Case Studies

That Great Recession of a decade ago may have been a blessing in disguise for some farsighted companies, one of which has proven to be the architectural and design firm of Rottet Studio. Founded in 2008 by Lauren Rottet, whose professional designations include induction as an Inaugural Member of the Women in Design Hall of […]

In the early 1980s, long before ROADBOND EN 1 became an industry standard, Ervin Merritt was just trying to keep his family’s cotton farm afloat. As a side business, the elder Merritt had started developing liquid foliar fertilizers. One day, after applying a new blend to the soil, Merritt noticed something peculiar: not only had […]

As companies grow larger, there is often a danger that employees will feel disconnected with upper management. “I think everyone needs something that motivates them to come to work and be part of an organization,” says Stan Sugden, president of Ruekert & Mielke Inc. (R/M), a 71-year-old civil engineering firm with offices throughout Wisconsin and […]

Radon is not just odorless and colorless, it is wide-ranging and, next to tobacco, the leading cause of lung cancer. Left unattended to, it can also be bad business. So warns the leader of a Canadian company at the forefront of raising awareness and providing advanced technology measurement and mitigation solutions to deal with the […]

This summer, Rock River Electric will host a big event in an even bigger space. After 10 years of business and with a new 12,000-square-foot facility in Colona, Illinois, Rock River Electric certainly has reason to celebrate. Before moving into its new facility in late 2016, Rock River Electric was bursting at the seams of […]

In the winter of 1999, Jason Edens, an environmental graduate student at Bemidji State University, faced a terrifying prospect: he couldn’t afford to buy heating fuel. That would be bad news for anyone living in frigid northern Minnesota, where winter temperatures regularly fall into the single digits and below. And it’s not uncommon, as over […]

“Five hundred twenty four people in church last Sunday,” he says with a chuckle. “It’s a personal thing; you quantify things. It’s good for background in buying land and figuring out the sewer lines and everything else. Even though we have engineers on-site, it helps to be an engineer to oversee everything.” Given how well […]

There was a familiar challenge Renaissance 3 Architects P.C. undertook in 2004 when it was tapped to lead the team that would redesign and renovate the landmark Chevron Science Center that housed the University of Pittsburgh’s chemistry department. One of the largest chemistry teaching and research facilities at any American college or university, the 14-story […]

When altering landscapes for development in the Southeast, little things can add up. Case in point: the tiny silt particles that aren’t supposed to be discharged into waterways without treatment. Blake Thomas, the 32-year-old project manager of Reel Neet Erosion Control, remembers filling a jar with such water and setting it on a shelf in […]

Spanning Venice’s Grand Canal, the Rialto Bridge stands any test of time. Built by the 16th-century architect and engineer, Antonio da Ponte, its two stone ramps rise drawbridge-like from each bank, connecting to a central portico in the middle with arched windows looking out at the historic city. Critics’ predictions of structural collapse proved, to […]