The United States Army has enough on its plate without having to worry about operating as a hotel manager, too.
TOP 30 MILITARY ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. HDR $24,971,124
2. Clark Nexsen $13,005,940
3. Guernsey $10,279,317
4. EwingCole $8,541,000
5. RS&H $8,100,000
6. Integrus Architecture $8,054,265
7. Leo A Daly $6,179,243
8. VOA Associates $4,600,000
9. Morris Architects $4,227,000
10. Emersion Design $4,095,748
TOP 40 MILITARY CONSTRUCTION FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. Fluor Corp. $823,562,993
2. Walsh Group, The $382,116,917
3. Hensel Phelps $340,673,000
4. Gilbane Building Co. $303,821,000
5. Lendlease $269,240,000
6. Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The $180,266,105
7. Balfour Beatty US $167,548,244
8. Turner Construction Co. $137,117,144
9. McCarthy Holdings $121,411,531
10. Haskell $81,252,088
TOP 40 MILITARY ENGINEERING FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. Jacobs $67,384,666
2. AECOM $50,000,000
3. Burns & McDonnell $41,464,789
4. Benham Design $15,481,228
5. Sherlock, Smith & Adams $14,439,000
6. Thornton Tomasetti $10,840,435
7. Jensen Hughes $8,068,991
8. Dewberry $5,353,171
9. RMF Engineering $5,028,000
10. Woolpert $4,083,332
On the heels of a U.S. Government Accountability Office report that showed that more than 80% of Army lodging needed repairs or replacement—at an estimated price tag of $1.8 billion over 20 years—the Army kicked its Privatization of Army Lodging (PAL) program into high gear.
By privatizing the construction, renovation, operation, maintenance, and ownership of its hotels (it is the only military branch to do so), the Army expects to cut that 20-year timetable down to eight years.
Lendlease is a key partner in the PAL program, serving as the exclusive developer and owner of the hotels (the Army owns the land). InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is the PAL hotel operator under the Holiday Inn Express brand (for renovated Army hotels) and Candlewood Suites name (for newly constructed hotels).
The relationship between the Department of Defense, the Army, Lendlease, and IHG has produced lodging that has far exceeded anything created before PAL went into effect. For instance, the 310-room extended-stay hotel built on Joint Base San Antonio, completed in 2014, is the largest Candlewood Suites in the world.
The recently completed 92-room Candlewood Suites at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., is the first cross-laminated timber structure on a U.S. military installation and the first all-CLT hotel under any ownership type in the country.
Lendlease’s use of CLT, which is made of several layers of pressed lumber board stacked in alternating directions, is not a surprise. The company has committed $1 billion over the next five years to its Sydney, Australia-based startup, Design Make, which is dedicated to manufacturing prefabricated building components such as CLT.
Despite some early obstacles, such as meeting the highly restrictive military Anti-Terrorism and Force Protection requirements, the Building Team found that CLT construction was a great solution for the Redstone Arsenal project. Testing showed that the material performed well against the ATFP requirements due to its ability to carry load in varying directions.
“Labor scarcity, labor cost issues, schedule concerns, and foundation issues are all challenges that make CLT an attractive proposition,” says Lendlease’s Murray Woolcock, Executive General Manager, Strategic Business Units.
The Candlewood Suites on Redstone Arsenal totals 62,688 sf and can house 492 occupants. The structure used 1,200 CLT wall panels and 200,000 CLT fasteners. It is the first PAL structure to use prefabricated bathroom pods, which further helped to accelerate the construction schedule and reduce on-site waste.
By using prefabricated CLT, the Candlewood Suites was erected in just 10 working weeks by an 11-person crew, a 37% speed increase compared to conventional framing materials and methods for a similar-sized structure, according to Lendlease.
The Redstone Arsenal hotel represents a small portion of the PAL program, which encompasses 12,492 guestrooms across 41 Army installations. Because CLT lends itself to structures with a repetitive room types, such as hotels, there is a good chance the Redstone Arsenal project will not be the only building on an Army base to utilize the material.
