September 27, 2000

Design Detailings: Seminar to offer tips on design/build

A seminar about design/build and other alternative contracting methods will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 10. The event will be held at the Best Western Bellevue Inn from 8 a.m. to noon.

Keynote speaker Ron Leaders, a principal with the law firm Buckley & Leaders, will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of design/build. Methods of incorporating portions of successful design/build techniques with traditional design/bid/build contracting will be discussed and evaluated in a group setting. Registration is $95, which includes a continental breakfast and course materials. Enrollment must be made by Tuesday, Oct. 3. For more information, call the event sponsor, the Consulting Engineers Council of Washington, at (206) 623-5936.

A/E firms and the Internet Oct. 12

"Expanding your practice with the Internet," a one-day seminar led by architect and author Jonathan Cohen, will be held at Seattle University on Thursday, Oct. 12.

The seminar is aimed at design firm principals, planners, building owners and service providers to the architecture/engineering/construction industry. Cohen has written a new book, "Communication and Design with the Internet: A Guide for Architects, Planners and Building Professionals," which can be previewed online at http://www.communication-design.net. The registration fee of $299 includes a copy of the book.

Topics to be covered in the seminar include:

• Understanding the Internet's impact on your business

• Designing and managing Web sites

• Using graphics, CAD, GIS, 3-D modeling and multimedia

• Communicating with clients, partners, regulatory agencies and the public

• Managing project workflow with intranets and extranets

• Using the Web as a participatory space for planning and design

• Networked design organizations and the project information manager

• E-Commerce in the building industry

For more information, go to the Web site: http://www.communication-design.net/seminars.html. Register by calling (888) 861-6084.

New licensing board members named

Gov. Gary Locke has appointed Ying Fay Chan to the Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Chan is the founder and principal-in-charge of CES, a consulting firm in Olympia. His term ends on July 9, 2005.

The governor appointed Charles Warsinke to the Board of Registration for Landscape Architects. Warsinke is a registered landscape architect with more than 28 years of experience in design and planning, and is a principal with Susan Black and Associates, a Seattle firm. His term ends on Sept. 5, 2005.

These professional boards examine candidates for license or registration and investigate and hold hearings on violations of regulatory law, as well as recommend adoption of rules for administering the law.

Latest projects at Jensen/Fey

Jensen/Fey Architecture and Planning was recently awarded design for the expansion of the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle.

Located at 5140 40th Ave N.E., the new facility will provide 62 new units to meet the housing needs of children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Ten of the units will be designed for patients undergoing marrow transplant procedures.

Other projects in progress at Jensen/Fey include: the 91-unit Education Hills Townhomes and a 5,000-square-foot network operations center both located in Redmond, and the design of a 11,000-square-foot single-family home on Lake Sammamish.

The firm is also working on two projects in Seattle's Denny Triangle: a 32-floor, mixed-use high rise at Eighth Avenue and Olive Way currently in design, and The SpringHill Suites by Marriott, a 234-room hotel now under construction.

A 21-person architecture, planning and interior design firm, Seattle-based Jensen/Fey is in its fifth year of business.

GeoEngineers opens Boise office

Redmond-based GeoEngineers recently opened its ninth office. Located in Boise, Idaho, the new office adds another state to the firm's geographic service area, which includes Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington.

The firm had long-standing ties with a local engineer -- a relationship that proved to be the right mix of technical skills, local knowledge and experience in Idaho. That individual, Dave O'Day, was brought on board immediately as the firm's principal-in-charge of the Boise operation. O'Day's experience includes 30 years on technical projects throughout the western United States, the last 20 years of which have been in Idaho.

To support the Boise office, the firm has transferred Doug Argo from Bellingham. The new office is working on erosion protection, retaining structures, wastewater facilities and geotechnical and geologic studies related to residential neighborhoods and new developments.

Callison principal named to NAIOP forum

The National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) has named J. Mark Ludtka, a principal of Callison Architecture, to its national forum. NAIOP is a trade association made up of over 8,000 developers, owners, investors and related professionals. The national forums help members through networking and educational programs.

ASCE names civil engineering landmark

Volunteers for Outdoor Washington in Partnership and the U.S. Forest Service are dedicating a new trailhead in Wellington at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30.

