A Cleveland suburb opens a $31.7 million new middle school and renovated high school

Accommodating 1,283 students in grades 6-12, the Warrensville, Ohio school complex features flexible learning environments and offers programs ranging from culinary arts and firefighting training to e-sports.

MFPRO+ News

More permits for ADUs than single-family homes issued in San Diego

Popularity of granny flats growing in California

Codes and Standards

New York City code update changes definition of a major building

Changes affecting how construction projects in New York City are permitted will have significant impacts for contractors. On Dec. 11, the definition of a major building in the city’s code will change from 10 stories to seven, or 75 feet. The change will affect thousands more projects.

Adaptive Reuse

Detroit’s Michigan Central Station, centerpiece of innovation hub, opens

The recently opened Michigan Central Station in Detroit is the centerpiece of a 30-acre technology and cultural hub that will include development of urban transportation solutions. The six-year adaptive reuse project of the 640,000 sf historic station, created by the same architect as New York’s Grand Central Station, is the latest sign of a reinvigorating Detroit.

Aug 11, 2010

Spa resort in harmony with mountain setting

The Sparkling Hill Resort and Wellness Hotel in Vernon, B.C., looks as if it was chiseled out of bedrock and jutting from the mountainside. Designed by the Victoria, B.C., office of Cannon Design, the 240,000-sf resort has 152 guest rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and spa-like bathrooms, as well as a signature 20,000-sf whole-body wellness spa with treatment rooms designed to feel like they...

Aug 11, 2010

Expanding retail complex is LEED pre-certified

The Promenade at Coconut Creek in Broward County, Fla., a live-work-play shopping and lifestyle center, is being expanded by 105,000 sf. When phase II of the 335,000-sf project is complete, the facility will house 75 retailers, restaurants, and related services, making it one of the largest mixed-use projects in northern Broward County.

Aug 11, 2010

Thom Mayne unveils ‘floating cube’ design for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science

Calling it a “living educational tool featuring architecture inspired by nature and science,” Pritzker Prize Laureate Thom Mayne unveiled the schematic designs and building model for the Perot Museum of Nature & Science at Victory Park in Dallas. The $185 million, 180,000-sf structure is 170 feet tall—equivalent to approximately 14 stories—and is conceived as a large...

Aug 11, 2010

Medical office building planned in Fort Worth, Texas

Dallas-based TGS Architects has unveiled its design for the five-story, 130,000-sf Plaza Medical Office Building, planned for Fort Worth, Texas. The Class A development will include space for orthopedic care, surgery, breast center, diagnostic imaging, cardiovascular, and rehabilitation therapy services.

Aug 11, 2010

Recession hits office sector

The office vacancy rate plunged by 0.9% to 18.4% during the spring, and rental rates fell to levels more than 7% below those seen last year, according to BD+C Economist Jim Haughey. A number of large office markets, such as New York and San Francisco, saw vacancy levels reach 20%. Overall, net space rentals fell during the spring in every major office market except Pittsburgh.

Aug 11, 2010

Cost of HVAC equipment to remain flat in 2009, says Turner

While some manufacturers have announced slight increases in facilities equipment pricing for 2009, the average cost of equipment is expected to remain flat in 2009, according to the 2009 Turner Logistics Equipment Cost Index. However, equipment pricing could face increased pressure if there is a further decline in market demand.

Aug 11, 2010

CityCenter projects get LEED Gold

MGM Mirage and Infinity World Development have received LEED Gold certification for the first three CityCenter projects: the ARIA Resort hotel tower, ARIA Resort convention center and theater, and the Vdara Hotel (above). The CityCenter developers anticipate Gold or Silver LEED certification for the project's remaining developments, which include a Mandarin Oriental hotel, a 500,000-sf retail a...

Aug 11, 2010

BIG beats out Foster and Hadid in design competition for Kazakhstan's National Library

Invited as one of five pre-selected architect-led teams that included Lord Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid, Copenhagen-based BIG was awarded first prize in an international design competition for the new National Library in Astana, Kazakhstan. The 33,000-square-meter facility will be organized as a “circular loop of knowledge” that allows for clear, intuitive orientation of the vast co...

Aug 11, 2010

Connecticut high school gets a expansion and renovation

The Morganti Group, Danbury, Conn., is managing the construction of a $41 million addition and renovation project at Newtown (Conn.) High School. Designed by Fletcher Thompson, Shelton, Conn., the project consists of a 70,000-sf addition and 30,000 sf of renovations to the gymnasium and interior spaces.

Aug 11, 2010

Philadelphia cancer center seeks LEED certification

The New York office of Thornton Tomasetti provided structural engineering services for the Ruth and Raymond Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine in Philadelphia, a $232 million medical research center and advanced treatment center for cancer and cardiovascular disease. Designed by a joint venture of Perkins Eastman Architects and Rafael Vinõly Architects, the 340,000-sf facility will hous...