Your One Stop Tenant Improvement Shop
Many contractors’ balance sheets have been decimated. Excepting a small minority of the clever or the lucky, commercial and institutional contractors have downsized and lowered expectations. Reputation and years in business count for little when a GC can’t pay his subs, the trades can’t afford to fully man a project or pay their vendors. There is a new real-time urgency in gauging the ability of a contractor to fund work ... »»»
Healthy and comfortable workers can lead to healthy, productive buildings. From the moment workers sit down in the morning until they leave at the end of the day, it’s important to have them in a work station that best equips them for success. Ergonomic enhancements don’t have to mean refurbishing offices with top-of-the-line, executive-level chairs or overhauling the technology set-up ... »»»
For a guy whose name has lately been splashed all over the local media after being fired from his role as planning director of the city of Vancouver, Brent Toderian is eager to talk up his city. We met to talk and tour the city about a week after the news became official that Toderian’s contract had been ended “without cause,” a high profile change in city administration that has left some urbanist-types worried about the city’s future (and some developers in a state of relief or even celebration) ... »»»
The City of Vancouver issued a news release on January 31 stating: “Today, City Council endorsed and confirmed that Brent Toderian will be moving on from the position of Director of Planning at the City of Vancouver.” An international search will be conducted for a new director, according to the release. Murphy already has one suggestion for the chosen successor. “First of all, I think we need to look at what the existing zone capacity of the city is." ... »»»
Disaster stories in construction abound: unfinished homes and buildings, blown budgets, lawsuits and contractors fleeing the state. People often undervalue the knowledge required to design and build successfully. Just because you own a hammer and a cordless drill, the odds are construction professionals know more than you do. Evaluate them, hire them, trust them and let them build you a great home, where the real peace of mind begins. Here are a few tips to maintain your sanity ... »»»
To redress this lack of information, the architecture firm Perkins+Will went about creating a free, online database – called Transparency – of building materials that contain substances known or suspected to be harmful to health. The database is geared towards the consumers who most often specify what materials should be used in a building project: architects and interior designers ... »»»
Facility restrooms: People want to get in, get out and be on their way as quickly as possible. Facility managers and building owners may be surprised to learn that a restroom’s design and layout have a lot to do with how long it takes for individuals to use it. Through consideration of traffic flow and incorporation of key time-saving products, you can create an efficient restroom that keeps guests (and your facility!) moving ... »»»
Structuring workspace around how work is done allows for optimal utilization. Corporate real estate is a valuable asset, typically second only to payroll in expense. But if you're not fully utilizing that asset, you're essentially losing money. But how do you know if space is underutilized? How we work in an office environment is changing. Once bound to individual desks and cubicle spaces for solitary assignments, we are increasingly driven to work collaboratively and even remotely ... »»»
It never fails. In the first meeting with a potential client the question always comes up. "So...how much do you think this will cost?" We don't have a set of plans yet, we haven't made any solid decisions on finishes, we haven't reviewed the layout ideas with inspectors to see if there will be building code issues we will need to address but... they are curious about the price ... »»»
At some point, every building must bring in an outside contractor to do specialized work that in-house manpower cannot perform on a cost-effective basis, such as boiler blasting, concrete waterproofing, or ceiling painting. Such an option makes sense, as many operations do not enjoy the luxury of reassigning staff to do labor-intensive work that requires additional training. Nor does facility management have at its ready disposal the unique equipment required to perform major maintenance or upgrade projects ... »»»