Based in Holmdel, N.J., PWC-NJ represents a broad spectrum of the construction industry, from general contractors, professional services and engineering to vendor/suppliers/distributors/manufacturers and owners, developers and owner representatives. Membership is open to professionals of all genders, private companies, public agencies in construction and allied industries.

Since joining MBE/DBE/SBE-certified DIG in 2014, Samant has quickly risen through the ranks to the role of principal, managing $200+M in construction projects. She also holds the distinction as the firm’s first minority female to be named principal.

A LEED-accredited professional and a graduate of the Academy of Architecture in Mumbai, India, Samant is fully committed to advancing sustainable, sensible design – as well as her profession as a career of choice for women and people of color.

A licensed architect in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, Samant is a 2023 PWC-NJ Women of Achievement Award recipient and a Class of 2023 Woman of Influence, a national honor. Her licenses and certifications include the National Council of Architectural Registration Board (NCARB), American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED AP designation.

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LOUIS, Mo.—Integrate Construction Partners (Integrate) has transformed an office building in Lake St. Louis, MO into a larger, temporary location for growing private school Lafayette Academy. The project was completed in time to start the 2023-24 school year.

Lafayette Academy, formerly known as Classical Academy de Lafayette, is a private K-12 school in St. Charles County founded in 2016 by longtime educator Katy McKinney and dedicated to classical education.

The 16,800-square-foot converted Lake St. Louis office building at 20 Hawk Ridge Circle will serve as the school’s temporary campus until land can be purchased for a permanent school to be built.

Integrate started the office building’s transformation in July 2023. The interior build-out included new classrooms, an exercise room, multi-purpose room, conference rooms, and a staff break room.

The project also included construction of an outside storm shelter per IBC code to ensure the safety of the students and staff during inclement weather. Integrate assisted with the design, procurement and accelerated installation of prefabricated storm shelters and a pavilion to meet operational requirements for the new school year.

Headquartered in St. Louis, Integrate Construction Partners (Integrate) is a comprehensive construction company enhancing value through an integrated building process. Built upon nearly 20 years of experience, Integrate offers design-build, multisite project delivery, construction management, and general contracting services.

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HAMILTON, N.J.—Spiezle Architectural Group, Inc., an employee-owned, award-winning full-service architectural, interior design, landscape architecture, and planning firm, is pleased to announce the company has been awarded the 2023 Firm of the Year by the American Institute of Architects-New Jersey Chapter (AIA-NJ). The annual award is given to a design firm that has produced notable architecture and made an impact on the architectural profession.

Celebrating 70 years in business, Spiezle prioritizes innovation, industry involvement, and sustainability. The firm is an employee-owned company whose work across multiple industries and market sectors is recognized in this award of distinction by the AIA.

“This is a remarkable honor for all of us at Spiezle. We thank AIA NJ for awarding us this recognition,” said Thomas S. Perrino, President and CEO at Spiezle Architectural Group. “We’re exceptionally proud of our history here in New Jersey. This award is a testament to our dynamic and talented team members and meaningful partnerships within the state. We’re focused on continuing to build an incredible team of employee-owners who will keep driving innovation and creativity in our industry.”

Spiezle’s nomination touts the firm’s inclusivity initiatives, which include the Women’s Leadership Committee, Design Committee, and a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging advancement. This year, Spiezle has been recognized as one of NJBIZ’s inaugural 2023 Empowering Women Honorees for being committed to supporting and elevating women in New Jersey. Spiezle is also dedicated to developing the next generation of architects. The firm supports its Emerging Professionals Group in its pursuit of licensure and is an active participant in summer internship programs with area universities.

Spiezle will receive the formal award as AIA’s NJ Firm of the Year for 2023 at a ceremony taking place at Clarks Landing Yacht Club on January 13th, 2024. The event will be attended by AIA members from across New Jersey.

“We celebrate our 70th anniversary in 2024 and this award is another example of seven decades of our continued success. Congratulations to everyone at Spiezle for this very special achievement,” said Perrino.

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Yanmar

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In her new role, Dalton will lead KAI’s efforts to deliver innovative design solutions tailored to the unique needs of K-12 environments across the region, state and nationally. She will promote community engagement and contribute to the holistic development of students through building strong relationships with like-minded clients, consultants and contractors. Additionally, she will oversee project management, channel team alignment and growth through mentorship, and strategically drive market positioning, sales and profit management.

“It is my firm belief that education is a powerful tool for positive change, and I couldn’t be prouder to be part of a team dedicated to creating such opportunities,” said Dalton.

