High-Profile Blog Articles and commentary from high-profile.com

Rocky Hill, CT – Kelly O’Brien, Project Manager at Petra Construction, North Haven, CT, was named the recipient of the “2013 Woman of Accomplishment” award by Professional Women in Construction – Connecticut Chapter (PWC-CT).  This is the fourth annual award presentation; Ms. O’Brien received the honor on April 2, 2013, in a ceremony held during a PWC-CT monthly meeting and professional development program at the Sheraton in Rocky Hill, CT.  During the same ceremony, Susan Shelby, FSMPS, CPSM, President & CEO of Rhino Public Relations LLC, and Angela Cahill, AIA, LEED, Associate Principal of Fletcher Thompson Architects, were named recipients of the “2013 Women on the Rise” awards.

PWC-CT supports education in the fields of architecture, construction and engineering, and recognizes ongoing professional excellence with these two annual awards.  The “Woman of Accomplishment” award, instituted by PWC-CT in 2010, is designed to honor a woman who has been working in the A/E/C industry for at least 15 years, and who exemplifies outstanding professional achievement, performance and contributions within her field of endeavor.  The “Woman on the Rise” award is given each year to a promising professional in the fields of architecture, engineering or construction.

Kelly O’Brien, the “2013 Woman of Accomplishment”, received her pre-architecture B.A. from the University of Connecticut, Storrs, where she was on the Dean’s List.  She has over 17 years of project management experience, including crisis management, and oversight of large-scale multi-state operational initiatives.  In her current capacity as Project Manager for Petra Construction, she oversees scheduling, budgeting, tracking and management of projects from initial project planning through completion, and has worked on projects at Stamford Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, and Yale-New Haven .  Ms. O’Brien holds an ASHE Healthcare Construction Certification, and an OSHA Safety Certification.

Susan Shelby, “2013 Woman on The Rise”, received her B.A. in International Relations from American University; she holds a Certificate in European Studies from Universite Libre de Bruxelles.  She established Rhino Public Relations in 2004; prior to that she had established a solid reputation as a marketing and corporate communications professional, providing strategic planning, crisis communication and relationship management for a number of prominent architectural and public relations firms.  Ms. Shelby is a past president of SMPS Boston (Society for Marketing Professional Services); her past awards include “Entrepreneur of the Year” from NEWiRE, and “Top 10 PR Specialist” from Women’s Business Boston.

Angela Cahill, “2013 Woman on The Rise”, received her BArch from The Catholic University of America, from which she graduated Summa Cum Laude.  She also studied Architectural History, Theory & Design at Temple University in Rome, Italy.  She was an Adjunct Professor for University of Hartford for nine years, and currently serves as a Design Juror for undergraduate, graduate and thesis design juries.  She is on the Advisory Board of the ACE Mentor Program, and is an active member of AIA CT (American Institute of Architects).  As Associate Principal at Fletcher Thompson, Ms. Cahill leads the firm in K-12 Educational projects. She also pursues college and university projects, and government projects with a specialty in LEED projects and Library Design.

Founded in 1980, Professional Women in Construction is a national non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization committed to advancing professional, entrepreneurial and managerial opportunities for women and other “non-traditional” populations in construction and related industries.  Members of the PWC-CT represent all major disciplines within our industry, and are drawn from Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  PWC-CT programs present the latest industry topics, and provide networking and business development opportunities for members and guests. Membership is open to women and men, private companies and public agencies actively engaged in the design / construction / real estate development fields, and businesses supplying goods and services to the industry.

Foxborough, Massachusetts – Kaestle Boos Associates, Inc. recently announced that Larry Trim has joined the firm as senior architect.  He is a registered architect with over twenty years of experience.  Based in Kaestle Boos’s Foxborough, MA, office, Mr. Trim will take a leading role in business development and project management efforts in the K-12 and Higher Education markets in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  He will also continue to serve on the Board of

Directors for the Thundermist Health Center, Bayside YMCA and ACE Mentor Program in Rhode Mr. Trim was previously with Kaestle Boos for eight years serving as project manager on several large K-12 educational facilities throughout Massachusetts.  Most recently, he held the role of Project Manager at Ed Wojcik Architect, Ltd. in Providence, Rhode Island.

