AEC Pros

A world-class performing arts center harmonizes between town and gown, technology and energy-efficiency.

Located in Southern California’s San Fernando Valley, California State University’s Northridge campus (CSUN) is home to a new $125 million, 166,000-square-foot performing arts center. The Valley Performing Arts Center, certified LEED Gold, was designed by Minneapolis-based HGA Architects and Engineers, specialists in this facility type. The architects faced several challenges in creating a world-class center that incorporates advanced technologies without compromising energy efficiency and also redefines the campus edge while embracing the community.

A conversation between two Seattle women sparked action that is now changing the lives of hundreds of young women, as well as a country. Suzanne McGill and Shal Foster founded the Rwanda Girls Inititative and, in partnership with MulvannyG2 Architecture, built a school that is now in its second year of operation and is providing a replicable model for future educational development.

During a marathon training run in 2008, two longtime friends and moms from Seattle began talking about the high-quality educational opportunities available to their children simply because they were born in the United States. The conversation eventually led to a discussion about Africa, a continent where only 13% of young women achieve secondary education due to poverty, lack of opportunity, and obstacles such as household chores and safety concerns. Suzanne McGill and Shal Foster began to wonder: What can we do to make a difference and help to provide educational opportunities for these young African women?

BRB Architects’ design for a new campus center at Molloy College is representative of a larger trend in campus planning: the shift from a commuter-only campus to a 24/7 community.

A commuter college is a college in which most students do not live in dormitories but commute from homes nearby. Community colleges are a common type of commuter college, but many private and smaller colleges and universities also fall into this category. In the past, students of commuter colleges have been present on campus only briefly as they attended classes; they would go elsewhere else to eat, lounge, study, and socialize. Now the atmosphere of many commuter colleges mirrors that of a more traditional college or university environment, where students do not just go to college to attend class but may meet with other students on campus for collaborative projects or simply for recreational purposes. As students begin to spend more time on campus and academic and social lives become increasingly integrated, the need for structural changes on many campuses has become more apparent.

Beset by problems early on, Herzog and de Meuron's Barcelona Forum building has become an admired work of architecture as well as a destination spot, situated as it is next to a busy convention area.

Let’s face it – it’s not easy to stand out architecturally in Barcelona. The city’s architecture portfolio includes some of the most diverse and historical architectural projects in the world. Antoni Gaudí’s exquisite creations, like the Sagrada Família, Casa Batlló, and Casa Milà, have firmly established Barcelona’s reputation as an architectural haven. However, it’s not all Modernisme and Gothic revival in this Mediterranean coastal city. In fact, Barcelona’s 21st century architecture has been making its mark on the city’s impressive architectural scene for years.

The fifth and final article in Buildipedia’s series on the Riverside Museum takes a look at some of the less visible aspects of this spectacular building: the HVAC system, acoustic engineering, and more.

“Complex geometry” is a phrase that successfully sums up Zaha Hadid’s Riverside Museum of Transport and Travel in Glasgow, Scotland – particularly its roof plane. According to Rod Manson, partner and engineer with Buro Happold, “The roof was commonly referred to as the ‘fifth elevation’ on the project.” Its zigzag form, coupled with the vast size of the exhibition space beneath, created several challenges for the engineers tasked with integrating the building systems while ensuring a streamlined look, both inside and out. “It was very important to the architect that the MEP systems be invisible and blend in with the overall building form,” explains Manson. He shared a few of Buro Happold’s clever solutions.

In this article, fourth in a five-part series on Glasgow’s Riverside Museum, Event Communications showcases Glasgow’s transportation heritage in their design for the Riverside Museum’s historic collection.

Located along the banks of the River Clyde, Glasgow, Scotland is known for its rich heritage of international trade, transportation, engineering, and shipbuilding. In June of 2011, the city celebrated its vibrant history with the opening of the Riverside Museum of Transport and Travel, which features more than 3,000 objects, films, photographs, and personal testimonials dating as far back as the early 1700s.

Welcome to the On Site channel’s Construction Administration Column. When a construction observer gives instructions directly to a subcontractor, it can lead to contentious claims. David A. Todd, P.E., CPESC, discusses how to address the issue.

Columnist David A. Todd, P.E., CPESC, has 37 years of experience in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry and has performed much construction administration during that time. He will answer questions from our readers or from his own practice and will provide answers based on his understanding of the construction process.

Reviewing the basics of hollow metal doorframe installation.

DHA Design illuminates Glasgow’s Riverside Museum of Transport and Travel. This third article in Buildipedia’s five-part series on the Riverside Museum gives an in-depth look at the building’s lighting design.

In 2006, lighting consultancy DHA Design in London was appointed by exhibit firm Event Communications as the lighting designer for the iconic Riverside Museum of Transport in Glasgow, Scotland. For approximately three years, the two firms worked closely to design a lighting plan that would not only embrace architect Zaha Hadid’s overall vision and concept for the museum but also would complement the exhibition layout, which features more than 3,000 objects, films, photographs, and personal testimonials that reveal the vibrant history of the city of Glasgow.

Construction documents technology uses in-progress photos and video footage to offer a significant improvement over the traditional method of producing "as-built" drawings.

Construction documentation technology has multiplied the advantages of the traditional “as-built” process, in which a red pen and the memory of the construction superintendent were the primary tools. Along with (or instead of) a set of marked-up drawings as a final contract deliverable, a more comprehensive construction journal is possible with the new construction documentation technology, which electronically captures the “as-built” process and cross-references electronic drawings to digital photographs.

Contractor to Contractor: In this second of a two-part series, contractor-turned-homebuilder Fernando Pages Ruiz shares his knowledge on how to choose a mix, prep the site, and install porous pavement.

Although a blended, high-course aggregate/low-fines concrete (a concrete blend of Portland cement, 3/8" or pea gravel aggregate, and little to no sand) is a simple concept, the logistics of it are far from simple. For this highly porous concrete to provide a durable surface, conditions have to be almost perfect. The concrete requires an exact proportion of aggregates and water, special chemical admixtures, proper mixing during delivery, and expert placement. I recommend that if you decide to use pervious pavement in one of your projects, don’t do it yourself. Hire the very best paving contractor in your area and work with the largest and most sophisticated ready-mix supplier. Pervious pavement is not so much a concrete product as it is a paving system, including soil, sub-grade, and, of course, the mix.

Second in a five-part series on Glasgow’s Riverside Museum, this article examines the building's structural engineering. International engineering firm Buro Happold provided structural engineering services. Follow Buildipedia throughout the month of March to read in-depth coverage of the Riverside Museum's various design and engineering systems.

Zaha Hadid is known for designing buildings with far-out forms. The recently completed Riverside Museum in Glasgow, Scotland, lives up to this reputation, featuring a zig-zagging profile in plan and section. Although seeming to defy gravity with its column-free spans, the building conceals some savvy structural maneuvers beneath its sleek skin of zinc. Engineering giant Buro Happold was the wizard behind the curtain.