Due to the long hiatus while AIA Pittsburgh’s website underwent a massive redesign – including taking this magazine completely digital – Columns recognizes that some of the news sent to us by you, our members and readers, may have fallen through the cracks. If there is a press release or firm announcement that has not made it to this posting, please send it again to bspevack@aiapgh.org and accept our apologies as Columns grows and adjusts to this new format. Additionally, Columns will be publishing material on a more frequent schedule, and wants to hear from you! Send along those press releases, new hire announcements, ground breakings, and project completions (all with images, if available) and we will make sure they are posted here. Thank you.
A|E Works has been expanding, with the hiring of five new employees. Carly Khanna joins the firm as marketing director. In this role, Khanna plans on continuing the growth of the company by expanding their presence in Washington D.C. Scott Kraynak brings over 20 years of experience to his role as engineering director. Rick Witt has been hired as the director of business development. This is a new position within A|E Works that was created due to the firm’s rapid expansion. In this role, Witt will work to continue the company’s growth 
by developing strategic partnerships and business relationships in the Pittsburgh area as well as near the firm’s second office located in Washington D.C. Jason Dillaman joins the team as a project manager, bringing over 10 years of design and management experience. Dillaman, a registered architect, has worked on numerous high-profile sports and academic projects, notably the Olympic Sports Complex at the University of Pittsburgh. Tony Arzenti joins the engineering team as a senior electrical designer, bringing nearly two decades of proven engineering design experience.
Astorino has recently added three designs to its growing list of LEED® certified projects, bringing the firm’s number of LEED certified projects up to 17 (1 Platinum, 7 Gold, 7 Silver, and 2 Certified), totaling 4.3 million square feet. The new Retail Buildings at Bakery Square have been awarded LEED Silver. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) Systemwide Fare Collections Office & Warehouse has achieved LEED Gold under the LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations Rating System (LEED-NC), Version 2.2. Most recently, the Florida Atlantic University Culture & Society Building achieved LEED Gold under the LEED-NC v2.2 Rating System. The firm has also been recognized as one of America’s leading architecture firms in Architectural Record magazine. The firm was ranked number 137 on the magazine’s annual list of the top 250 architecture firms in North America, which are evaluated according to architectural revenue in the prior year.
Gateway Engineers, Inc. and Metro D.C.-based Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. have joined forces to deliver increased site and infrastructure solutions to oil and gas clients working primarily in the Appalachian Shale Basin. As a team, the firms will operate as Gateway Bowman, combining resources to serve the needs of new and existing clients. Gateway Bowman offers clients comprehensive design, permitting and development services from initial feasibility studies through the post-construction phase. Gateway Engineers has strong industry relationships and a rich history as a leading consultant in the region; Bowman Consulting expands the team’s technical services and geographic reach with a new Pittsburgh location complementing existing offices throughout the East Coast and Southwest.
Harchuck Construction has been working on two projects awarded in the Pittsburgh area. Ground was broken in July 2011 on a 10-story Springhill Suites in Mt. Lebanon and at a Dollar General retail site in Duquesne. Harchuck has also recently completed construction of a Dibella’s Old Fashioned Submarines and a Chipotle Mexican Grill, both in Market Square. The Springhill Suites project consists of a 3-story underground parking garage with seven stories of rooms above ground. The hotel will have 108 rooms when completed. The Dollar General site – a 15,100 sf retail building in Duquesne, PA – was opened this past autumn. The store occupies 9000 sf of the center with the remaining space not leased as yet. Penntex Ventures of Greensburg is the property owner.
SPRINGBOARD Design and graphic designer Brett Yasko teamed up in 2011 to design the Carnegie Museum of Art exhibition Teenie Harris: An American Story, which opened in late October and continues through April 2012. This photography exhibition presents almost 1,000 images of the legendary African American photographer Harris in a unique and multi-sensory experience, featuring lifesize kinetic projections, an original jazz soundtrack commissioned by the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, interactive hypermedia access to the images and related information, and an in-depth exploration of the photographer’s career and process.
Stantec has moved into the top 25 architectural firms in the United States, according to the Top 250 rankings recently published by Architectural Record magazine. Calculated using 2010 U.S.-based revenues, 2011’s list ranked Stantec at number 24, jumping 27 spots from its 51st place in 2009. The growth is largely due to the firm’s 2010 acquisitions of two large architecture firms, including Butler-based Burt Hill, whose 600 employees and 13 offices significantly boosted Stantec’s architecture practice in the U.S.