Framingham, MA – Rand Worldwide (OTCBB: RWWI) recently announced that its IMAGINiT Technologies division has released the 2014 versions of IMAGINiT Clarity, IMAGINiT Clarity LT and IMAGINiT Clarity Workshare. These three web-based collaboration tools also include new and improved features.

Designed to extend the value of the Autodesk Revit Server platform, IMAGINiT Clarity and Clarity LT enhance control of Revit Server set-up, automate repetitive tasks and securely provide valuable data to non-Revit users.

For architectural, engineering and construction firms that do not use Autodesk Revit Server, IMAGINiT Clarity Workshare improves the traditional file-based work sharing approach and fully automates numerous time consuming Revit software related tasks.

“Our IMAGINiT Clarity product line has our customers covered – regardless whether their BIM team is using Revit or Revit Server,” says Bob Heeg, executive vice president at IMAGINiT Technologies.  “The combination of listening to customer feedback, keeping pace with the latest Autodesk releases and always finding enhancements to provide added value is IMAGINiT’s winning combination.”

“We’re getting a lot of mileage out of Clarity for our Government and Medical facility projects,” stated Jason Gardner, BIM manager at Hoefer Wysocki Architects. “Once the model is ready, the ease-of-use and speed with which we can get information to our clients and principals is nearly instantaneous. Something that used to take us hours upon hours to do, now happens automatically in the background because our team has set up the project models with Clarity and we’re able to keep our principals and clients happy and informed throughout the design process,” concluded Gardner.

“We started using IMAGINiT Clarity for a hospital project in South America,” commented Clay Starr, associate at RTKL Associates Inc. Starr continues, “The timing was great as we needed to provide datasheets to the client, and that’s a very time consuming effort. After we confirmed the accuracy of the data, even translating it into Spanish, we used Clarity to generate over 1,700 room datasheets in a short amount of time. We’re excited about the upcoming enhancements and will consider expanding its use across our practice.”

Each of these three web-based collaboration tools provide task automation, project reporting, system monitoring and project level security to provide easy sharing of BIM data inside organizations and amongst external partners.

In addition to offering file-based project sharing as well as support for Revit Server 2013 and 2014, IMAGINiT Clarity and Clarity LT have numerous new and improved features. The 2014 version of IMAGINiT Clarity Workshare has also received extensive improvements which have also been based largely on customer feedback.

Concord, NH – North Branch Construction of Concord recently put together a clothing and housewares drive for the non-profit organization Families in Transition. This “Families Helping Families” initiative was developed by Lead Project Manager Assistant Carol Card in an effort to encourage North Branch’s employees to donate clothing and other items they no longer need from their homes during spring cleaning. Both field and office employees and their families participated and a North Branch truckload of donated goods ranging from books to baby clothes was delivered to the Families in Transition location at Bicentennial Square in Concord.

North Branch has completed four buildings for Families in Transition, a local agency that provides affordable intermediate housing and extensive social service programs to families in need. Two of the buildings are located in Concord and the other two in Manchester.

Needham, MA – Construction Coordinators, Inc. (CCI) recently announced that it has completed the interior renovation of Rosie’s Bakery in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The 1,200 SF storefront, which is one of four bakeries in the popular Boston-based chain, now offers a more modern, café-like experience for customers.

Working with architecture firm Bergmeyer Associates, CCI oversaw the renovations to the shop, which include a new ceiling, furniture, coolers, and bakery display cases. The fresh, open design, which retains the company’s signature pink and lime color palette, allows customers to view the Rosie’s Bakery team while they decorate cakes and retrieve baked goods from the ovens.

