Two ‘firsts’ for Sasaki and LEO A DALY

Holly St. Clair views technology as a tool for innovation. As the Chief Digital Officer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, she developed the Digital Service and Data Office and repositioned the state’s website. Now, she is leading a team of 16 architects, programmers, and product developers as Sasaki’s first Chief Technology Officer, responsible for that Boston-based firm’s advancements in technology through the design process.

She brings to her new job 13 years’ experience working for Boston’s Metropolitan Area Planning Council, first with its MetroData Center and then as Director of Data Services. St. Clair was recognized recently by American Business Journals as one of the country’s “100 Influencers to Watch.”

St. Clair tells BD+C that there is a “mentality shift” at Sasaki that prioritizes computational design as well as Virtual and Augmented Reality tools that “add value” to projects.

Ellen Mitchell-Kozack is LEO A DALY's Chief Sustainability Officer, a new position for that firm. Image: LEO A DALY.

LEO A DALY has chosen as its first Chief Sustainability Officer Ellen Mitchell-Kozack, AIA, LEED BD+C, WELL AP, SEED, where she is also a Vice President. Mitchell-Kovack will be based in Dallas.

Previously, Mitchell-Kozack was Senior VP and Director of Sustainability for HKS, where she founded Citizen HKS, an initiative that levered sustainable design to address humanitarian needs. She also managed the certifications of more than 60 LEED projects worldwide.

In 2015, BD+C recognized Mitchell-Kozack as one of its 40 under 40 leaders. Three years later, Boutique Design named her as one of its “Heroes and Mavericks.”

“As designers of the built environment, we have a responsibility to address the environmental and social impacts of our work. LEO A DALY is committed to deepening our commitment to the world’s most pressing environmental and social issues. I’m excited to be involved in leveraging the firm’s integrated design expertise to affect positive change,” she said in a prepared statement.

Investigators from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) say they have found no evidence of underground voids on the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse, according to a new NIST report. The team of investigators have studied the site’s subsurface conditions to determine if sinkholes or excessive settling of the pile foundations might have caused the collapse.

Office Buildings | Sep 14, 2023

New York office revamp by Kohn Pedersen Fox features new façade raising occupant comfort, reducing energy use

The modernization of a mid-century Midtown Manhattan office tower features a new façade intended to improve occupant comfort and reduce energy consumption. The building, at 666 Fifth Avenue, was originally designed by Carson & Lundin. First opened in November 1957 when it was considered cutting-edge, the original façade of the 500-foot-tall modernist skyscraper was highly inefficient by today’s energy efficiency standards.

The Tampa General Health Behavioral Health Hospital, JE Dunn, Stengel Hill Architecture

Healthcare Facilities | Sep 13, 2023

Florida’s first freestanding academic medical behavioral health hospital breaks ground in Tampa Bay

Construction kicked off recently on TGH Behavioral Health Hospital, Florida’s first freestanding academic medical behavioral health hospital. The joint venture partnership between Tampa General (a 1,040-bed facility) and Lifepoint Behavioral Health will provide a full range of inpatient and outpatient care in specialized units for pediatrics, adolescents, adults, and geriatrics, and fills a glaring medical need in the area.

Adaptive Reuse | Sep 13, 2023

Houston's first innovation district is established using adaptive reuse

Gensler's Vince Flickinger shares the firm's adaptive reuse of a Houston, Texas, department store-turned innovation hub.

Giants 400 | Sep 12, 2023

Top 75 Retail Sector Engineering and Engineering Architecture (EA) Firms for 2023

Kimley-Horn, Henderson Engineers, Jacobs, and EXP head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest retail building engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking factors revenue for all retail buildings work, including big box stores, cineplexes, entertainment centers, malls, restaurants, strip centers, and theme parks.

Giants 400 | Sep 11, 2023

Top 140 Retail Sector Architecture and Architecture Engineering (AE) Firms for 2023

Gensler, Arcadis, Core States Group, WD Partners, and NORR top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest retail sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking factors revenue for all retail buildings work, including big box stores, cineplexes, entertainment centers, malls, restaurants, strip centers, and theme parks.

Resiliency | Sep 11, 2023

FEMA names first communities for targeted assistance on hazards resilience

FEMA recently unveiled the initial designation of 483 census tracts that will be eligible for increased federal support to boost resilience to natural hazards and extreme weather. The action was the result of bipartisan legislation, the Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act of 2022. The law aims to help localities most at risk from the impacts of climate change to build resilience to natural hazards.

MFPRO+ Research | Sep 11, 2023

Conversions of multifamily dwellings to ‘mansions’ leading to dwindling affordable stock

Small multifamily homes have historically provided inexpensive housing for renters and buyers, but developers have converted many of them in recent decades into larger, single-family units. This has worsened the affordable housing crisis, say researchers.