Tag: Current Events

An Anniversary Post: Burj Khalifa in the (Smelly & Spectacular) News

By Lynda

As the world rings in 2013, The ProNet Blog is celebrating its one year anniversary. We had high hopes for the blog at the start of 2012, but those expectations have been exceeded in every way. In the last 12 months, we’ve posted 68 articles on architecture and architects, engineering and engineers, and the insurance industry that backs them up. This has allowed several thousand visitors to find the information they wanted and needed.

Burj Khalifa 2012 Fireworks. Photo via arabianbusiness.com.
Burj Khalifa 2012 Fireworks. Photo via arabianbusiness.com.

In the spirit of hopefulness that should belie the eve of any new year, we turn now to what got us off to such a great start last year, Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, and one which is dominating headlines this New Year’s Eve.

For starters, tonight’s fireworks display is highly anticipated. One Lebanese businessman is reported to have shelled out almost $20,000 to spend New Year’s Eve in a 7,000 sq-ft penthouse apartment in downtown Dubai with an excellent view of Burj Khalifa. He’s just one of the more than one million people expected to party-in the new year Dubai-style. Good news! For those of us who can’t quite make it downtown by midnight, we can watch the Burj Khalifa fireworks live on YouTube!

Besides, squeezing in close to the overwhelming structure might be better in theory than in fact, especially given Kate Ascher’s recent  interview with NPR’s Terry Gross. The author of The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper revealed that, as Gather.com put it, “Yes, the tallest structure built by man could also be considered to be the smelliest.”

GROSS: Well, it really illustrates one of the paradoxes of modern life, that we have these just incredible structures that reach, you know, that seem to reach to the sky and then in a place like Dubai you have a 24 hour long line of trucks waiting to dispose of the waste from those buildings.

ASCHER: Right. Well, you know, you have to remember that a place like Dubai really emerged in the last 50 years. It was a sleepy, you know, Bedouin town half a century ago. And what you do is when you bring in the world’s, you know, most sophisticated architects and engineers, you can literally build anything, including a building of 140 or 150 stories. But designing a municipal network of sewage treatment is in some ways more complex.

Supermodel & Superskyscraper. Photo via Emirates 24/7.
Supermodel & Superskyscraper. Photo via Emirates 24/7.

Maybe the smell explains why, earlier this month, supermodel Heidi Klum tweeted a picture of herself with the superskyscraper far, far, far off in the distance. “If you can see past my loud outfit….that is the worlds tallest building!”

Some people remain undeterred, however. An Emirati mountaineer, Saeed Al Memari, has been given the green light to climb the side of Burj Khalifa and perform a base jump from the top on January 1. Al Memari had originally wanted to make the jump on New Year’s Eve, but the fireworks spectacular would, apparently, have made the stunt “too dangerous.” Once the fireworks are done, it should be no problem. Call me crazy, but this sounds… crazy.

Meanwhile, last week, a 32-year-old Commando in the Royal Navy, fueled more by charity than by adrenaline, climbed more than 3,000 feet of rope to raise money for the Children’s Happy Hospital Fund. Sergeant Rob Garthland began the Burj Khalifa Rope Climb Challenge at 7:00 a.m. and “completed 110 climbs of a 30 foot rope in HMS Raleigh’s gymnasium” by 4:00 p.m. He hopes to raise about 1,000 GBP for the charity. Help him reach his goal by donating today!

We wish all of our readers a safe, celebratory New Year! And we hope you’ll visit us for more design industry resources, updates, and information in 2013.

100 Years of Zurich

By Lynda

zurich100years_adA treat for Architects, Engineers, and roller coaster enthusiasts alike.

In 2012, Zurich Insurance celebrated their 100th anniversary. A century spent insuring people, places, and things has given the company a fascinating historical perspective, from covering one of the rides at the Chicago World’s Fair to utilizing special training to help employees handle the first computers.

Visit 100 Years Insuring America, Zurich’s special anniversary web feature, to explore the last century through the eyes of one of the country’s leading insurance companies. Check out cool black and white photos, old advertisements, and a timeline organized by decade.

