News & Resources
Choreographing “Placemaking”
The City of Mill Creek's Master Plan for the East Gateway Urban Village. “Placemaking” is a current buzzword in planning circles and refers to efforts to create urban centers that are pedestrian friendly and create a sense of place…
Key Considerations in Writing a Design-Build RFP
I’ve participated on both sides of Design-Build Requests for Proposal (RFP) -- as an author and as a designer. A well-written RFP is not only the start of a project, but the foundation of its success. On the other hand,…
A $5.3 Billion Expansion Project: My April 2012 Trip to the Panama Canal
Shannon in front of the locks, where the slide gates will go. I attended the National Ports and Harbor Committee of the American Society of Civil Engineers - Coasts, Oceans, Port, and River Institute annual spring meeting in Panama City,…
Conducting a Survey at a Trade Show Using a QR Code
For other industries, this might be old school by now. But, for the Public Works industry, conducting a survey using a QR code (or Quick Response Code – a two-dimensional matrix barcode), is most definitely not. We learned this when…
It’s All about the Light: Recommendations for Taking Good Project Photography
Definition: The word, “photography” is from the Greek words ‘photos’ (light) and ‘graphein’ (to draw); in other words, drawing with light. Photography is capturing the action of light upon a particular scene. Humans are highly visual creatures who assign importance and…
Near Record Snowfall in Anchorage Challenges Residents…and Roofs!
It’s been a long, snowy winter for Anchorage. Even for those who can claim to have been born and raised in Alaska. The record snowfall for a winter season in Anchorage is 133 inches - over 11 feet of snow…
The Civil Engineer as a LEED Lead
Yikes! Me, a Site Civil Engineer. You know, the guy who designs the outside of the building suddenly wakes up in a cold sweat to find he is the one responsible for getting a project LEED certified. How did this happen?…
Federal Small Business Size Standards Increase
Reid Middleton is about to become a small business for federal contracting – something we have not been for 20 years or more. How did one of the top 25 engineering firms in Washington, with more than 300 federal civil,…
The Emotional Connection Between Building and Community
On the morning of November 5, 2009, I woke up to my phone ringing. It’s never a good sign when your boss is calling you in the wee hours of the morning, and that was the case that day. Whatcom…