Tradeline, Inc. filters and categorizes new-construction and industry news from regional and professional journals across the country. Here you will find new projects, products, and regulatory updates.
Industry News
Oregon Armory Converted to Theater Complex
The Oregon Armory in Portland will be renovated to house the Portland Center Stage theater company. With two theaters comprised of 599 and 200 seats, the renovation is slated for completion by November 2005. Designed by GBD Architects of Portland, the conversion project is a “laboratory of sustainability” which meets strict energy and environmental design standards including sustainably harvested woods and water-recycling systems. Landry and Bogan of Mountain View, Calif. are the theater design consultants.
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Develops High-Tech Operating Room
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburg has initiated construction on OR1, a high-tech operating room that will expand the hospital’s Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery. The $750,000-project, slated for completion in June 2004, is the first of its kind in Pennsylvania. OR1 will facilitate minimally invasive procedures using surgical equipment and tiny cameras, inserted through small incisions, which are electronically integrated and controlled by simple voice commands.
New Mexico Tech Expands Seismology Research Facility
The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology is planning a $1.5 million addition to its state-of-the-art seismology research facility, the IRIS/PASSCAL Instrument Center in Socorro, N.M. The 11,000-sf addition will house a newly established geophysics program with 20 geophysicists, engineers, and graduate research students engaged in the study of earthquakes. The project contractor is ESA Construction of Albuquerque. The facility is one of 14 New Mexico Tech construction projects slated for completion by summer of 2005.
Walt Disney World Plans YMCA Childcare Centers
Walt Disney World has selected the Scott Partnership Architecture Inc. to design two YMCA Childcare Centers. Located in Orlando, Fla., the 49,901-sf, $10-million project features playground settings with wood and trees, customized millwork, and a large indoor play space. The first center is currently under construction and is expected to reach completion in July 2004. The second center is in the permitting phase, with construction slated to conclude in fall 2004.
Portland State University Initiates Dormitory Seismic Upgrade
Portland State University (PSU) will initiate a $3.1-million seismic upgrade and earthquake mitigation project to the two dormitories, Ondine Residence Hall and Montgomery Court, on its Portland, Ore., campus. The project is funded by $2.3 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and $780,000 in matching funds from the state. PSU was granted the funds due to the facilities' high occupancy rate, susceptibility to earthquake damage, the existence of the Portland Hills fault, and damage incurred in the 1993 Scotts Mill earthquake.