“Zurich first brought its knowledge and experience in workers’ compensation insurance from Switzerland to America in 1912 to help its customers take intelligent risks.” Today, “Zurich employs about 60,000 people serving customers in more than 170 countries.” Read more about Zurich at their website.

Learn more about Zurich’s insurance program for Design Professionals here. And if you have any questions or if you’re interested in obtaining a quote from Zurich, contact your local a/e ProNet broker today!

Expanding Employment Liability Risks for Design Firms

By Lynda

It’s true. The insurance industry has a reputation for bringing doom and gloom to an otherwise cheery outlook. Forgive us. Our business relies on our being able to spot negative trends in advance so that we can assist our clients in preparing for the worst. That doesn’t mean we don’t also hope for the best! Economic recovery is still ongoing, and we are thrilled that this means our architect and engineer clients are working and growing again.

That’s why, in our May 2012 post, To Hire or Not to Hire?, we mentioned some of the considerations and concerns facing design firms as they take on work that “could require additional hands,” including the need for accurate Professional Liability limits on their insurance policies… just a little worth-thinking-about-in-advance gloom.

Then this week, leading Professional Liability insurance provider, Victor O. Schinnerer, released its most recent Risk Management Guidelines, including an item on the Expanding Employment Liability Risks of recovering architecture and engineering firms.

“As firms downsized to face an economic downturn and restructured due to changing technology and new project delivery systems that required altered business models, employment practices claims rose. Add to that the challenges presented by the new generation of employees—many of whom consider their lives and the operations of their employers as public information, and a number of whom find the workplace to be a forum for their opinions—who are flooding the market during difficult economic times, and by returning military who must be accommodated in their former civilian positions or given preferential treatment, and firms are faced with a demanding and confusing employment perspective as they begin to staff up.”

Continue reading “Expanding Employment Liability Risks for Design Firms”

Holiday Gift Guide: Architect Andrew Skurman’s New Book

By Lynda

Homes designed by a/e ProNet client Andrew Skurman have been featured in a wide variety of publications, including Architectural Digest, The New York Times Magazine, Western Interiors, California Homes, San Francisco Magazine, This Old House, Luxe. Interiors + Design, House Beautiful, and Gentry Design. Work by the firm is also included in the books Napa Valley Style (2003) by Kathryn Masson and San Francisco Style (2004) by Diane Dorrans Saeks. And now, Andrew Skurman has a book of his own!

In August, Princeton Architectural Press published Contemporary Classical — The Architecture of Andrew Skurman.

Excerpted from Princeton’s website:

“Skurman draws on an extensive architectural library of European and American design with the precision of an eminent art historian, skillfully adapting timeless design elements to suit today’s lifestyles. Collaborating with well-respected contractors, interior and landscape designers, lighting and audiovisual experts, and other consultants, Skurman blends modern comfort and conveniences into traditional settings. Featuring gorgeous photography and exquisite watercolor studies, Contemporary Classical showcases an exceptional range of residential work, including projects in San Francisco (Nob Hill, Pacific Heights), the Newport Beach coast, and Northern California.”

ProNet first got wind of Skurman’s new publication from lifestyle blogger The Style Saloniste who said, in her “fall preview”:

“San Francisco architect Andrew Skurman’s new book is essential for the collections of architectural students, interior designers, potential clients, and everyone who wants to learn about classical architecture—the real thing.”

And the San Francisco Chronicle’s review of Contemporary Classical was a rave!

“One of the guilty pleasures in reading coffee-table books about stunning residences is trying to determine which homes are pictured. Locals will have fun guessing from among the 20 anonymously featured in a new book by one of San Francisco’s most respected architects. [The book] features 255 pages of colorful photos of residences inspired by his love of French chateaux and classical Greek and Roman forms….”

The book retails for $60.00, but can be purchased now on Amazon for $37.80, and would make an excellent gift for your favorite architect. Happy shopping!

