When Joe Cavanaugh talks about Pearl Harbor, Bataan, Midway and other focal points of World War II in the Pacific Theater, it takes a moment to realize he isn’t referring to the actual historic locations but rather exhibits at the newly renovated National Museum of the Pacific War on East Main Street in downtown Fredericksburg. Photo: Richter Architects Richter Architects of San Antonio designed additions to the recently re-opened George H. W. Bush Gallery at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg. Related Links: CM-at-Risk Gives Nimitz More Bang for its Buck “At Pearl Harbor, there is an

The recently completed $15.5-million renovation of the Lorenzo de Zavala Archives and Library Building in Austin means documents and artifacts that illustrate Texas’ rich history are now better protected and more accessible to the public. Photo: Bailey Architects. An interior view of the Texas State Library Archives building, which recently underwent a renovation, the first major upgrade to the half-century-old building since its original construction. Photo: Bailey Architects. Harvey-Cleary’s CM-at-risk contract for the renovation of the archives and library building (shown, exterior) allowed the firm to coordinate early with the Texas Facilities Commission. “The Zavala building was the first central

Twenty-four families will receive a hand up from Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver when the $3.4-million Bails Townhome Community, the organization’s first green transit-oriented development, is complete in September. Related Links: A Place to Call Home Located in the Virginia Village neighborhood, within .5 mi of the Regional Transit Development’s light rail and city buses, Bails Townhome Community, on 1.3 acres at 4350 E. Bails St., will be everything TOD is supposed to be. “With the high focus on FasTracks development around the metro Denver area, we really think this is a good opportunity to show what a walkable

Explaining biomimicry—much less getting people to buy into the concept, framework or philosophy—can be difficult. On the one hand, it is intuitive and simplistic. On the other, it is radical compared to current design and building practices, and it has no objective standards of measurement, which makes its lofty, sustainability goals seem unattainable. Image: HOK The simple, core principle of biomimicry, a term popularized in science writer Janine Benyus’ 1997 book of the same name, is that in order to be more sustainable, designers should mimic nature. But more than a decade later, many in the industry are still unfamiliar

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and levee districts throughout Mississippi River Watershed are preparing for potentially imminent floods by drawing on a battery of strategies, the first of which is keeping a close watch on weather patterns, water levels and soil conditions. Photo: USACE Ringing sand boils with sandbags raises the head, lowers velocity and prevents erosion of internal levee material + Image Photo: USACE/New Orleans District Related Links: Saturated Watersheds and Stormy Forecast Worry Flood-Control Officials in the Heartland The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and levee districts throughout Mississippi River Watershed are preparing for potentially imminent floods

As spring approaches, officials from Minnesota to New Orleans are eyeing Mississippi River levees—already lapped by higher-than-normal water levels—and bracing for likely floods. Photo: USACE Sandbag rings (above) keep levees from eroding from within. Control structures like the Bonnet Carré Spillway (below) can relieve pressure. Photo: Angelle Bergeron Related Links: Flood Strategy Taps Proven Tools, But Will Rivers Play By The Rules? “There is an above-normal probability of major flooding on the Mississippi River this year, all the way up to Minnesota, but especially north of St. Louis,” says Bill Frederick, National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist and liaison with the

In a unanimous decision, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 11 that contractors are covered under their commercial general-liability policies for subcontractor work later found to be defective, adding momentum to a national battle being fought over whether insurers are actually providing coverage defined and paid for in those policies. The ruling has national implications “because the policies being written and enforced throughout the U.S. are identical to the policies the Mississippi court has addressed,” says Mike Kennedy, general counsel of the Associated General Contractors. “The court made it clear that insurance carriers should be held to the terms

In a unanimous decision, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled February 11 that contractors are covered under their commercial general liability policies for subcontractor work later found to be defective, adding momentum to a national battle being fought state by state over whether insurers are actually providing coverage defined and paid for in those policies. Related Links: Mississippi Insurance Case Could Reshape Contractor Policies “It has implications for the rest of the country because the policies being written and enforced throughout the U.S. are identical to the policies the Mississippi court has addressed,” says Mike Kennedy, general counsel of the Associated

The top transportation official in Louisiana, William D. Ankner, resigned on Feb. 5 amid controversy following the award of a design-build job to the contractor with the best technical proposal but the highest price among three bidders. The Louisiana Dept. of Transportation and Development awarded the $60-million contract on Jan. 29 to Boh Bros. Construction LLC for an Interstate 10 widening project in Baton Rouge. Ankner’s resignation came following a grueling, three-hour debate on Feb. 4 in the Louisiana Legislature’s joint meeting of the House and Senate transportation committees; there, lawmakers and contractors protested the award and whether the design-build

Despite an early-contractor-involvement award protest by Granite Construction, Watsonville, Calif., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects to start constructing an estimated $155-million storm-surge barrier on the Lake-Pontchartrain side of New Orleans this summer. Photo: USACE/HPO Lift and sector gates would close the north end of New Orleans’ Inner Harbor Navigation Canal against storm surge, closing another chink in defenses. Related Links: New Orleans Surge Barriers Take Shape “We expect the ECI will be awarded in the next two to three weeks, and under a best-case scenario, we’ll start construction in July,” says Eric Stricklin, the Corps’ project manager. The