HOLT Architects Announces the Appointment of Three Principal Associates
HOLT Architects is pleased to announce the appointment of Anton R. Christiansen, AIA, LEED AP, Steven W. Hugo, AIA, and Paul A. Levesque II, AIA, LEED AP as Principal Associates.
Mr. Christiansen is a 1986 graduate of Boston Architectural Center and received his Bachelor
of Architecture from Cornell University in 1990 He joined the firm in 1991. During a 2-year
sabbatical in Munich, Germany he spent time studying sustainable design practices, and as a
result his work focuses on incorporating sustainability into the architectural and spatial
experience of each project. Anton serves as Director of Design at HOLT Architects, and
oversees all phases of project design. His recent projects include the new 60,000 sf Gateway Office Building for Ithaca College that is striving for a LEED Platinum certification. Additionally, he is working on a sustainable housing community that would transform the Ithaca Gun Factory site from an eyesore to greenspace, and provide healthy living for occupants in up to 33 condominiums. The project would strive for a LEED Gold rating. Anton is the Ithaca Director of the Southern NY Chapter, American Institute of Architects; a member of the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP); a member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO); as well as an active member of the New York Upstate Chapter of the United States Green Building Council.
Mr. Hugo, a 1993 graduate of the Syracuse University School of Architecture, has been an architect with the firm for 10 years. As the Director for Higher Education projects at HOLT, Steve provides project specific guidance for college and university clients by attending and presenting at events focusing on design, and building solutions for postsecondaryinstitutions. Steve has completed new building projects for Colgate University, Upstate Medical University, and a Downtown Center for Binghamton University that is striving for a LEED Silver certification. Currently, Steve is part of the team that is guiding the rehabilitation of Olin Library on the Cornell University campus, and is managing the renovations of Moffett Hall for the State University of New York at Cortland. Steve is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and a frequent member presenter for the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP). Additionally, Steve is vested in the support of community growth through his service as a Board Member for the Downtown Ithaca Alliance.
Paul Levesque, is a 1992 graduate of Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, and joined the firm in 1994. Mr. Levesque has worked as a healthcare architect for 12 years and has been instrumental in guiding the design and construction of over $100 million dollars of healthcare projects. Paul provides comprehensive support for each healthcare client by overseeing all design and planning activities. As a LEED Accredited Professional, Paul integrates sustainable strategies in every project to create built environments that are healthier for patients, staff, and the environment. Projects under Paul's direction include, Rome Memorial Hospital, Schuyler Hospital, Little Falls Hospital, Auburn Memorial Hospital, and Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca. The recently completed Southwest Addition project for Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca is a LEED registered project, and is anticipating a LEED Silver Certification. As Director for Healthcare projects at HOLT, Paul assures exemplary service to the healthcare client through promotion of high-level design, commitment to sustainable strategies, and team collaboration. Paul is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and the American Society of Hospital Engineers (ASHE).
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LEED Accreditation
HOLT Architects is pleased to announce that three employees, Gwen MacFarland, A. Quay Thompson, and Ram Venkat, have recently passed the LEED Exam and received their Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) accreditation from the US Green Building Council (USGBC). This accreditation distinguishes individuals with detailed knowledge of LEED project certification requirements and processes, and a command of integrated design principles. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.
Gwen MacFarland is a designer with the firm and is currently on sabbatical, with plans to resume work for HOLT in autumn 2009.
Ram Venkat, a designer with 10 years of experience, is currently working on rehabilitation of Olin Library on the Cornell University campus.
A. Quay Thompson, AIA, is an Associate and project manager for the firm and is currently working on the LEED-registered Gateway Building at Ithaca College , which is targeting LEED Platinum certification, and the new Educational Opportunities Center at the University of Buffalo, which is targeting LEED Silver certification.
HOLT Architects employs a socially and environmentally responsible approach to their work by establishing sustainability as a core principle of design.
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We were selected to present at SCUP’s International Conference!
Last December, Grace Chiang and Steven Hugo, along with individuals from Cornell and Binghamton Universities, were selected to present at the Society for College and Univeristy Planning’s Annual International Conference in Montréal this July. The team, which includes a planner, a faculty member, and the architects presented “Learning Spaces: Where People, Pedagogy, Environment, and Technology Meet”. This session provided tools to assist planners, faculty, administrators, and architects in evaluating and communicating the effectiveness of existing learning environments, as well as in facilitating the creation of new ones.