Item contributed by Leslie Pancoast of a/e ProNet Member firm IOA Insurance Services in Pleasanton, California.

Resilient Architecture & the Work of Doris Kim Sung – VIDEO

By Lynda

“My big question for Architecture is, Why do humans have to adapt to buildings? And why can’t Architecture adapt to humans?”

Doris Kim Sung

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-Ms5qoMO3gQ]

It is in the very nature of a trend to move on past its point of highest enthusiasm and fizzle out in favor of something else. Architecture, like everything else, goes through these periods of interest and inclination. For a long time, Sustainable Architecture–environmentally conscious design–was considered the latest trend. Now that trend is evolving.

Resilient Architecture takes the ideas behind sustainable design a step further. Metal That Breathes is one of the latest evolutionary byproducts of the new trend, and is best evidenced by the work of Architect Doris Kim Sung of the University of Southern California.

Inspired by her original interest and education in Biology, Sung used so-called “smart metal” to design and build her Bloom installation in Los Angeles. As Sung pointed out in her recent TED talk, “[Skin is] the first line of defense for the [human] body… Our building skins should be more similar to human skin.”

One author on the Core77 design blog explained Sung’s work this way:

Sung has been experimenting with thermo-bimetals, two thin layers of metal that expand and contract, in response to temperature, at different rates. Laminating two like-sized sheets of different material together and subjecting them to a temperature change causes the sheet to curl up—and this phenomenon can be exploited to create a building that ingeniously shades itself as needed, requiring no external power.

Sounds crazy, no? And it’s possible that the American market is not yet ready to explore the possibilities of this breathing metal in its regular buildings. But as Sung mentioned in her recent TED talk, at least one Chinese developer is already including the thermo-bimetal screens in its design for a house. The screens “can actually open and close as the sun moves around on that surface,” said Sung. “[This implies] that we don’t need shutters, or drapes, or blinds anymore… we can control the amount of air conditioning you need inside that building.”

Watch Sung’s Metal That Breathes TED Talk (and hear about how the breathing capabilities of grasshoppers factor into her research!) here:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wvIyVZf3qZU#!]

And in case you’re wondering about the deeper implications of this kind of beyond-the-basic-sustainability philosophy, I’ll leave you with this quote from a recent Treehugger.com blog post entitled Building Green Is No Longer Enough, It is Time To Build Resilient:

It turns out that many of the strategies needed to achieve resilience–such as really well-insulated homes that will keep their occupants safe if the power goes out or interruptions in heating fuel occur–are exactly the same strategies we have been promoting for years in the green building movement. The solutions are largely the same, but the motivation is one of life-safety, rather than simply doing the right thing. We need to practice green building, because it will keep us safe–a powerful motivation–and this may be the way to finally achieve widespread adoption of such measures. — Alex Wilson, founder of BuildingGreen

a/e ProNet’s Annual Fall Meeting (Oct 3 – 5, 2012)

By Lynda

This week, 46 a/e ProNet members from 27 member agencies are expected to attend our annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois. Over the course of two and half days, twelve top-tier Professional Liability insurance companies will present to our membership. Each company will take this opportunity to announce policy form changes, new endorsements, and pricing expectations for the coming year; as well, they will alert us to industry trends surrounding claims and risk management.

Because a/e ProNet brokers are independent, that-is, not tied to any single insurance company, the insurance companies sending representatives to this event know that they are in competition for our business. It is in their best interest to make their programs as comprehensive and beneficial  to our clients as possible. The companies attending this event include: RLI, Travelers, Victor O. Schinnerer, Liberty, Beazley, Catlin, HCC, Hanover, Navigators, Insight, All Risks, and AXIS.

