This episode features IMEG civil project manager Matt Pohlhaus in a discussion on how artificial intelligence is transforming site design. Based in the Washington, D.C., metro area, Matt leads land use and civil engineering projects across Maryland and West Virginia. Increasingly, he says, AI is becoming as much a part of his toolkit as CAD software or site surveys. “We use artificial intelligence daily,” Matt explains, describing how it’s woven into tasks both big and small—from communication to design. “If you’ve ever been stuck trying to get some language out the right way, just throwing a few prompts into ChatGPT or something similar” can result in a “very well-worded email” and freeing up time, he says. On the conceptual side, his team is utilizing AI-driven generative design software. With just a site location and a few inputs, the program quickly produces fully fleshed-out site layouts. “When a client asks, ‘Can we put a 60,000-square-foot grocery store on this site?’ I can now show them in minutes,” Matt says. In the past, that answer might have taken days of drafting and another round of meetings. The ability to test ideas in real time with clients has proven invaluable. “The coolest thing about it is everything updates on the fly,” Matt says. He describes meetings where clients ask to move a building across the site or add a parking garage—what once required rescheduling is now an instant adjustment. “It becomes a lot more conversational,” he says. “I think clients tend to see us more as a partner than just a consultant drawing lines on a screen.” A medical office building project, for example, completely shifted direction during a single meeting. The client had arrived with a looping driveway design they thought was final, but after moving the building within the AI model, the layout quickly evolved into something more straightforward, visible, and cost-efficient. “That was probably a 20-minute conversation,” Matt says. “And the scheme they ended up moving forward with was completely different from what they came in thinking they were going to do.” Another project—an industrial site tied to a rail line—showed off the software’s deeper analytical power. The developer wanted to run railroad tracks into the property, but when Matt layered in topographical data, a problem appeared immediately: the proposed line ran over a 30-foot cliff. “If anyone’s been on a train before, they don’t go up and down hills all that well,” he says. By shifting the entry point half a mile, the team avoided an impossible design and a change that in the past might have taken weeks of back-and-forth.
Armand Harpin, Director of Federal Healthcare at IMEG, joins this episode to discuss the firm’s extensive work with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Defense Health Agency (DHA), and Indian Health Services. Under Armand’s leadership, IMEG has been ranked the top Veterans Affairs engineering firm by BD+C Magazine. “We serve the VA across probably 75 percent of the campuses throughout the country,” Armand says. These projects span a range of services, from facility condition assessments and master planning to infrastructure upgrades like boiler and chiller plants. “We've also spent a great deal of time over the last few years and are still involved in electronic health record projects for the VA,” Armand adds. For most of the firm’s federal healthcare projects, IMEG collaborates closely with more than 20 service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses—partnerships that are extremely valued. “It’s a real pleasure to support those architectural and AE firms,” says Armand. On larger projects, those $100 million and above, the firm partners with national AEC firms across the country. Armand says the federal healthcare market is currently experiencing a transitional period, with shake-ups in leadership within the VA’s Office of Construction and Facilities Management (OCFM). “They’ve lost their senior director, they’ve lost a good portion of their associate directors, and so they're in the process of rebuilding,” he says. This comes as the VA continues to face major issues with its building stock; most VA facilities are 50 to 60 years old, creating significant operational challenges. “It’s becoming more and more difficult... to provide for today’s healthcare needs,” Armand says. Some major campuses, he adds, are being “decanted,” with their services being moved to leased, community-based outpatient clinics in more population-dense areas. “That’s called ‘commercialization,’ and it's been a critical piece for bringing services and positive outcomes to veterans in underserved areas.” Speed and efficiency in project delivery have become top priorities, with Armand citing increased use of design-build and integrated delivery approaches to accelerate project timelines. One such example is a $600 million healthcare center project in El Paso, Texas, currently being executed by IMEG in partnership with Clark Construction. Armand has been involved in the federal healthcare market for many years and his work in the sector hits close to home. “My brother served in the Air Force. My father served as a Marine... and passed away in the VA hospital in San Diego,” he says. “This is an incredibly personal mission.” His passion also dovetails with IMEG’s stated purpose to create positive outcomes for people, communities, and the planet. “It’s a mission of stewardship, of accountability, and trying to provide the healthcare outcomes that VA and active military patients need,” he says.
