NASA Takes Off With Sustainability Base
Sustainability Base, one of NASA’s greenest buildings, was recently featured in a video interview segment of the Silicon Vally Buzz. Dr. Steve Zornetzer, NASA Ames Associate Center Director, talks about the innovation behind Sustainability Base. Located at the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in Silicon Valley, California, Sustainability Base was designed by William McDonough + Partners, in partnership with AECOM. Swinerton Builders was the General Contractor. Sustainability Base will be seeking LEED Platinum...
read morePhoto of the Week! High in the Sky
This is no tight-rope act but an in-action shot from one of our jobsites! This brave worker is 100% tied off; each worker on the frame for this project had two lanyards. When they moved positions, they always have one connected at all times, most using two connections as an additional safety precaution. What was a higher risk on this project was the cantilevered space frame which protruded outside the parking structure 14 feet in some areas, and the workers were roughly 50 feet above the ground. In these instances, while the frame...
read morePhoto of the Week! Solar Sensation
This week’s photo showcases a breathtaking aerial shot of a recent solar project we just completed in Vallejo, Calfifornia. This photo captures Sunlink ballasted roof mount, ground mount ES, and garage mount ES, installed by our Swinerton Renewable Energy Group in San Diego, California.
read moreRebuilding Together Building Day 2011
On April 30th, Swinerton crews from across the company got together and volunteered their efforts towards their local Rebuilding Together “Building Day.” Rebuilding Together is the nation’s leading non-profit working to preserve affordable home ownership and revitalize communities. Their network of more than 200 affiliates provides free rehabilitation and critical repairs to the homes of low-income Americans. Two Projects for East Bay/North Chapter We completed two ambitious projects for the local Rebuilding Together...
read moreInch by Inch, Row by Row…Green Landscaping Considerations Part I
By Kevin Brooks Anyone who has found themselves in the backyard with their toddler has most likely come across the Garden Song, a children’s classic sung by the late John Denver on the Muppet Show. The song’s lyrics speak to planting a garden while caring for Mother Earth. Many of the projects we build have some landscaping and irrigation component to them that we also “plant” at the end of the project. Often, the details of this scope of work get overlooked as we rush across the finish line towards the coveted certificate of...
read moreSmile for the Birdie!
Swinerton Builders San Diego held their inaugural golf event to benefit The Swinerton Foundation on April 29th at Maderas Golf Club. The event featured a mix of industry professionals including our valued subcontractor trade partners, architects, engineers, clients, and Swinerton employees. In total, 128 players participated in the event which was made possible through the generous donations from a targeted list of our local trade partners: Platinum Sponsor Dynalectric, Gold Sponsors KHS&S, Neal Electric, Pacific Rim Mechanical, and...
read morePhoto of the Week! Waikiki Shopping Plaza
Our pick for this week’s photo of the week goes to the Waikiki Shopping Plaza. Partnered with MGA Architecture, Swinerton Builder’s Hawaii division was the commercial general contractor on the expansion of this shopping plaza, which remained operational throughout construction. The tight space added a 60-foot-high core and shell of a three-story building with curtain wall, exterior stone cladding, and metal wal panels, and features a custom GFRP trellis and framed drywall facade that can be viewed through the storefront system on...
read more2011 Ragnar Relay Southern California
On April 15th and 16th, a team from each of Swinerton’s San Diego and Orange County offices embarked on a 200-mile running relay race from Huntington Beach to San Diego, California. The race route headed inland through Anaheim, over to Corona, south through Elsinore and Temecula, back west through the mountains to the coastline in Carlsbad, south to Chula Vista, and finally back north up Coronado Island to the finish line. Each team consisted of 12 runners responsible for covering anywhere from 14 to 25 miles individually over three legs....
read moreSafeway Hilo Opens to Much Anticipation
On March 25th, a packed parking lot on Makaala Center in Hilo, Hawaii, brought in hundreds of shoppers eagerly waiting to get their first look at Safeway’s 61,000-square-foot store in Hilo. The newest addition in Hilo is modeled after Safeway’s new “Lifestyle” format which features a full independent bakery, deli, and meat & seafood preparation area. Safeway’s interior space is also shared by independent business’s including a Starbuck’s, a Bank of Hawaii, and an interior pharmacy. Architectural features of the new...
read moreSwinerton San Diego Volunteers for Junior Achievement
This past March, Swinerton Builders San Diego employees, friends, and family joined Junior Achievement (JA) on opening day to kick off their Bowl-A-Thon season with a “Big Easy” themed Bowl-A-Thon. Thirty-four of us showed up at Mira Mesa Bowl for a day of fun, bowling, and prizes; but more importantly to benefit a great program that we believe in highly, and participate in annually. The Bowl-A-Thon is JA San Diego’s largest fundraiser with all proceeds going towards ensuring that more than 40,000 students, from kindergarten...
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