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2008 SCUP North Atlantic Regional Conference
Steve Hugo, AIA, Principal Associate recently returned from presenting at SCUP’s 2008 North Atlantic Regional Conference which was held in New Haven, Conneticut on March 12-14. The theme of the conference was, "Campus Community World: New Initiatives, New Directions, New Relationships." Mr. Hugo co-presented with Michelle Ponczek, Director/Space Analyst, Binghamton University and Bob Kanarkiewicz, Regional Director of Design, State University Construction Fund (SUCF). The team presented the Binghamton University Downtown Center as a case study. The Binghamton University stakeholders, the HOLT team and SUCF utilized specific processes to achieve the success of this challenging project.
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The Superinsulation Myth
Although we have been urged for years to add as much insulation as possible, more recent integrated design methodologies, using building modeling analyses such as DOE 2.2, have demonstrated the diminishing return of increased R values. This is due to the inverse relationship between R and U-value, which is the factor used in quantifying thermal transmission. Many designers today see R-25 (U 0.04) as the cutoff point, after which added R-value continues to add cost at a more-or-less constant rate, but returns energy savings at a negligible rate because the improvement in U-value is inconsequential (see graph).
This fact was corroborated for us in the energy modeling for the Gateway Building, currently under construction at Ithaca College, and registered for LEED Platinum certification. We modeled for both 4-inch (LTTR-25) and 6-inch (LTTR-36) polyisocyanurate roof insulation, and found that 6-inch saved only $31 per year in energy cost over 4-inch for the 58,000 square foot building, but carried an additional construction cost of $14,000. Clearly, in this case, adding insulation beyond R-25 was not at all cost-effective.
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Binghamton University Downtown Center Opens
The 4-story building on Washington Street is home to the University's new College of Community and Public Affairs
View the full story at Binghamton University
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Principal, Robert J. O'Brien's new home featured in Fine Homebuilding
Robert and Sharon O'Brien's recently completed home was chosen as one of 10 homes in the country for Fine Homebuilding's prestigious HOUSES Annual Issue. The article, titled Designing the Best Last House, focused on Bob's creative solutions that challenge common notions about how to build retirement homes for baby boomers.
Click to read the article in full on the Fine Homebuilding website
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Gateway Commons featured on the Cover of STRUCTURE magazine
Gateway Commons was recently featured in an article for STRUCTURE magazine. The article was written by Christopher N. Latreille, P.E. of Ryan-Biggs Associates. Gateway Commons opened March 1, 2007
Click to read the article in full on the STRUCTURE website
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Groundbreaking for New Gateway Building
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on the 25th of May for the Gateway Building at Ithaca College.
Scheduled for occupancy in the fall of 2008, The Gateway Building at Ithaca College will house the offices of Admission, Bursar, Registrar, Human Resources, Graduate Studies, and senior administration. This new four-story, 58,200 sf building will be sited at the front door to campus.
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HOLT Architects receives 4 AIASNY Design Awards
HOLT Architect's were presented with four Design Awards in a juried competition sponsored by the by the Southern NY Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for the 2006 Excellence in Design Awards. HOLT submitted projects for both the Built and Un-Built Project categories. The Un-Built category recoginizes designs that were not completed at the time of Awards.
Awarded in the Built Category:
Award of Merit: The Art & Design Building at Cazenovia College.
Awarded in the Unbuilt Category:
Award of Merit: Auditorium in Weiskotten Hall Auditorium Renovation- Upstate Medical University.
Award of Merit: The Gateway Building, Ithaca College.
Design Citation: Gateway Commons , Ithaca
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Gateway Commons published in Environmental Design + Construction magazine
Currently under construction, HOLT's design for the Gateway Commons was recently featured in an article for Environmental Design + Construction. The development will offer premium apartments to green-conscious consumers. The environmental focus of this 43,000 square foot, six-story building includes many energy efficiency amenities, maximizes use of natural daylight and ventilation, and offers roof top gardens. It is a model of sustainability through environmentally responsible building design and construction.
The Gateway Commons has been registered with the USGBC's LEED accreditation process, and is striving for LEED SILVER certification. Target completion date is Summer 2006.