Our Thursday night reception for members and insurance company representatives will be held at a new venue this year: The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Rotunda at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Our clients are architects and engineers, and we appreciate what they do today, as well as what they have created in the past. We chose the Chicago Cultural Center, opened in 1897, because it is “one of the city’s most popular attractions and is considered one of the most comprehensive arts showcases in the United States.” In other words, it’s beautiful! A Chicago landmark, located in the Loop, across Michigan Avenue from Millennium Park, the GAR Memorial consists of a large hall and rotunda in the north wing of the building. The hall is “faced with deep green Vermont marble, broken by a series of arches for windows and mahogany doors. The rotunda features 30-foot walls of Knoxville pink marble, mosaic floor, and a fine, stained-glass dome in Renaissance pattern by the firm of Healy and Millet.”

If you have questions about this meeting, or a question about a/e ProNet, don’t hesitate to contact us. You can also find your local a/e ProNet broker through our website.

Blog Love: Schinnerer’s RM Blog

By Lynda

Time to return some Blog Love!

We are big fans of Victor O. Schinnerer’s Risk Management Blog. Several times a month, this long-standing professional liability insurance provider posts brief, timely, helpful articles that are relevant to the design industry. The emphasis is on risk management for design firms, and posts often include links back to pertinent studies and claims scenarios.

A few recent posts:

Building Reuse Provides Environmental Value — 27 August

“Earlier this year the National Trust for Historic Preservation released a report by its Preservation Green Lab that provides the most comprehensive analysis yet of the potential environmental benefits of retrofitting the existing building stock. The study, The Greenest Building: Quantifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse is available from the organization’s PreservationNation.org/Sustainability website.

“The report concludes that when comparing buildings of equivalent size and function, building reuse almost always offers environmental savings over demotion and new construction. The report states that it can take between 10 and 80 years for a new energy-efficient building to overcome, through efficient operations, the climate change impacts created by its constriction. For the majority of building types in different climates, the study points to 20 to 30 years of use to offset the initial carbon impacts from construction. The study recognizes that the environmental benefits of reuse are maximized when a minimum of new materials are used; renovation projects that require many new materials can reduce or even negate the benefits of reuse.” Continue reading… Continue reading “Blog Love: Schinnerer’s RM Blog”

South Coast Architects wins 2012 Gold Nugget Award

By Lynda

Congratulations to a/e ProNet client South Coast Architects of Newport Beach, CA on their Gold Nugget Grand Award for Best Custom Home over 10,000 sq. ft.

The winning design was the McKeever Residence (La Quinta, CA). South Coast Architects shares this acknowledgement with the Builder (Discovery), the Land Planner (SJA Landscape Architects), and the Interior Designer (McKeever & Company)

Judges’ Statement:

This home was built to evoke an ancient Roman village evolving through time. The Signature of this home is expansive courtyard that allows for interaction and indoor/ outdoor living from the majority of rooms in the home. These include the great room, dining area, kitchen, entry foyer, owner’s bedroom suite and second floor game room and guest suite. The home is uncompromising, both in its classic Italian architecture with Tuscan farmhouse influence and functional considerations to desert/golf lifestyle. A defined, three-level tower anchors the courtyard along with an inspiring, multiple-arched open air bridge flanked by two exterior stair cases linking the two distinct wings of this home. The classic designed pool becomes the central focal point of the courtyard. The result of the interaction of rooms with the courtyard creates the feeling of an ancient Italian village where the central courtyard becomes the gathering place. But this is only half the story, once you enter the home you are greeted by a breathtaking view of the golf course and picturesque desert mountains beyond the courtyard. The homes central living area is
uncompromising in its indoor/outdoor lifestyle, accentuated by a series of disappearing doors. With the drama of the courtyard, the indoor/outdoor living provided by the floor plan, the attention to uncompromising architectural detailing, this home has optimized golf/desert lifestyle living with a old world philosophy.

The 49th annual Gold Nugget Awards were handed out at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC) late last month at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. The conference,  according to the organization’s website, is a “gathering of America’s most prominent residential builders, developers, architects,” etc. The Gold Nugget Awards “honor creative achievements in architectural design and land use planning for residential, commercial and industrial projects.” You can download the full booklet of 2012 Gold Nugget Award winners at the PCBC website.