Studio Gang Architect’s recently completed interior design for one of the Aqua Tower’s nine park-level homes doubles as an art gallery featuring the work of seven Chicago artists. Aqua Parkhomes are three-story, three-bedroom, three-bath designs with 3,226 sq ft of interior living space and 2-two car garages that are priced from $1.6 million. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Co-curated by gallery-owner Mark Rowland, the finished Parkhome has pieces by Rodney Carswell, Jeffrey Cote, Dan Devening, Jin Lee, Christine Tarkowski, Fraser Taylor and Lonney White on display. The works by the seven artists, who were selected for their strong ties

The Architectural Woodwork Institute has awarded Lange Bros. Woodwork Co. Inc. of Milwaukee the Award of Excellence for the custom interior woodwork and furniture of Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun in Milwaukee. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The highly respected Award of Excellence program distinguishes the worlds finest custom architectural woodwork projects and acknowledges the efforts of the architects, design professionals and woodwork manufactures responsible for the projects successful completion. This recognition advances the project for the higher award, AWI’s “Standard of Excellence” award. Lange Bros. Woodwork Co. Inc co-owner and project manager Randy Lange worked closely with Phillip Katz-Project

Inovateus Solar LLC of South Bend, Ind., has been recognized as one of the 2010 Indiana Companies to Watch, an awards program presented by the Indiana Economic Development Corp., its Small Business Development Center network, Purdue University and the Edward Lowe Foundation. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Inovateus Solar is one of 41 companies from Indiana honored as outstanding second-stage companies during the third annual Indiana Companies to Watch awards program in Indianapolis. Companies to Watch is an awards program that celebrates Indiana privately held second-stage companies, typically those businesses that are past the startup phase, are well established

In 1947, a visionary named Eero Saarinen won an architectural competition to design what would become his best-known structure, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Photo: Jefferson National Expansion Memorial A landmark project will breathe new life into the riverfront park 630 ft below the top of the St. Louis Arch. In September, the winner of a similar competition will be revealed. This time, the landmark project will breathe new life into the riverfront park 630 ft below the top of Saarinen�s famous stainless steel, inverted catenary arch. Five international teams have made it to the finals of the juried

Ricker-Murphy Development LLC and Lake Tower Development LLC, an affiliate of the GE Pension Trust, have secured a $170 million construction loan for the completion of Lincoln Park 2520 in Chicago. Developers have secured a $170 million construction loan for the completion of Lincoln Park 2520 in Chicago. The loan is being provided by a consortium of lenders led by the Americas Division of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation with partnership between the Real Estate Finance and the Financial Institutions Departments. Lincoln Park 2520, a luxury condominium tower, located at 2520 N. Lakeview Ave., becomes one of the largest residential construction

The federally-established regional planning commission for seven counties around Chicago has unveiled its 30-year plan for developing the region. Randall S. Blankenhorn, executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, says it is �the first comprehensive plan for developing Chicago in the century since Daniel Burnham brought out his legendary Plan of Chicago.� The goal of CMAP�s GO TO 2040 plan is to guide development of seven counties in northeastern Illinois�Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will�with a coordinated regional effort. The region�s seven counties contain 284 municipalities in the metropolitan Chicago area. �The metropolitan area currently has

The 50-story, 215 W. Washington Street residential building in downtown Chicago is the first new high-rise residential building constructed in Chicago’s Loop in 15 years. Its owner, Jupiter Realty LLC, Chicago, says the building completed in July is also the first newly constructed high-rise in the Loop expected to receive LEED certification. The 675,000-sq-ft building houses a mix of retail space, parking, apartments and tenant amenities. It also features a 23,000-sq-ft outdoor garden and swimming pool atop the roof over part of the 14th floor. The design and structural construction team for the design-bid-build project included architect Solomon Cordwell Buenz;

Weak private sector demand and diminished state and local construction budgets have shrunk construction employment in Illinois. The state’s construction jobs totaled 198,500 in June, down 19,100 or 8.8% from the June 2009 figure of 217,600. “Nationwide, we’ve seen unprecedented levels of unemployment in our industry,” says Al Leitschuh, president of the Builders Association, the Chicago-area chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America. “We’ve seen shades of improvement here and there, but the drop in employment didn’t happen in one day and it’s not going to improve that way, either. “In Illinois, in particular, they’re still building schools, hospitals

The Christman Co. of Lansing, Mich., has been instrumental in converting an idled historic power plant on the Grand River in downtown Lansing, Mich., into the new national headquarters of Accident Fund Insurance Co. of America. Photo courtesy of Accident Fund Insurance Co. & The Christman Co.; Ike Lea, photographer. Lattice-boom crawler cranes were used to lift steel components in and out of the existing building through two 20- by 25-ft hatches in the ninth-floor roof. Photo courtesy of Accident Fund Insurance Co. & The Christman Co.; Ike Lea, photographer. A barge-mounted crane lifts materials to the Accident Fund jobsite.

It’s time again for Midwest Construction to rank the region’s top specialty contractors who work in trades ranging from mechanical, plumbing, HVAC and electrical, to excavating, concrete work, fire protection, demolition and glazing. Related Links: 2010 Top Specialty Contractors List This year, we’ll lead off with an overview of current conditions in the industry and thoughts from some of the ranked companies about how they continue to deal with the economic downturn. Ed Sullivan, vice president and chief economist for the Skokie, Ill.-based Portland Cement Association, expects little overall improvement in the economy anytime soon. Sullivan, who correctly predicted in