Green Building Blues: The Hidden Risks of Sustainable Design Projects

Despite the economic recession, the number of green building projects across the U.S. continues to grow. Yet, as they assess the widening opportunities for building green, building owners, contractors, architects, engineers, and home builders express concern about a variety of risks that may be associated with these projects, including potential financial exposures, uncertainty about evolving regulatory standards and legal issues, validating the qualifications of consultants and subcontractors, and assessing the long-term performance of green building materials, among other potential issues. More ›


Ferrari World Constructability Assessment

In 2010 our team of international design and construction experts was invited to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi to perform Constructability Assessments on the nearly-completed Ferrari World Amusement Park. The park is the largest indoor amusement facility in the world with over 2 million square feet of area beneath the canopy. Ferrari World officially opened on 4 November 2010. The theme park is home to Formula Rossa, the world's fastest roller coaster. During Construction several of the features and amusements that were to be constructed under the canopy ran into space and utility conflicts as a result of multiple design teams working independently to meet the upcoming grand opening in November of 2010. More ›


Rebuilding After the Southern California Firestorms: A 15 Year Mission

In October of 1993 a series of wildfires swept across southern California stretching from Laguna to Malibu and spreading out through the valley areas of Altadena and Eaton Canyon. In all, thousands of acres were burned and hundreds of homes were lost. The victims of the "Firestorm" as it was called, faced the daunting task of rebuilding their homes and lives. At the time, I was volunteering at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo as the Director of the California Center for Construction Education for the College of Architecture and Environmental Design. The goal of my Center was to produce and deliver quality continuing education to the working professionals and practitioners within the construction industry. More ›