This episode of The Future Built Smarter examines parametric engineering, which transforms design from a static, linear process to a dynamic, adaptive one. “By leveraging specialized 3D software like Rhino, Grasshopper, and Karamba, engineers can create flexible and intelligent design models that respond instantly to changes in parameters as opposed to building a model using fixed dimensions,” says Michael Kilkelly. A member of IMEG’s Innovation Team, Michael has been working with others on a new structural service for clients that has just been launched: Project SPEED, which stands for Structural Parametric Engineering for Efficient Design. “Building owners want projects delivered on a shorter timeline than ever before,” says Michael. “Traditional design processes, however, are not well suited to this reality, especially for structural engineers, for whom complexity and time are two of the biggest challenges. As a result, engineers often can’t fully explore the breadth of possible solutions, one of which might better meet a project’s goals. Parametric engineering allows engineers to create lightweight structural design models, very quickly make changes, test the design, and iterate quickly.” Instead of taking a few days using the traditional design process, parametric engineering enables engineers and clients to instantaneously see the feasibility and impact of changes—moving shear walls, changing bay sizes, using concrete or mass timber versus steel, etc.—as well as the resulting impacts on material cost and embodied carbon. “So instead of, ‘It'll take us two days to get back to you,’ it's ‘Let's look at it right now.’ It becomes a much more interactive, collaborative process.” Watch a video on parametric engineering and learn more on the IMEG blog.
This episode of The Future Built Smarter examines modern high performance computing facilities and the opportunity to use their waste heat as an energy source. “High performance facilities for computing are different than what most people would consider a data center,” says Brandon Fortier, IMEG's Director of Science and Technology. “Data centers serve general purpose IT needs for a building or a company, things like web hosting, cloud storage capabilities, et cetera. High performance facilities for computing serve more of a scientific or other research need. They use significantly more computing power because they're doing things like climate modeling or machine learning for AI.” Such energy-intensive AI deep learning computing requires an intense amount of cooling, which generates a significant amount of waste heat. In the right locations—such as on a healthcare, higher education, or federal campus, as well as private research campuses—this heat can be recovered and pushed into district energy systems for use in the heating of neighboring buildings, greatly supporting overall sustainability and greenhouse gas reduction goals in the process. “These high performance data centers definitely produce a lot of heat,” says Ken Urbanek, a client executive in IMEG’s Denver office. “On the other hand, that's a great energy source. Let's grab that source energy from that data center and push that into the campus.” Ken provides several real-life examples of leveraging such an energy source, from an East Coast university that is planning to condition millions of square feet across its campus to more niche examples such as conditioning greenhouses in colder climates and even warming a pond at a trout farm. “There are a lot of synergies out there,” Ken says. For a campus, he adds, “as you're looking to decarbonize and you're looking at various options, part of that exercise should be if a data center makes sense… There's not a research facility, whether it's on a healthcare, academic, or other campus, that probably can't find a business case to say, ‘How can we utilize advanced AI to help further our research?’ Now you just have to say, ‘Where on this campus can we find 10, 15, 20 megawatts of power?’ In your decarbonization plan, you might be pulling that energy anyway. And better to put it into AI and utilize it for research than to put it into heat pumps or some sort of electric generation system.”
This episode of The Future Built Smarter explores the evolving landscape of healthcare design and engineering with guest Eric Vandenbroucke, Vice President of Healthcare at IMEG. “2025 started with a lot of optimism, but it’s definitely been a roller coaster,” he says. Despite uncertainty in the market amid potential federal reductions in Medicare reimbursements, Eric says many healthcare clients remain focused on sustainability initiatives. “Healthcare contributes about 5 percent of global emissions,” he says. “Owners are committed to reducing their carbon.” Resiliency and future proofing are also critical. From extreme weather to human threats, resilience demands a layered approach, including redundant power, onsite water storage, and cybersecurity. Vulnerability assessments set the stage for creating future-proof plans. “The biggest thing we can help clients with is understanding the state of their building or campus and what its vulnerabilities are,” Eric says. “Healthcare facilities need to be operational—period.” Security is a top concern as well, especially in the wake of increasing threats like active shooter incidents. “We take a holistic approach,” says Eric, stressing that security requires much more than just cameras and guards. Key additional components of an all-encompassing security plan include employing the principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and personnel training, including tabletop exercises. "No one wants to deal with these events, but being prepared makes a huge difference," Eric says. Technology, of course, is the main driver of innovation for healthcare facility operations, clinical operations, and delivery of care—all of which need to communicate with each other and be interoperable. “We’ve moved beyond siloed systems to a smart system approach,” says Eric. “Alarms, patient monitoring, building automation systems, command centers, medical records, real-time location solutions, robotics—all of those things and more have to work together.” As for artificial intelligence (AI), Eric says, “Where we are at right now in the industry is just the tip of the iceberg. Our clients are now using AI for clinical documentation, predictive analysis, optimizing their revenue cycle, using chatbots for scheduling, triage, and patient education. On the AEC side, AI is going to be a big tool for design assist. At IMEG we've developed our own AI system that helps us increase our design efficiency and accuracy. We've also developed many tools within Revit and Power BI to help with that efficiency and accuracy, and with coordination. And we continue to grow and expand the use of our virtual reality and augmented reality tools. It’s all very exciting. “Technology and trends are going to continue to influence healthcare care moving forward. That’s one of the cool things about healthcare: It’s never the same. It's always evolving.”
