Podcast: Tracking Community Assets with GIS
Imagine a tool that tracks any feature in your community—whether that’s a lead waterline, a tree, a fire hydrant, or a building. What might that mean for your community? How much better could you plan for development or budget for improvements? What if, with the click of a button, that tool could help you communicate better with residents, secure funding, or share knowledge with a successor? What if that tool already exists and it’s affordable?
Podcast: Office Space for Manufacturing Plants
Take a moment to envision your manufacturing plant’s future state. What do the administrative environments look like? Are the offices open or enclosed? Where are the cafeterias or locker rooms? Today on The Discovery Phase Podcast, let’s dive into the plant features that will improve your team’s efficiency, boost collaboration, and increase employee retention.
Podcast: Student Involvement in the Design Process
So your school district is planning its next big construction project. But is your design partner getting input from all the stakeholders? No, not just parents or the board or even the teachers. Is your design partner involving students in the design process? If not, you’re missing out on some important insights.
GIS in Action: Clarkson Grad’s Role in Campus Optimization
In the fall of 2023, a senior at Clarkson University saw an opportunity to bridge his studies, career, and alma mater, and he took it. Patrick Hayes, now a Clarkson graduate, became C2AE’s GIS intern. Patrick’s responsibility was to assess room after room of Clarkson’s
Design Forecast 2024: K-12 Education
2023 is finally here! To celebrate, C2AE’s designers shared a few of the trends in K12 learning environments that they believe will carry into the new year and beyond.
Four Ways Pocket Parks Support Economic Development
At a relatively low cost to residents, your community can improve the overall appeal of neighborhoods, shopping districts, or more populous areas by transforming alleys and vacant lots into tiny oases. Here are four ways that pocket parks can enhance placemaking in your community and boost your economy.
Podcast: Library Space Utilization Assessments
Are books going away? How do people use a library in 2023? How can libraries adapt their spaces to meet today’s needs? An architect and interior designer weigh in.
Rising Construction Costs for Schools
Project manager Steve Jurczuk, AIA, LEED AP, has served educators for the length of his 28-year career. He’s seen the ebb and flow of construction costs over the decades, and he’s helped school districts weather the tough times. And, according to Steve, 2023 is one of the hard years. We sat down with Steve to understand why construction costs are on the rise and what school districts can do about it.
Three New Answers to Age-Old Public Works Questions
“Public works” is a broad term that can be difficult to define. In general, C2AE believes public works is about fostering vibrant, healthy communities.
Secrets to Writing a Great RFP
So you’re ready to start your next project. You’ll need to hire the right architecture and engineering firm, and that means it's time to write a request for qualifications or a request for proposals (RFQ/P).
Design Forecast 2023: K-12 Education
2023 is finally here! To celebrate, C2AE’s designers shared a few of the trends in K12 learning environments that they believe will carry into the new year and beyond.
USDA Funding for Rural Education
Did you know that there’s a funding program out there that almost any rural educator can use?
7 Library Design Trends for a Changing World
Libraries have always been a vital resource in their neighborhoods, evolving as community needs change. So what do cutting-edge libraries look like in the information age, especially post-pandemic?
Investing in What Talent Wants
Economic development experts know that thriving economies require three elements: business (which needs talent), talent (which wants place), and place (which needs business). Together, you get the economic development cycle.
Is LEED Building Certification Worth It?
It goes without saying that environmental impact and user health are important to the majority of building owners. But to what level? Many environmental decisions have a major price tag attached to them. Some have a quick return on investment and others don’t. Certain certification credits make more sense on some buildings than others. As an owner, should you only choose…
Improving the Climate Resiliency of Infrastructure
Increasing trends of extreme weather patterns across the country—from sweltering heat and droughts to deep freezes to hurricanes and flooding—will continue to have a major impact on our built infrastructure unless we make fundamental changes now.
Avoid Emergency Repairs: Manage Your Town’s Assets With GIS
Your town relies on a network of inter-related assets. Maybe you have a good idea of what condition some of these assets are in, but how do you effectively communicate that knowledge to others? How do you prioritize which assets to spend money on this year versus next? Which asset is closest to failure?