CU, CCNY Launch Green Technology Center

The University of Colorado Boulder and City College of New York have created a joint research center for sustainable building technology. The Building Energy Smart Technologies (BEST) Center is a five-year initiative funded by the National Science Foundation to advance sustainable buildings and cities. 

Areas of focus range from HVAC manufacturing to smart glazing for windows, smart building controls, advanced insulation materials, new energy storage systems and improved air-quality systems. The center also will seek to promote the integration of renewables such as solar systems. 

The NSF grant will provide $1.5 million over five years, matched by industry associates for a total of at least $3 million. Ten industry partners already are on board with the initiative. 

CU Boulder will be leading the center, with CCNY as a partner site. The effort is focused on business collaboration, directing research into areas needed for the construction industry and building retrofits. 

The new center will operate under the NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers model. This setup is designed to help start-ups, large corporate partners and government agencies connect directly with university researchers to solve common research obstacles in a low-risk environment. 

Milender White Merges With Large Canadian Firm

Arvada-Colo.-based Milender White has joined the Graham Group of Cos. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Graham is an employee-owned construction solutions partner specializing in buildings, infrastructure, industrial and development and strategic initiatives, with 17 offices across North America.

Milender White officials say the merger is a springboard for the company’s growth and will deliver on many of MW’s strategic goals, including project diversity and expansion into new markets. Graham has more than 1,700 employees across North America. MW will continue to operate under its own brand, maintaining its existing systems, programs, locations and personnel. Its management and team will function as a subsidiary of Graham’s Buildings Division. 

GE Johnson, DPR Merge

Colorado Springs-based GE Johnson joined the DPR Construction family of companies on Sept. 30. Officials said that the merger offers both companies strategic growth and employee development opportunities. 

GE Johnson will continue to further its presence in the Mountain States by leveraging DPR’s global customer relationships. At the same time, employees of both firms will see increased career and growth opportunities, officials said.

For customers, it will be business as usual with GE Johnson. GE Johnson and sister firm H.W. Houston will maintain their brands, and GE Johnson will continue to operate as its own contracting entity. President & CEO Jim Johnson will remain in his role, along with other GE Johnson leaders. Other details about the merger, including financing, were not disclosed.

CEC Opens Infrastructure Hub in Billings, Mont.

CEC Facilities Group officially opened its newest location on Sept. 10 in Billings, Mont. The 2,600-sq-ft office, located at 5505 Abby Road, will house 10 permanent employees. The accompanying 7,200-sq-ft warehouse will store CEC’s equipment. An adjacent laydown yard will store additional equipment and fiber. Texas-based CEC performs MEP, audio-visual, telecom and long-haul fiber services. 

The new office and warehouse will support CEC’s ongoing long-haul fiber construction in the area. CEC, in partnership with KLJ, is underway with a three-year project to bring high-speed internet to nearly 44,000 homes and businesses in Montana. CEC’s teams will travel nearly 500 miles along highways, creeks, fields and mountains to bring high-speed data capabilities the underserved region. The project is the first of many like it expected in the area. The infrastructure bill currently before Congress could spur further high-speed internet growth throughout the nation.

Schweitzer Mountain Resort Hotel to Showcase Prefab Natural Design

Primary gathering spaces will feature exposed cross-laminated timber, including ceiling planes and glulam beams and columns to evoke a lodgelike aesthetic.
Photo courtesy of Schweitzer

Humbird, a 31-unit, 66,580-sq-ft, ski-in, ski-out hotel, will be Schweitzer’s new destination resort in Sandpoint, Idaho. The complex will leverage the properties of prefabricated natural materials and mass timber construction—noted for their beauty, sustainability and structural efficiency—to bring together tradition and innovative materials in a contemporary design. 

The hotel takes advantage of the steep site by nestling into a notch cut into the slope, creating space for a covered parking garage. The exterior will be shaped by board-formed concrete, exposed wood structure, metal panels and large expanses of glass. Primary gathering spaces will feature exposed cross-laminated timber, including ceiling planes and glulam beams and columns to evoke a lodge-like look and feel.  

Guest rooms will be arranged over three floors offering views of nearby Lake Pend Oreille. Amenities include a 50-seat restaurant, co-working space and a small fitness facility. An outdoor terrace on the third floor will feature an oversized hot tub with views of the mountains and the lake below.  

National Health Care Design Firm Acquires Utah’s Dixon+Associates

E4H Environments for Health Architecture, the nation’s largest architectural design and planning firm focused exclusively on health care and the health science and technology industries, has acquired Dixon + Associates, based in Salt Lake City. 

E4H employs more than 200 architects and planners across the U.S. and has completed more than 9,000 health care projects in the past four decades. 
The firm’s portfolio includes more than $6 billion in projects, encompassing community hospitals, academic medical centers, life science laboratories, R&D spaces, children’s hospitals, mental health facilities, ambulatory care centers, rehabilitation and assisted-living facilities and medical office buildings.
The merger establishes regional leadership to create synergy across a national base of clients and projects. 

“We have built a reputation in the Salt Lake City region over the last 30 years and are excited to expand our services across the broader Intermountain West as a part of the E4H team,” says David Dixon, founder of Dixon+Associates.

GTC Awarded Contracts To Build Three New Fire Stations in Colorado

GTC (Golden Triangle Construction) has been awarded three new fire station projects over the past few months. They include the North Metro Fire Station No. 61 in Broomfield, designed by Allred and Associates; Loveland Fire Station No. 10 in Johnstown, designed by Belford Watkins Group; and Canon City Fire Station No. 3, also designed by Allred and Associates.