“By working with CCI, we were able to transform our Chestnut Hill location into a more modern and comfortable space without having to close our business for more than three weeks,” said Judy Rosenberg, owner of Rosie’s Bakery. “Despite an incredibly aggressive construction schedule, CCI was responsive and fully committed to the project at hand, which helped ensure that our business would be back online as quickly as possible. The overall result is an updated and inviting setting that allows us to continue our 39-year legacy of providing fresh baked goods to the Greater Boston community.”

Cambridge, MA – Grafton High School and Symmes Maini & McKee Associates/SMMA were honored with a Project of Distinction award by the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) at the association’s northeast regional conference. Opened last September, the 187,000 square foot Grafton High campus is designed to support a variety of learning styles while fostering essential career skills including collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving.

According to SMMA Principal Philip Poinelli FAIA, the design and its integration of technology is part of a far-reaching shift away from from traditional teacher-focused models of education towards a more personalized student-centric model.“The design of Grafton High dramatically departs from the familiar school environments most of us picture when we think of high school,” he said. “The school uses non-traditional spaces for teaching and learning such as corridors, large and small group instruction environments as well as the outdoor classroom. The classrooms feature four teaching walls and multiple learning zones to offer all kinds of flexibility for learning beyond the traditional stand up and lecture orientation.”

As part of this shift, every student received a new iPad tablet last September to provide instant access to the school’s digital teaching tools and wireless educational network. This 1:1 technology initiative, named to describe a dedicated mobile device for each student, is a fast-growing trend in secondary and higher education.

During the design phase, students and faculty were heavily involved in the discussion of how technology could be used to improve learning and enhance school wide communication. Teachers were provided laptops and an iPad and completed a year of preparation, curriculum revisions and professional development to ensure success of the program.

Education spaces and classrooms are based on a forward-thinking philosophy with flexible clusters creating small learning communities sharing common spaces for projects and interdisciplinary work. Three primary community spaces – a gymnasium, auditorium/theater and the library are linked to classrooms and common spaces by a central commons at the heart of the school. The Commons also connects to exterior campus destinations including the stadium and outdoor dining and open-air classrooms.

In awarding the School this honor, the CEFPI jury described the program as one that “clearly reinforces student-centric learning.” They cited how well “a large school was effectively broken down into distinct learning communities, with opportunities for real-time learning everywhere.”

The new $73 million Grafton High School accommodates 900 students with a flexible design expandable to 1200 students projected for this growing community by 2030.

Boston – The May meeting of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association was the annual Leadership and Scholarship meeting. The keynote presenter was the former United States Congressman Barney Frank.

First elected to represent Massachusetts in 1980 Congressman Frank is know as a superb legislator and a pragmatic politician whose sharp intellect and sense of humor made him one of the most influential and colorful figures in Washington. While in congress Frank worked to adjust America’s spending priorities by providing aid to local communities and building affordable rental housing for low income people.  He also led the fight against discrimination, championed the interests the poor, the underprivileged and the vulnerable. Prior to his retirement Congressman Frank won re-election to 12 terms by consistently, wide margins.

As Chair of the House Financial Services Committee from 2007 until 2011, the Congressman was instrumental in crafting a compromise bill to stem the tide of home mortgage foreclosures, as well as the subsequent $550 billion rescue plan. He worked to adopt a sweeping set of financial regulations aimed at preventing a recurrence of this crisis and was a key author of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. He also led the passage of the Credit Cardholder’ Bill of Rights Act.

Franks’ remarks were centered around the theme that the United States is “over committed” in the rest of the world and as such, too much is asked of our military thus leading to the requisite over spending by the federal government in supporting our presence around the world. In presenting his thoughts regarding the current challenges confronting  both federal and state governments  and also addressing questions for the attendees,  Frank demonstrated his ability to simplify the issues in an entertaining a witty way.

Receiving the CFMA of Massachusetts Scholarships this year were Katherine Dougherty, Northeastern University; Brian Fannon, Boston College; Tyler Hoffman, University of San Diego; Miller Huffman, also at Northeastern University, and; Gina Conti, University of Rhode Island.