TERRA Engineering, Ltd.’s Post

For this year’s final #BlackHistoryMonth community spotlight, KAI looks to the Arlington Grove Apartments project. Located in the City of St. Louis, this special project included the redevelopment of the William B. Ittner designed Arlington School, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Established under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register of Historic Places, managed by the National Park Service, aims to facilitate public and private initiatives in identifying, assessing, and safeguarding America's historical and archaeological assets. KAI was chosen by the St. Louis Housing Authority to perform Design-Build services and transform the block into a $34 million, 162,000 square foot mixed-income and mixed-finance residential development that includes 112 units of apartments, townhouses, and semi-detached housing as well as a mixed-use building and renovated school. The 91 construction housing units included a heavy emphasis on sustainability that positively impacts both the residents and the community for years to come. The opportunity to help provide people in underserved areas with a meaningful place to live and a starting point for a better future is something on which we’ve built our legacy. Our mission of transforming communities is part of every project we take part in and is a mission we strive for with each step we take into the future. Read more about this historic and meaningful project in the link below. https://lnkd.in/g-m-VSSp #TransformingCommunities #CommunityImpact #AEC #Design #Engineering #CommunityInvestment #Construction #CommunityDesign #ResidentialDesign #EducationDesign

Every month we like to choose a project to feature. This month, we’ve chosen Bloxham School, Stonehill House.   Stonehill House was nominated for ‘Project of the Year’ at OxPropFest Awards 2023.   The thriving independent coeducation school required a solution that would enable the school to achieve 40 boarding places, as well as a new common room and tutor room, to facilitate growth of the school. *Project challenge*   There are challenges to overcome with every project, and that is what makes each one unique and interesting to work on. Those challenges are one of the reasons we chose Bloxham School as our Project of the Month.   Key considerations: -        Located in a conservation area -        Grade II listed building -        Limited vehicular access -        Structural challenges -        Proximity to residential properties   Take a look at the journey and how the school achieved its vision: https://lnkd.in/eP75NzxE   #featuredproject #planning #bloxham #oxfordshire #planningpermission #school #conservationarea #listedbuilding Image credit: Clews Architects and Andy Marshall, Fotofacade

The project is part of Parkside of Old Town Phase III - Urbanize Chicago

As we step into the New Year, we find ourselves pausing to contemplate the past 12 months—celebrating the projects we've championed and their impact on diverse communities across the Greater Chicago Area. We are grateful to our clients and partners who helped to make these projects possible in 2023! 1.    Cultural Venues: Obama Presidential Center Building Envelope Commissioning, Obama Foundation 2.    Cultural Venues: McKee House Adaptive Reuse Study, Midwest SOARRING Foundation 3.    Government: High Efficiency Building Systems and Envelope Repairs, Forest Preserves of Cook County Headquarters 4.    Government: Fire Engine House Envelope Assessments, City of Chicago, Assets, Information and Services 5.    Higher Education: William Rainey Harper College Façade Repairs 6.    Hospitality: Goose Island Beer Company Brewpub at the Salt Shed 7.    K-12 Education: The Field School Historic Preservation and Tax Credit Consulting 8.    Residential: Multiple Building Exterior Wall Critical Examination and 10-year Plan, Chicago Housing Authority 9.    Transportation: Westmont Station Renovation, Metra Commuter Rail 10. Transportation: Montrose Blue Line Station All Stations Accessibility Program’s Renovation, Chicago Transit Authority We’re excited for all that 2024 has in store! #yearinreview #architecture #historicarchitecture #historicbuildings #buildingrehabilitation #historicrestoration #restoration #buildingrestoration #renovation #adaptivereuse #adaptivereusearchitecture #architecturaldesign #historicpreservation #savingplaces

They’re making it even taller. No offence to Oklahoma City but it doesn’t exactly have the hyper-dense urban dynamic known for producing supertall skyscrapers. Screw that, say Matteson Capital and AO architects. They unveiled an enormous skyscraper to much online debate and ridicule at the end of 2023, but have now increased its height from 533-metres to 581-metres and plan to make it the tallest building in the entire US, overtaking New York’s One World Trade Center. The big question jumping into your mind right now will be “why?” — and to be honest we’re not entirely sure. The tower is rising as part of a new mixed-use development called the Boardwalk at Bricktown that will include hotels, commercial, retail and residential spaces. In comments to other publishers, AO has explained that the tower is being designed in response to Oklahoma City’s growing population. The city’s current tallest skyscraper is the 257-metre Devon Tower. Take away the metric system and you realise that the height increase will bring the building up to 1,907 feet — a nod to the year that Oklahoma was granted statehood. If they wanted to go higher still, 2020 was the year that the Tiger King documentary featuring Oklahoma’s very own animal collector and independent presidential candidate Joe Exotic was released. The supertall skyscraper is yet to be approved. We’ll keep you up to date on the latest news as it develops. 📷 AO architects / Matteson Capital #architecture #construction #skyscraper #engineering #Oklahoma

If you are wondering about the process of DC's 11th Street Bridge Park project, the final designs have been released. Read this UrbanTurf article to learn more about the updates of the project. #DCDevelopment #DMVDesign

updating under what's next for Tremont:

The controversial Charlemont Drive, St Andrew apartment complex constructed by Mark Barnett, president of the state-owned National Water Commission, his wife Annette, and developer Phillip Smith."The 2018 Building Act, Section 18 requires... all applications to be accompanied by 'building design and plans' and the certification application by a 'building professional.' In the case of'small building work' (below 300 square meters), a 'building practitioner' may apply, except if the work is complex," I noted in my response to the question, "KSAMC should abide by the building act." Was 11 Charlemont Drive the result of the work of a professional building team? Why not, if not? In order to promote national awareness, the KSAMC is required under the 2018 Building Act to incorporate this response in their report. (Patricia Green, PhD, a registered architect) 

Infrastructure such as trails, parks, and public buildings can contribute positively to the ambience, quality of life, and positive vision of residents and visitors toward a community. Often, there can be objections to some design elements because some feel that the plain-gray version means less costs. Northeast Florida has many examples showing that art incorporated into public facilities creates an identity for residents, visitors, developers, and local businesses. Here are just a few.

Taking cues from how WA is able to scale up workers from our north-west resources or infrastructure projects, here is an accelerator idea to deliver longer-term, permanent living options into Western Australia faster, cheaper, and more sustainably. By providing short-term housing solutions (say 10-15 years) as construction and key worker villages across the Perth metropolitan area, this will then increase the supply of long-term, permanent, and affordable housing, as it will allow for more trades to flow into the industry and therefore more permanent homes to be built. The villages could be provided on under-utilised crown land, or on land in areas such as around new Metronet train stations that currently don’t meet private development hurdle targets to develop now - allowing the land to be put to good use straight away, then sold off and developed by industry in the future when returns improve. This idea could work anywhere else across the country, as long migration opportunities for international key construction workers are also supported by the Federal Government. As a consequence, more workers/construction labor force in the WA market means more competitive pricing of projects, faster delivery of housing, and keeping construction costs down. Furthermore, this is a step closer to being able to move from the 16,000 dwellings currently being delivered annually to the required 25,000 to meet our Federal housing targets. Living in these homes is a short-term accommodation option that will accelerate the delivery of suitable permanent housing options for workers and their families to live in, as more homes are delivered into the WA market and our rental vacancy increases. Let's take advantage of under-utilized land and increase the supply of long-term, affordable housing options. Thank you to Kim Macdonald and The West Australian for the chat.