CONSTRUCTION/DEVELOPMENT HOK Studio E Wins National Award for Seattle Aquarium Exhibit   Above: HOK Studio E led the design team on the $1.4 million, 4,500-square-foot exhibit at the Seattle Aquarium. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association awarded HOK Studio E with the 1999 Munson Aquatic Conservation Exhibitry (MACE) Award for its design of a $1.4 million project in the Seattle Aquarium. HOK Studio E led the design team on the "Sound to Mountain: A Watershed Journey, " a 4,500-square-foot exhibit that takes visitors on a journey from the water of Puget Sound to the headwaters of a stream high in the Cascade Mountains. Above: The "Sound to Mountain: A Watershed Journey" exhibit allows visitors to walk along a river and trace its source to the Cascade Mountains. It won the 1999 Munson Aquatic Conservation Exhibitry (MACE). "The exhibit celebrates the rich tapestry of life found in these precious environments. Through a variety of means we create a real sense of the places we traverse in taking this powerful journey," says Chip Reay, senior vice president and design director of Studio E. HOK Studio E develops imaginative, creative designs for cultural and corporate museums/visitors centers, zoos, aquariums and entertainment centers. Studio E also designed the exhibits at the St. Louis Zoo's Living World. McCarthy Wins National AGC Award for San Francisco Partnering Project Above: McCarthy won a national award for partnering on the busiest bus depot in the San Francisco Bay Area.   The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) presented McCarthy with the prestigious 2000 Marvin M. Black Excellence in Partnering Award for work on the busiest bus depot in the San Francisco Bay Area. McCarthy completed the $6.3 million San Francisco Transbay Transit Terminal seismic retrofit project under budget, 63 days ahead of schedule with zero claims filed. More than 35,000 commuters move through the facility daily, posing a variety of potential safety and site challenges. HBE Awarded Four SAFE Federal Credit Union Projects Above: HBE Financial Facilities is building four branch office projects for SAFE Federal Credit Union in South Carolina, totaling a contract value of $5.48 million.   SAFE Federal Credit Union of Sumter, S.C., has awarded HBE Financial Facilities four branch office projects with a total contract value of $5.48 million. HBE used prototypes specifically designed for the two large structures, which feature brick exteriors with blue fascia, blue window frames and gray glass to match the credit union's blue and gray corporate colors. Construction began in February on all four projects with completion scheduled for October. St. Louis-based HBE is a leading U.S. design-build contractor with its Financial Facilities Division involved in hundreds of projects nationwide. Duke-Weeks to Develop Forshaw's Build-to-Suit Facility   Duke-Weeks Realty Corporation, recognized as a leading developer throughout St. Louis, has partnered with Forshaw of St. Louis, Inc. to develop a 67,300-square-foot build-to-suit office/warehouse in Earth City Business Park. The new facility will house the manufacturing division of Forshaw, a family-owned business founded 130 years ago that retails outdoor furniture, wholesales pre-fabricated fireplaces, home furnishings, fireplace accessories, and manufactures wood and stone mantels. Dimensionally, the facility is 290-feet long by 210-feet wide and centrally located on 8.4 acres. The building uses the load-bearing, tilt-up construction method and is fully equipped with 12 nine- by 10-foot dock doors and three drive-in doors. With exterior parking for 60 vehicles, the building is specifically designed to accommodate the present and future manufacturing needs of Forshaw. In the St. Louis area, Duke-Weeks' portfolio of office and industrial properties it owns, manages or has under development totals more than 6.3 million square feet. Heitkamp Masonry of Ellisville Heitkamp Masonry of Ellisville has received both the first- and second-place residential awards in the International Excellence in Masonry Awards, a national competition held annually by the Mason Contractors Association of America.   Above Right: Heitkamp received a first place award for this Tudor stone and brick home, featuring elegant brick gables and a stunning diamond pattern on the front facade. Above Left: The company also received the second place award for this Country French stone house, which has five chimneys and eight fireplaces. Both houses are located in the St. Albans development. Holland-Hinrichs Constructs Second Project for Bank of O'Fallon   Above: Holland-Hinrichs is the builder of the new 12,000-square-foot financial center for Bank of O'Fallon in Illinois. Holland-Hinrichs is constructing another project for Bank of O'Fallon--a 12,000-square-foot, two-level financial center in O'Fallon, Ill. This new building consolidates the bank's financial planning and insurance services currently located in separate buildings. Scheduled for completion in July, the brick façade facility will house a two-stop elevator, civic conference room for training and public meetings, financial planning offices and additional space for future expansion of tenant services. New MCI WorldCom Service Center Consolidates Operations Above: R.G. Brinkmann Construction Co. is the builder for 385,000 square feet of high-performance space for telecommunications giant MCI WorldCom in Weldon Spring, Mo. R.G. Brinkmann Construction Co. is on target for a summer completion of a new 385,000-square-foot national service center for MCI WorldCom. Located on a 30-acre site off Interstate 64 in Weldon Spring, Mo., the three-building office campus will enable the telecommunications giant to consolidate local operations. The complex consists of a trio of interconnected office buildings. To figuratively "embrace" employees and visitors, the two end buildings are angled toward the structure in the center. A glass-enclosed, third-floor walkway links the three buildings, which are clad in copper-colored brick and banded by tinted ribbon windows. To minimize delays in field construction, Brinkmann's on-site trailer is networked to the developer, structural engineer, interior architect and consultant. To achieve fast track construction and optimize value engineering, team members gain photographically detailed progress reports on a weekly basis via Brinkmann's home page. ARCO Triples Size of King Safety Headquarters   King Safety Products, a leading maker of twist-on wire connectors, tripled the size of its St. Charles headquarters with the completion of a 62,000-square-foot, $2.2 million expansion. ARCO Construction Co. was the builder of the one-story addition that features tilt-up concrete walls over a structural steel frame. A 58,000-square-foot manufacturing/ distribution zone has 28-foot clear height ceilings and eight dock doors. The new wing also doubles the office space to 8,000 square feet and enables the company to expand its workforce from 40 to 70 people. UMSL's Education Center Integrates Technology Into the Classrooms   With a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education and a $500,000 gift from retired St. Louis businessman E. Desmond Lee, the College of Education at the University of Missouri­St. Louis has created an educational center to help teachers and practitioners integrate technology into the classrooms. "Unlike other education technology computer labs, the Technology and Learning Center is dedicated solely to meet needs of the teaching professions--K-12 teachers, counselors and administrators," says Carl Hoagland, director of the center and the Emerson Electric endowed professor of technology and learning. "If we can produce technologically savvy, content knowledgeable and articulate educators, we will have met our goal." Located on the UMSL South Campus in the College of Education, the Technology and Learning Center also is accessible on the web. The Center offers the latest in technological innovations for the College of Education faculty and staff, students and teachers from St. Louis area school districts.

June 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Cover Story The Big Leagues PROFILE John Capps President and CEO Plaza Motor Company - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - www.stlrcga.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - www.technologygateway.org On the Road Again Merger Boom - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -