The general contractor Barton Malow is taking its centennial celebration on the road.
This Friday, the company will make the first stop on its “Legacy Tour” in Detroit, a city where Barton Malow was founded by Carl Osborn Barton in 1924, and with which it has a long building history. (Its first contract was interior renovations for Michigan Bell Telephone Company.)
The company’s 100th anniversary exhibit, which includes special artifacts and interactive displays, is contained within a 42-ft truck, on the side of which reads Barton Malow’s tagline: “Building Today for a Better Tomorrow.”
(It takes about an hour to set up the stage and stairs to access the exhibit, says a company spokesman.)
Through the end of October, the truck is scheduled to make about 30 stops that will include 20 at Barton Malow projects and jobsites.
Celebrating employees and the Motor City
Ryan Maibach, the company’s fourth generation President and CEO, said in a prepared statement that Barton Malow’s anniversary is meant “to celebrate the contributions of the team members on our jobsites.” The Legacy Tour, he added, will “give team members the opportunity to experience this initiative.”
Barton Malow re-emphasizes its connection with Detroit on its website, which features a nearly 10-minute video where Maibach and three other team members—Kara Martini, Detroit office manager; Kevin Zeleji, Senior Director of Field Services; and Dannis Mitchell, Senior Director-Community Engagement—single out Detroit-area projects that Barton Malow built, including the historic restoration and rebuilding of the 130-room Shinola Hotel, which took two years to complete; and the construction of Little Caesars Arena, on which Barton Malow worked with Hunt and White Construction. Three-fifths of the contractors on the $862 million arena project were Detroit-based, said Mitchell.
“With every project we do, we’re partnering with the community,” said Zeleji on the video interview. Maibach, who has been the company’s president since 2011, also emphasized the importance of market diversity and expansion. Barton Malow launched its Mid-Atlantic operations in 1989, and is now building in 16 states nationwide and the Canadian province of Ontario. It serves nine building types.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Jan 22, 2015
Sales of apartment buildings hit record high in 2014
Investors bet big time on demand for rental properties over homeownership in 2014, when sales of apartment buildings hit a record $110.1 billion, or nearly 15% higher than the previous year.
| Jan 21, 2015
From technician to rainmaker: Making the leap in your career
Many AEC firms focus on training for the hard skills of the profession, not so much for business prowess, writes BD+C's David Barista.
Modular Building | Jan 21, 2015
Chinese company 3D prints six-story multifamily building
The building components were prefabricated piece by piece using a printer that is 7 meters tall, 10 meters wide, and 40 meters long.
| Jan 21, 2015
Tesla Motors starts construction on $5 billion battery plant in Nevada
Tesla Motors’ “gigafactory,” a $5 billion project on 980 acres in Sparks, Nev., could annually produce enough power for 500,000 electric cars.
| Jan 20, 2015
Daring hotel design scheme takes the shape of cut amethyst stone
The Dutch practice NL Architects designed a proposal for a chain of hotels shaped like a rock cut in half to reveal a gemstone inside.
| Jan 20, 2015
Avery Associates unveils plans for London's second-tallest tower
The 270-meter tower, dubbed the No. 1 Undershaft, will stand next to the city's "Cheesegrater" building.
| Jan 19, 2015
HAO unveils designs for a 3D movie museum in China
New York-based HAO has released designs for the proposed Bolong 3D Movie Museum & Mediatek in Tianjin.
| Jan 19, 2015
Gaudi’s first work outside Spain will be a chapel in Chile
Nearly 100 years after Antoni Gaudí’s death, Chile will begin constructing a chapel using his designs.
| Jan 19, 2015
Architecture for Humanity closes office, plans to file for bankruptcy
After more than 15 years of work, the nonprofit design group Architecture for Humanity has closed its San Francisco office and plans to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
| Jan 17, 2015
When is a train station not a train station? When it’s a performance venue
You can catch a train at Minneapolis’s new Target Field Station. You can also share in an experience. That’s what ‘Open Transit’ is all about.
