Publisher’s Message

Anastasia Barnes

I live in a great neighborhood. On my street, there are a lot of families with kids. It doesn’t matter the time of year or the kind of weather, the kids are outside. When I was a kid, my mom would tell my sister and me to “go outside and play, and don’t come home til the sun sets.” It was different then, of course, but the kids today would still rather be outside.

In the past year our necessity for being indoors, communicating via Zoom calls, has further amplified our need to connect with nature. Suddenly, we’re noticing how large that red-breasted robin is that perches on the tree outside our home office, or maybe we’re spending more time sitting quietly and listening to the sound of the trees in the wind.

It’s interesting to see that companies like Wollaston Development and SDI Architecture are responding to our need to be outside while creating a safe and healthy work environment, by designing outdoor conference rooms and meeting spaces. Could this be the new normal? Read more on page 12.

Rendering of an outdoor conference room

This month’s focus on Landscape Architecture and Civil Engineering also highlights how some AEC industry professionals are taking responsibility and creating solutions to problems in urban areas, such as rising sea levels. Check out the story by Cheri Ruane and John Frey of Weston & Sampson on page 15. Other firms are finding creative ways to use material, waste, land and water-use initiatives to preserve ecosystems and optimize rainwater management. Be sure to read about what’s happening with a 13acre site at UConn Storrs on page 14.

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Langone Park and Puopolo Playground with sea level rise defenses installed

Nowadays, a lot of these solutions are driven by the technology that is available to our industry, technology that seems to be ever-evolving. Rapid Design Visualization (RDV) technology, for example, allows designers and engineers new ways to collaborate and communicate more effectively. Luchs, out of Connecticut, is a perfect example of a firm that is benefitting from this kind of technology. Interstate Electrical Services Corp. has long been a proponent of trying new software/technology in-house and has found ways to streamline its processes and communication. Windover Construction recently teamed with three different software companies to develop an adaptive industrial construction technique that fabricates telescopic studs from a digital model that can then be transported and adapted to any space. Read about all of these companies in our Technology & Innovation section on page 20.

Windover utilizes additive manufacturing technologies for historic preservation.

Interstate uses the Trimble Robotic Total Station on many projects to scan, measure, and help determine layouts on job sites.

We can embrace and protect the natural world (if not save it) while utilizing technology. We just need a healthy balance. Let’s take a cue from the kids, get outside, and imagine the impossible. Only then will we see what is possible.

Michael Barnes

Move over science and technology, a new boss is in town! It’s nature, and leading the way is the AEC industry in how we perceive the needs, ways and means of future living.

I can remember when the belief was that we needed to bulldoze our way into the future. Today the message is very different. Like the title of the Construction Institute’s article on page 18, “Nature is Our Way Forward,” progressive design and construction starts with partnering with nature instead of controlling it. The focus on designing and building sustainably is often taken for granted but I remember when this was not the case. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, most developers were perceived as the enemy of the environment, with the almighty dollar often being the only consideration. Today, they are at the top of the list in providing the solutions we need to preserve our planet.

We are proud to represent the people and companies in the AEC industry, the heroes of our future, building today.