Related Links: ENR: John Tocci ENR: Newsmakers Not long after John Tocci took the helm of the family business from his father in 1985, he saw an unsavory shift in the industry that made him consider the unthinkable: walking away from the company his grandfather had founded in 1922, Tocci & Sons, now Tocci Building Cos., Woburn, Mass."I never imagined the day would come that I would discourage my three sons from following in my footsteps, but somewhere after 1994, I had become completely disheartened by the lack of collaboration and how litigious the building process had become. I felt
Image courtesy of Mortenson/Power Mortenson/Power used laser scans to check the accuracy of BIM models on the $1-billion Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Related Links: http://enr.construction.com/technology/bim/2012/0430-annual-conference-hums-with-accelerating-uptake.asp Laser Scanning Hits Tipping Point http://enr.construction.com/technology/bim/2010/0609-virtualdesign-1.asp A Hospital Owner's Digital Mandate Most remodeling contractors still generate building information models for an existing structure from original construction drawings, and the inevitable deviations end up as field surprises that result in costly change orders and delays. Emerging 3D laser scanners streamline the workflow by taking the unknowns out of the equation."Laser scanning is the truth serum that fits into BIM," says Ken
The Utah Transit Authority is applying lessons learned from its first rail projects to create one of the country's largest and most aggressive rail expansions.
Despite forecasts for modest gains in construction activity and employment in Utah and Colorado next year, the region's top specialty contractors remain only "cautiously optimistic." They are hoping for the best and doing what they can to prepare for whatever lies ahead while they deal with lower margins and less work. The year "2011 was profitable but with significantly less revenue than our past 20-year average," says Kevin Larington, president at Denver mechancial contractor Trautman & Shreve, an EMCOR company. And "2012 looks to be about the same, with some greater opportunity breaking possibly in early 2013."While some companies have
Numerous efficiency features are being incorporated into the University of Utah's L.S. Skaggs Pharmacy Building, which will open next summer in Salt Lake City. For example, automated sashes and proximity sensors will reduce air-flow rates when laboratory hoods are not in use. Reclaimed laboratory wastewater will be used to flush toilets and urinals, and radiant-heated slabs will melt snow at the building's entrance. The entire 150,000-sq-ft complex, including the current building, will be named the L.S. Skaggs Pharmacy Institute after Leonard S. Skaggs Jr., the retail force behind such well-known grocery and drugstore chains as Acme, Safeway, Albertsons, Longs and
After more than two years, the $40-million terminal expansion at Gallatin Field Airport near Bozeman, Mont., is winding down. The expansion portion, which broke ground in May 2009, opened on time in August, and now the remodeling of the original building is under way. Completion is due by year-end, in time for the holiday rush and winter peak season. The project, led by Bozeman-based Martel Construction, is the largest terminal expansion project ever in Montana. A three-story addition more than doubles the terminal's size to nearly 200,000 sq ft from 75,000 sq ft. Currently, the airport serves about 750,000 passengers
Swedish home furnishings giant IKEA is putting the final touches on its first Colorado store, which will open in late July in Centennial—three months ahead of schedule. The project, which broke ground in May 2010, was originally slated to finish this fall, but IKEA construction manager Doug Wolfe credits the compressed time line to the coordination efforts performed by Centennial-based Saunders Construction.“It was a relatively tight site, and there was a lot going on at any given time,” Wolfe says. “At one point we had seven cranes on site, but everything ran smoothly. It also helped that we had a
The owner of the new Central Park Tower at 385 Interlocken Crescent in Broomfield�s Interlocken Business Park is creating a headquarters-style building in a multi-tenant setting. “We carefully considered input from brokers in the area and targeted a headquarters style early in the design process,” says Will Friend, vice president and regional director of Franklin Street Properties, the Boston-area commercial real estate investment company that owns Central Park Tower and also the towers at 380 and 390 Interlocken Crescent. “The finished product is a multi-tenant building with the style and amenities usually reserved for a headquarters building dedicated to a
Even in tough economic times, CH2M Hill continues to build its services and push into new markets. The Denver-based engineering giant that’s best known for its work in water and wastewater infrastructure—including the new $653-million Prairie Waters water-purification and recycling system for Aurora, Colo.—hasn’t let the post-recessionary economy slow its plans. Since its start in 1946, CH2M Hill has grown from a handful of employees working under one roof to roughly 23,000 people spread over five continents. Today, the employee-owned firm is a virtual “one-stop shop” for engineering and construction services, with a host of services spanning more than a
Solar energy projects continue to shine in Colorado, but there may be clouds on the horizon. The state’s solar market has seen impressive growth in recent years. Large commercial and utility-scale projects drove the growth, but the residential and midsize retrofit markets also stayed strong. On a national scale, the state remains a leader. It ranks fourth in solar installations behind California, New Jersey and Nevada, and second in solar jobs per capita, according to data compiled by the Solar Energy Industries Association and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. However, the pace appears to be slowing. Total capacity installed for