TOENJES Q: We want to improve the communication skills of our executives and some of our managers. I once heard about a large construction-management firm that took the unorthodox approach of hiring a theater company that offered communication-improvement services to business, in addition to the usual. That struck me as an innovative idea because it might be cost-effective. First, do you think something like that is a good way to save money or is it skimping? Beyond that, what is your assessment of executive communication skills? What ideas do you recommend to seek improvements? A: While the theatre certainly is

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has added the Chemetco site, a closed copper smelter in Hartford, Ill., and the Lake Calumet Cluster site in Chicago to the Superfund National Priorities List. Related Links: I-35W Bridge Receives PCA Design Excellence Award IIT Perfect Power Project Receives DOE Stimulus Funding Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex and uncontrolled hazardous waste sites in the U.S. The Chemetco site is on Illinois Route 3 in Madison County, about 2 mi south of Hartford. It was a secondary copper smelter from 1969 to 2001 before filing Chapter 7

The Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute recently announced the winners of its biennial 2010 CRSI Design Awards program. Related Links: Aqua Lands International Design Award HOK-Designed Terminal at Indianapolis International Earns Recognition RTKL-Designed Central DuPage Hospital Surpasses Halfway Point For more than 37 years, the CRSI Design Awards program has honored excellence in reinforced concrete structures and acknowledged its designers. The CRSI Design Awards program is open to architects, engineers, contractors and fabricators. Midwest winners are as follows: •The New I-35W Bridge, Minneapolis,; Minn. Submitted by FIGG, Tallahassee, Fla. Reinforcing bar fabricated by Simcote, Inc., St. Paul, Minn., and Gerdau Ameristeel,

The unique Aqua mixed-use tower at Lakeshore East in Chicago has captured the acclaimed international Emporis Skyscraper Award for 2009. Aqua is the first Chicago and third U.S. structure to win the Emporis Skyscraper Gold Award. Of particular note are Aqua’s balconies that flow around the tower like ocean waves. Related Links: Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute Announces 2010 Design Award Winners HOK-Designed Terminal at Indianapolis International Earns Recognition RTKL-Designed Central DuPage Hospital Surpasses Halfway Point The award is considered the world’s top honor for high-rise architecture and has been presented annually since 2000 to new skyscrapers “that show outstanding architectural

J.D. Power and Associates recently gave the HOK-designed Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal at the Indianapolis International Airport its highest marks in passenger satisfaction in a survey of 64 major airports. The HOK-designed Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal at the Indianapolis International Airport was the first designed with new security protocols following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Related Links: Aqua Lands International Design Award Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute Announces 2010 Design Award Winners RTKL-Designed Central DuPage Hospital Surpasses Halfway Point The $1.2 billion terminal earned 777 points – the most of any airport surveyed – in accessibility, baggage claim, check-in and

Marquette University and Opus North Corp. recently broke ground on a new five-story,115,000-sq-ft engineering facility called the Discovery Learning Complex. Marquette University’s Discovery Learning Complex will feature an innovative Discovery Learning Laboratory and a two-story engineering materials and structural testing laboratory, as well as other new teaching and research laboratories, common areas for students and office space. Related Links: Panduit Opens New World Headquarters Magellan Breaks Ground on Retail Center at Lakeshore East IESI Opens New Missouri Headquarters Opus North Corp. is the design-builder in tandem with Opus Architects & Engineers as the designer and architect of record. Hammel Green

IESI Corp. recently opened a new eco-friendly headquarters in St. Louis, Mo. Housing almost 80 employees, the 17,200-sq-ft building features office space, fleet service and wash bays, and a mezzanine area that will be used for future growth. Related Links: Marquette University, Opus North Break Ground on New Engineering Facility Panduit Opens New World Headquarters Magellan Breaks Ground on Retail Center at Lakeshore East The facility is the first waste hauling facility in Missouri to be built to achieve LEED certification. Showing green innovation, the service bay’s heating system will run on recycled oil from the company’s fleet, cutting down

Panduit recently opened a new world headquarters building in Tinley Park, Ill. The building is the realization of the Panduit Unified Physical InfrastructureSM (UPI) Vision and serves as a blueprint for the “building of the future.” Related Links: Marquette University, Opus North Break Ground on New Engineering Facility Magellan Breaks Ground on Retail Center at Lakeshore East IESI Opens New Missouri Headquarters The World Headquarters Building provides state-of-the-art visibility and control into all critical building systems, integrated and aligned under a single, unified, intelligent infrastructure. Designed to maximize sustainability, global collaboration and innovation, the WHQ will initially serve 800 employees

The new I-35W bridge in Minneapolis recently received an Award of Excellence from the Portland Cement Association at its 2010 PCA Concrete Bridge Conference held in Phoenix, Ariz. The National Concrete Bridge Council and the Federal Highway Administration sponsored the 2010 PCA Concrete Bridge Conference, where a jury of experts selected the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis as one of seven national winners. Related Links: IIT Perfect Power Project Receives DOE Stimulus Funding EPA Adds Illinois Sites to Superfund Priorities List To date, the I-35W bridge has received more than 25 regional and national awards. The National Concrete Bridge Council and

Aldridge Electric Inc. recently completed work on the third phase of the Illinois Institute of Technology’s (IIT) Perfect Power pilot project in Chicago, one of only nine Smart Grid projects selected last summer to receive Department of Energy stimulus funding. Related Links: I-35W Bridge Receives PCA Design Excellence Award EPA Adds Illinois Sites to Superfund Priorities List Once complete, the pioneer project guarantees continuous service or “perfect power” throughout the campus by creating redundancy and an intelligent electricity distribution system that interfaces with a campus-wide energy system controller. The Aldridge Electric crew worked weekends and off-campus hours to safely complete