An award-winning architect and interior designer, Dalton started her career as an architect in 2007 working for Corgan Associates, Inc. in Dallas. In 2013, she accepted a Project Architect position at Perkins & Will and was promoted multiple times within the firm over the course of 10 years to her most recent position as Project Manager. She has been recognized for her work in the industry and has received several awards from the Texas Alliance of School Administrators (TASA), Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) and School Construction News for her design excellence.

She has a Bachelor of Architecture from Louisiana State University and is a LEED AP BD+C, with affiliations in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE).

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UNION CITY, N.J.—Personnel from the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) joined civic officials for the groundbreaking of a new school that, when completed, will be used to educate students in grades 7 through 9. The school is needed due to overcrowding in this city located across the Hudson River from Manhattan.

The to-be-named school will encompass approximately 132,000 square feet of educational space over its six stories. Nearly 1,000 students will be educated in traditional classrooms as well as science laboratories, art rooms, robotics lab, music room, dance studio and even a rooftop environmental lab. The school will also host a gymnasium, cafetorium and modern media center.

Dobco, Inc. is tackling the design-build contract for the new school. Their partners on the job include designer NK Architects, P.A. and manager Anser Advisory. The project is seeking to attain LEED Silver certification.

“As we stand alongside our partners today, together we break ground for a state-of-the-art school that will provide Union City students with an educational facility that will help prepare them for high school and the future,” SDA CEO Manuel Da Silva said during the groundbreaking. “The new and renovated facilities delivered by the SDA in communities such as Union City are vital to ensuring all New Jersey students have access to the resources needed to succeed.

“We look forward to our continued partnership with the school district, city, and construction partners as this project advances through the construction phase.”

When the school opens, it will be the sixth Capital Project completed by the SDA in Union City since the school construction program commenced.

“With the help and support of Governor [Phil] Murphy and our Mayor and State Senator Brian P. Stack, we are honored that this SDA-funded new school facility will provide highquality education for future generations of our Union City students,” added Silvia Abbato, Superintendent of Union City Schools.

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OWATONNA, Minn.—A $99 million high school has been realized in this town located approximately 70 miles south of the Twin Cities. Construction commenced in May 2021 on the three-story school, whose campus also includes a football stadium, tennis courts, physical education building, auditorium, “town square” and outdoor athletic fields. Companies such as Federated Insurance and Mayo Clinic Health System contributed funds to the project.

The 317,000-square-foot Owatonna High School, located at 1455 SE 18th St., was designed by Wold Architects and Engineers to hold 1,600 students. Their design includes industrial arts laboratories and tech shop classrooms, as well as a centrally located cafeteria. Among the types of career paths students can learn about at Owatonna High are nursing, publishing and digital media, culinary arts, and engineering. By offering career-education classes, the local Owatonna community is hoping to retain skilled workers upon graduation rather than lose them to larger cities.

“Following years of working alongside many incredible local businesses, partners, staff and students, we are thrilled to finally open Owatonna High School and watch our students excel,” Jeff Elstad, superintendent at Owatonna Public Schools, said of the new high school. “This school will help them foster a sense of community and ownership over their learning in an innovative and inspiring environment while serving as a source of excitement and pride for the city of Owatonna.”

Wold worked in concert with construction manager Kraus-Anderson to realize the project. The two firms collaborated to fashion a school built of precast concrete and structural steel. The facade comprises brick and metal panels as well as glazing that allows in as much natural light as feasible. Architectural flourishes on the interior include terrazzo flooring, hardwood and metal panels covering the column wraps, as well as prefinished interior panels within the auditorium.

The exterior of Owatonna High includes four athletic storage buildings as well as a parking lot that can hold nearly 1,000 vehicles.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the district and local voices to create a school that reflects the community it serves,” said Paul Aplikowski, partner at Wold. “We are excited to see how this school realizes the district’s vision for education for many years to come and becomes a role model for the area in high school education.”

“Owatonna Public Schools has been a fantastic partner during the entire construction process, where close communication and coordination was needed to meet all expectations,” said Michael Stenbeck, KA’s project manager. “It has been amazing to witness jaws drop as students and the community walk into the new facility. We are so proud to be a part of this project.”

Stenbeck added that managing ongoing supply chain issues was an issue for the project. “We maintained close communications and collaboration with all of our partners and subs to manage delivery expectations,” he said in an email sent to School Construction News.

“One of the most rewarding parts of this project was seeing the Owatonna community rally together to turn the dream of a new high school into reality,” Sal Bagley, partner at Wold, informed School Construction News. “From the successful [bond referendum] to the unprecedented support from local businesses in the form of donations and programming involvement, the full community truly inspired the unique and reflective design of this landmark school.”

