AE Works was recently awarded a contract to provide design and engineering services to expand existing mental health support operations on the Beckley VA Medical Center campus. Located in southern West Virginia, the Beckley VA Medical Center, a general medical and surgical facility with long-term care services, provides vital healthcare services to more than 38,000 veterans living throughout an 11-county area. Critical to supporting delivery of outpatient mental healthcare services, this new addition will expand the existing facility with 15,000 sf, slated for much needed office and administrative spaces. With services currently partially housed in temporary space, the new building will provide this important program with permanent facilities and a seamless space solution to support the delivery of counseling and outreach services.
Syl Damianos FAIA, architect and sculptor has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture and will join directors Louis D. Astorino, FAIA and John Eberhard FAIA. Headquartered in San Diego, the “mission of the Academy is to promote and advance knowledge that links neuroscience research to a growing understanding of human responses to the built environment.” Damianos has served as national president of The American Institute of Architects, Chancellor of the AIA College of Fellows and Chair of the American Architectural Foundation.
evolveEA has become a Certified B Corporation™. B Corporations are a new kind of company that uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. It’s like a LEED or Fair Trade certification, but actually applies to a business and the way its leadership and staff work toward social and environmental goals. There are currently over 900 Certified B Corporations from sixty industries, such as consulting, manufacturing, solar energy, and law. Some of the most recognizable B Corp certified brands include Etsy, Ben & Jerry’s, Patagonia and Seventh Generation.
James Construction’s Executive Vice President Craig Stevenson, LEED AP, has been awarded the designation of Certified Passive House Consultant by the Passive House Institute US. The certification attests to the ability to balance energy and design of envelope, as well as mechanical and other building systems to meet criteria set by the Passive House Building Energy Standard for North American climate zones.
Two designers from the Butler office of Stantec have coauthored a chapter in a new book about designing teaching laboratories. Published by the American Chemical Society, Innovations and Renovations: Designing the Teaching Laboratory highlights projects, best practices, and considerations for academic institutions embarking on a lab construction or renovation project. The Stantec chapter, penned by engineer Jim Eyth and architect Alex Wing, AIA (along with Cleveland-based colleague Michael Reagan, AIA) is titled “Pressure Point: Balancing the Competing Demands of Chemistry Lab Design,” and examines the options lab owners have for finding a balance among the sometimes competing factors of safety, space utilization, and energy efficiency during the design process. The chapter analyzes the pros, cons, and expected savings or concessions of different design choices and gives examples of ways to creatively use lab space to meet program goals, including local examples from Carnegie Mellon University and Penn State Behrend.