms, a lecture hall, computer labs and language labs equipped with leading-edge technology to integrate students learning English into the fabric of the campus. Photo: STV Related Links: Best of 2010 The building consists of two wings that embrace a green courtyard and are connected by a multi-story transparent glass lobby and welcome center. A horizontal zinc column forms the upper level of the
Any museum aims to be as popular as the hotspot about which oft-quoted baseball Hall of Fame legend Yogi Berra once said, “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” Photo Courtesy Of ikon.5 Architects Related Links: Best of 2010 But often people standing outside Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center on the campus of Montclair State University in Little Falls, N.J., didn’t know what it was. “A lot of people thought we were sort of a storage shed next to the [minor league baseball] stadium,” says Dave Kaplan, the museum’s director. That dilemma inspired a $1.5 million effort to transform
With its $61 million New York–Presbyterian Hospital–Greenberg 14 Addition Bovis Lend Lease LMB of New York raised the roof on the acute-care facility’s fully functioning Greenberg patient tower. Photo: Bovis Lend Lease Related Links: Best of 2010 “There was a constant juggling of services and shutdowns—power and fire alarm,” says Maggi Sedlis Goldstein, owner’s representative with Sedlis Goldstein Group of New York for New York-Presbyterian. “It was the most interesting project I have ever worked on.” The existing 12-story Greenberg Pavilion was originally constructed by Bovis to accommodate a future expansion. When the hospital determined it needed more space, it
RSS