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Few things can dampen team spirits more than sitting on cold bleachers, no matter how hot the action gets on the field. A blanket or a towel just won’t cut the chill when the temperatures drop, and after jumping up a few times to cheer, any built-up heat gets lost. And there’s only so far that hot thermos of coffee or cocoa can go. The bottom line is, when it’s cold outside, everyone wants a warm seat to stay toasty and comfortable in the stands while cheering for the home team.

THAW has just the answer with their Heated Stadium Seat. Perfect for any season, the rechargeable THAW Heated Stadium Seat features multiple heating modes, ranging from a high setting lasting seven hours to a low setting that lasts 16 hours. It’s USB rechargeable, is made from tough nylon that can withstand wear and tear, and it has heat-retaining insulation, so the warmth doesn’t fade away.

THAW

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“It meant a great deal to know that I have made a difference to this organization,” Gustafson said. “I have looked at my involvement in MASMS as a way that I can further the organization’s mission in promoting excellence in the operation and care of educational facilities.”

As an account executive, Gustafson serves as a consultant to facilities staff, helping them find flooring solutions specific to each space within a school’s environment. A big part of his job is, coincidentally, education.

“Tarkett as a whole dedicates a lot of time to educating others on the importance of flooring when it comes to enhancing the learning environments for staff and students,” Gustafson said. “We’re helping people recognize how flooring impacts not only the facility’s return on investment, maintenance and use of healthy materials, but also variables like acoustics, sensory levels, and indoor air quality.”

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—Building firm C.W. Driver Companies has completed work on the $70 million, four-story Interactive Learning Pavilion at UC Santa Barbara. The new facility adds classrooms, lecture halls as well as discussion rooms to this picturesque campus located on a spit of land overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The 95,000-square-foot structure at UCSB offers approximately 2,000 seats of classroom space across its various lecture halls, including areas dedicated specifically for project-based learning. Each of the building’s 32 classrooms and lecture halls offer capacity anywhere from 30 to 350 students.

The center of the pavilion features a breezeway between two of the major buildings that make up the Interactive Learning Pavilion. Exposed terraces and stairs receive ample sunlight, and the upper levels allow for stellar views of the campus as well as the nearby ocean. In an effort at green building, the pavilion is entirely powered by electricity and no natural gas, which allows the facility to be designated as LEED Gold.

C.W. Driver worked with LMN Architects to realize the project. LMN Architects is headquartered in Seattle. Their design for the learning pavilion took into consideration “the history of UCSB and its seascape vistas [so] the building has been envisioned as a microcosm of the societal and natural conditions around the site,” as per the firm’s website.

According to personnel from C.W. Driver, realizing the learning pavilion required extensive planning due to the site’s centrality within the bike-friendly UCSB campus.

“The project…required an early re-route of bicycle and pedestrian lanes, as well as planning for just-in-time deliveries in the early morning to keep clear of student traffic,” said Jeff Bara, Senior Project Manager at C.W. Driver. “We worked closely with the university to develop off-site staging where delivery vehicles could enter the campus individually, therefore limiting the number of trucks on campus at any given time and minimizing the impact of construction on the community.”

For its work at the pavilion, C.W. Driver was awarded the Liberty Mutual Insurance Safety Commendation Gold Award from the University Controlled Insurance Program (UCIP), which recognizes a project demonstrating an outstanding safety record.

“Looking at the early plan sets, we knew we were building something unique and beautiful,” Tom Jones, Project Executive with C.W. Driver, said in a subsequent statement emailed to School Construction News. “Speaking for the management and crews, we were all motivated by the stunning design and reaching the finish product. The end result was worth it.”

C.W. Driver Companies has been in operation in California since 1919. Their various educational projects across the Golden State include the Pomona-Pitzer College Rains Athletic Center; CSU Dominguez Hill’s Science and Innovation Building; CSU San Bernardino’s Coyote Village and Coyote Commons; MiraCosta College Chemistry & Biotechnology Building; Orange Coast College’s Language Arts and Social Science Building, Kinesiology and Athletics Complex and Student Union Complex; Chapman University’s Keck Center for Science and Engineering; and Cal Poly Pomona’s Student Services Building.

The firm is ranked in Engineering News Record’s Top 150 General Contractors and Top 100 Construction Managers. The firm operates from offices in Los Angeles, Rancho Cucamonga, Anaheim, San Diego and Carlsbad.

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