Click to read the article in full on the ED+C website
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Overlook Apartments opens first phase to tenants Construction continues on subsequent phases
The first phase of the Overlook Apartment development has been completed, while construction continues on the remaining phases. The neighborhood design accommodates 16 houses and a community center around a central green space. The exteriors are designed to reflect the feeling of nearby rural farmhouses, blending and complementing the local landscape.
The Overlook project has received an energy-efficiency designation from NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, making it the first in the country to participate in a new standard of energy efficiency for apartment buildings.
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Groundbreaking for New Science Building
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on the 28th of April for the Science Building at Wells College in Aurora, NY.
Construction on the building began earlier this spring. The New Science Building accommodates the college's undergraduate biology, chemistry, environmental studies, and physics programs.
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Cortland Master Plan unveiled
The culmination of a year-long process with SUNY Cortland, the final 30-year Master Plan was unveiled at a campus-wide forum on April 17th. The HOLT team presented to an audience of faculty, students and administration to great acclaim. "The presentation went very well yesterday and the campus community received it very well", said Nasrin Parvizi, Director of Facilities. "HOLT and consultants did a great job for us."
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Construction Phase begins on Weiskotten Auditorium
The renovation to Weiskotten Auditorium 101 at Upstate Medical University officially entered Construction phase at a kick-off meeting in April. HOLT's design features dramatic acoustical wave forms that flow across the ceiling. The renovation transforms the original auditorium seating layout into a tiered series of tables with generous teaching space at the front of the room.
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Rome Memorial Hospital Energy Center completed! Construction continues on Emergency Department
Construction has been completed on Rome Memorial Hospital's new Energy Center. It consolidates the Hospital's mechanical and electrical physical plant into a more efficient facility, increasing serviceability and reducing energy consumption.
Meanwhile construction continues on the a new 40,000 sq ft Emergency Department. The new ED more than triples the size of the current department, and doubles the number of treatment rooms. Project completion is expected November 2006.
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ON-THE-BOARDS
Colgate University Broad Street Initiative
Colgate University has retained HOLT to complete a master survey of its eight recently acquired buildings along Broad Street. The study looks at all aspects of life safety, accessibility, and maintenance, and will culminate with suggestions for the University to bring the buildings up to code.
SUNY Cortland School of Education
HOLT is working with SUNY Cortland on this major addition to the School of Education, the first new academic building built on campus in a decade. The four story building will house an expanded and consolidated Child Care Center and serve the largest teacher education program in New York State.
Upstate Medical University Laboratory Renovations
HOLT is beginning the design of renovations to laboratory facilities in Weiskotten Hall South and Weiskotten Hall Addition. The scope includes a full floor in each building, and will focus on developing generic medical research laboratories and support space.
Rome Memorial Hospital New Laboratory and Pharmacy
While HOLT works with RMH during the construction of our design for the new Emergency Department, HOLT is designing a new Laboratory and Pharmacy to be housed in a portion of the existing ED facility.
State University of New York at Oswego
Extensive renovation of existing Swetman and Poucher Halls into the Academic Hub of campus. A two-story entry hall with atrium, and glass-enclosed pedestrian circulation spine links spaces at multiple levels.
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RECENT PROJECT AWARDS
HOLT Architects receives 4 AIASNY Design Awards
HOLT Architect's were presented with four Design Awards in a juried competition sponsored by the by the Southern NY Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for the 2006 Excellence in Design Awards. HOLT submitted projects for both the Built and Un-Built Project categories. The Un-Built category recoginizes designs that were not completed at the time of Awards.
Awarded in the Built Category:
Award of Merit: The Art & Design Building at Cazenovia College.
Awarded in the Unbuilt Category:
Award of Merit: Auditorium in Weiskotten Hall Auditorium Renovation- Upstate Medical University.
Award of Merit: The Gateway Building, Ithaca College.
Design Citation: Gateway Commons , Ithaca
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RECENTLY PUBLISHED PROJECTS
Environmental Design + Construction - August 2006
Gateway Commons, Ithaca NY
American School & University - 2005 Architectural Portfolio
Art and Design Building, Cazenovia College
HEALTHCARE Design, 2005 Architectural Showcase Issue
Radiation Medicine Center, Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca
Athletic Business, 18th Annual, 2005 Architectural Showcase Issue
Glendening Boathouse, Colgate University
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