The historic significance of the Iron Goat trail was first recognized in 1993 when the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) designated the Stevens Pass area as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

The Stevens Pass area has posed fascinating and unique challenges to civil engineers and builders since 1892 when eight switchbacks were carved out of the mountain to create the first crossing. The First Cascade Tunnel was opened in 1900, eliminating the need to negotiate sharp corners and dangerous switchbacks. For the past century, the main line of the Burlington Northern Railroad passing through Stevens Pass has been and continues to be an essential Northwest transportation link.

The ASCE National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark process recognizes historically significant national civil engineering projects. Nominated projects have to be at least 50 years old. The program is designed to increase public appreciation of civil engineering.

New marketing association formed

A new organization has been formed for Spokane-area marketing directors and business development specialists in the architecture, engineering and construction industry.

Marketing Associates of Spokane (MAS) is seeking to expand its membership base and is inviting design professionals to take advantage of its training and continuing education opportunities. For more information, contact MAS president Jennifer Rappe at (509) 328-2994., e-mail rappe@spokane.coffman.com or vice president Marty Orchard at (509) 838-8681, e-mail morchard@integrus.net.

Chicago tries to save historic bungalows

Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago last week announced a plan to help preserve the city's historic bungalows. Under the program, anyone who wants to purchase or rehabilitate a city-designated historic bungalow can obtain a loan that only requires a 3 percent down payment, with no origination, appraisal or application fees.

"For many Chicagoans, a bungalow was the first house -- and the only -- house they ever owned. For those of us who were raised in them, bungalows will always occupy a special place in our hearts," said Daley at a news conference.

Anyone who rehabilitates a historic bungalow will be eligible for up to $3,000 in energy conservation grants, free architectural assistance and expedited services from the city's building and zoning departments.

The city defines a historic bungalow as a single-family, 1 1/2-story, rectangular brick residence with a low-pitched , overhanging roof, full basement and generous windows. They generally have a brick face with stone trim and were built between 1910 and 1940. There are about 80,000 such homes in Chicago.

Houston corrosion firm sold to Scottish buyer

Houston-based InterCorr International, a corrosion testing, research and technical services firm, has been sold for an undisclosed sum to Integriti Solutions, a major U.K.-based supplier of corrosion management software and equipment. The combined revenue of the two privately owned companies is more than $5 million.

Established in 1987 as Diagnostics and Measuring Services, Integriti Solutions bases its business on what was then a new method of corrosion measurement developed at the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology, the patents for which are held by Integriti and an online evaluation software system called Mentor.

InterCorr was established in Houston in 1982 to provide contract technical services for corrosion testing and research, materials evaluation, qualification, consulting and failure analysis to industries experiencing problems with corrosion.

The companies operate in the same vertical sectors, notably oil and gas production; refining; chemicals; pipelines; gas plants; power generation; pulp and paper; and petrochemicals.

The combined companies will employ 70 people and have offices in Houston, Calgary, London, Aberdeen and Dingwall, Scotland.

Survey critiques design/build

A new survey from management consulting and publishing firm Zweig White & Associates concludes there is no evidence that design/build will ever become the project delivery method of choice in the design and construction industries.

"Firms need to realize that design/build hasn't turned into the panacea it was believed it would become for the design and construction industries. It has its place in the industry, but we can all stop waiting for the time when every job will be completed using design/build, because it's not coming," said Mark Zweig, president and CEO of the firm.

In the 1997 edition of the survey, firms projected a median 80 percent increase in the percentage of gross revenue they would derive from design/build projects in the following three years. The 2000 edition of the survey, however, reported that firms anticipate a more moderate 25 percent increase in the percentage of gross revenue to be derived from design/build work in the next three years.

The survey said that sluggish expansion into public-sector work has been one obstacle to the industry's acceptance design/build. Many firms consider public-sector work the key to the future growth of design/build, but laws banning public projects from being performed using design/build still abound on the federal, state and municipal levels. The higher level of risk involved with design/build is another factor cited for reluctance to embrace this new contracting approach.

The 2000 Design/Build Survey is available from the publisher for $345, plus $4 shipping and handling. To order, contact Zweig White & Associates, P.O. Box 8325, One Apple Hill Drive, Natick, MA 01760, telephone (508) 651-1559, fax (508) 653-6522, or e-mail info@zweigwhite.com.