Case Studies September 2017

Every day it seems general contractors expect more, especially when it comes to the types of technology their subs must use for submittals, shop drawings, monthly billing, change order tracking, cloud-based project management and much more. While some companies may buckle under this pressure, or just outright resist, one subcontractor believes this is simply the […]

Wichita, Kansas, is in the heart of Tornado Alley, the swath of south-central U.S. states especially prone to the most severe wind and hailstorms. According to the Tornado History Project, since 1950, Kansas has seen more than 4,000 tornados. Hundreds of those have passed through Wichita. Then, there’s hail. According to the National Oceanic and […]

Many is the young person who, even after college, doesn’t know just what it is he or she wants to do. “I’ve got to find myself,” that new graduate might say. Then there are people like Eric Skott. The founder of Crestone Builders Inc. in Watertown, South Dakota, was just 16 when he found himself […]

Founded by Ted and Mary Clear as Fin Pan Inc. in 1975, T. Clear Corporation, based in Hamilton, Ohio, has built its estimable reputation on a foundation of providing high quality, energy efficient and durable products to all facets of the residential and commercial building markets. But there is much more to the T. Clear […]

After nearly 30 years of planning, and a mound of architectural concepts considered, rethought and reworked, Bennington College is preparing to renovate its historic flagship building, known as Commons. Located on the south side of the progressive Vermont liberal arts institution, the 45,000-square-foot, three-story red brick structure has been the center of campus life since […]

When temperatures in Utah hovered in the three digits for weeks on end this past summer, Skyline Electric Company brought ice machines to its work sites so crews would have access to cold water and remember to stay hydrated. That’s the kind of “little thing” Skyline Electric says it does to keep its crews safe, […]

When Bialosky Cleveland designed its new office, the 67-year-old multidisciplinary design firm had an opportunity to practice what it preaches, “building more with less.” Housed on one floor of a former automobile manufacturing facility in midtown Cleveland, the loft-like design studios embrace a minimalist, industrial aesthetic that is true to the building’s original character. By […]

For many professionals, especially the young up-and-comers who so drive the hi-tech, innovative and creative economies, inspiration may not easily spring up among the bland office cubicles where Dilbert is doomed to toil. Co-working spaces may better nurture that all-important start-up feel and foster a sense of community. Then again, traditional offices still serve a […]

History buffs have long been drawn to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, site of the 1863 Civil War battle that so turned the tide in the Union’s favor and inspired Abraham Lincoln’s famous address. At, of course, a high price. The casualty count could have filled a modern baseball stadium. About 50,000 men, fairly evenly divided between those […]

In 1859, amidst acres of 400-year-old trees in what is now the Glen Helen Nature Preserve in Yellow Springs, Ohio, Antioch College’s first president, Horace Mann, addressed the graduating class with these infamous words: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” Not unsurprisingly, this expectation has bred a campus culture […]