“Lendlease is currently evaluating numerous sites in our PAL portfolio to implement the use of CLT,” says Woolcock. “We are confident that CLT will gain traction in many areas, and Lendlease is well positioned to grow our platform off the back of the successful delivery of Redstone Arsenal.”
House approves $81B military Construction bill
With a vote of 277 to 147, the House on May 19 passed the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill, which, if enacted, would provide $81.6 billion in discretionary funding for the sectors in 2017. The total is $1.8 billion more than the 2016 budget, but $1.2 billion short of what President Obama requested.
Contained within the bill is funding to house, train, and equip military personnel, provide housing and services to military families, and maintain infrastructure.
Nearly 10% of the total ($7.9 billion) would be used for large- and small-scale military construction projects at military bases in the U.S. and abroad. The allocation marks a $305 million decrease from fiscal year 2016, but is $250 million more than the President’s request.
Other allocations of note:
• $172 million for Overseas Contingency Operations and European Reassurance Initiative projects involving overseas bases
• $1.3 billion for the construction, operation, and maintenance of military family housing; while meeting the President’s budget request, it is $84 million off the budgeted amount in FY2015
• $304 million for the construction and alteration of military medical facilities
• $673 million for construction projects at National Guard and Reserve facilities across 21 states
• $900 million for VA construction projects
• $246 million for safety improvements and infrastructure work at DOD Education Activities facilities.
More on the bill at: http://bit.ly/28L8vwb.
RETURN TO THE GIANTS 300 LANDING PAGE
Related Stories
| Jun 5, 2013
Survey of AE firms shows profits, hiring on the rise
A recent survey of more than 40 Boston-area architecture and engineering companies by consulting firm DiCicco, Gulman & Company confirms continued growth in business volume.
| Jun 5, 2013
USGBC: Free LEED certification for projects in new markets
In an effort to accelerate sustainable development around the world, the U.S. Green Building Council is offering free LEED certification to the first projects to certify in the 112 countries where LEED has yet to take root.
| Jun 4, 2013
SOM research project examines viability of timber-framed skyscraper
In a report released today, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill discussed the results of the Timber Tower Research Project: an examination of whether a viable 400-ft, 42-story building could be created with timber framing. The structural type could reduce the carbon footprint of tall buildings by up to 75%.
| Jun 4, 2013
Notification reinvented: SimplexGrinnell introduces revolutionary family of intelligent notification appliances
Simplex TrueAlert ES uses addressable technology to improve protection, simplify installation and reduce operating costs.
| Jun 3, 2013
6 residential projects named 'best in housing design' by AIA
The Via Verde mixed-use development in Bronx, N.Y., and a student housing complex in Seattle are among the winners of AIA's 2013 Housing Awards.
| Jun 3, 2013
Trifecta of awards recognize Vision/Rubenstein campus, Bayer Healthcare HQ
When Vision Equities, LLC and Rubenstein Partners purchased the 200-acre former Alcatel-Lucent campus in Whippany a little more than two years ago, the partnership recognized the property’s potential to serve as a benchmark infill revitalization for the State of New Jersey.
| May 31, 2013
Nation's first retrofitted zero-energy building opens in California
The new training facility for IBEW/NECA is the first commercial building retrofit designed to meet the U.S. Department of Energy’s requirements for a net-zero energy building.
| May 30, 2013
The Make It Right squabble: ‘How many trees did you plant today?’
A debate has been raging in the blogosphere over the last few months about an article in The New Republic, “If You Build It, They Might Not Come,” in which staff writer Lydia DePillis took Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation to task for botching its effort to revitalize the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.
| May 30, 2013
5 tips for running a successful BIM coordination meeting
BIM modeling tools are great, but if you can't run efficient, productive coordination meetings, the Building Team will never realize the benefits of true BIM coordination. Here are some helpful tips for making the most of coordination meetings.
| May 29, 2013
Realtors report positive trends in commercial real estate market
Realtors who practice commercial real estate have reported an increase in annual gross income for the third year in a row, signaling the market is on the road to recovery.