This episode of The Future Built Smarter features Robbie Jones, an IMEG project executive and mechanical engineer who led the firm’s design of the new Advanced Engineering Building at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas—ENR’s 2024 Best of the Best Project in the higher education/research category. The Advanced Engineering Building (AEB), located in the university’s “Innovation Corridor,” is designed to foster innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration within UNLV’s Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering. The AEB supports growing enrollment, education, and research in robotics, cybersecurity, biomedical engineering, energy and water, and artificial intelligence. The three-story, 52,000-sf building features wet and dry labs, classrooms, a maker space, an outdoor aviary for drone testing, and a flexible auditorium or “flexatorium” that can be used as a lecture hall or event space. IMEG provided MEP and technology design for the facility, which also will aid start-ups in Nevada’s growing tech industry. To ensure the MEP design would meet the needs of the university, Robbie, a UNLV engineering graduate, met with several engineering department faculty members—some of whom had been his professors when he was a student. “Never in a hundred years would I have thought that I would be designing an engineering building for UNLV,” says Robbie. “I was excited about doing it, and it was a cool thing for me … kind of a feather in my hat. I've done some billion-dollar gaming projects, and I think this is one of my favorite buildings.” Read the IMEG case study to see photographs of the AEB and learn more about the engineering design. For a tour of the building, watch this UNLV video.
In this episode of The Future Built Smarter, Abby Coleman discusses IMEG’s use of immersive extended reality experiences, 1,300 of which were provided by the firm to project stakeholders in 2024. “Extended reality is an umbrella term for virtual reality and augmented reality,” says Abby. “I essentially use those technologies to help our clients and engineers visualize their design before anything is even built.” As IMEG’s Innovation Extended Reality Specialist, Abby also incorporates VR and AR technology into the firm’s engineering workflow to revolutionize the design process and bolster IMEG project team collaboration. “Whether reviewing a critical space or evaluating workflows, both the engineers and clients will be able to make confident and well-deformed decisions,” she says. Overall, she adds, immersive experiences help accelerate the decision-making process, reduce the number of costly revisions, and optimize project outcomes. IMEG’s immersive experiences are utilized in many markets and for different purposes. Among the 1,300 experiences of the past year, Abby singles out an experience in which IMEG designers “sat” on a hospital bed within a 3D model of a patient room to determine the optimal size and number of footwall digital display screens, based on the patient point of view. In a similar vein, higher education project stakeholders “sat” in various locations of a conference room 3D model to determine the best locations and number of projector screens, again based on the end users’ perspective. And in an augmented reality experience, an engineer inside an existing mechanical room saw how a new chiller and its piping, as designed, would fit in the space. Floor plans, the AEC industry’s traditional medium for communicating designs to clients, cannot truly represent a space. IMEG’s immersive experiences, however, are created using the firm’s robust 3D models, which provide spatial awareness and understanding. “When we're able to put a client in a headset, some of the feedback is like, ‘Wow, now I understand this design. I know how it feels.’ “ In the future, Abby foresees every engineer having a VR headset on their desk and “essentially just using that on design from start to finish.” She also expects to see “VR more heavily incorporated with our client engagement,” with the annual number of stakeholder immersions exceeding last year’s 1,300 experiences. She bases her predictions on extended reality’s proven ability to bridge the communication gap between designers and clients. As she says, “I believe that VR is a universal language of design.” Watch IMEG extended reality experience videos of a patient room, conference room, and job site.
This episode of The Future Built Smarter—one in a series of conversations with IMEG’s market leaders—examines the industrial and manufacturing sector with Mike Walsh, Senior Director of Industrial. The teams under his leadership work on a broad range of projects from aerospace to wastewater treatment facilities. "The diversity of our work is what makes it exciting—every project has its own set of challenges and opportunities," he says. Challenges currently facing industrial and manufacturing clients include speed to market (proper planning is critical to avoid delays that can cost companies millions); talent shortages (a lack of skilled professionals affects both operations and project execution); and technology integration (AI, automation, and robotics are becoming essential in addressing labor shortages and improving efficiency). "We’re seeing more companies invest in automation, not just to improve efficiency, but to fill the gaps left by labor shortages," Mike says. Ensuring reliable access to power—a topic Mike examines in an IMEG blog post—also is critical for industrial and manufacturing owners. This is due to several factors affecting the power grid: increased demand due to population growth and electrification; increased power consumption by high-computing AI and data centers; aging infrastructure; severe weather impacts; and long lead times for major electrical equipment. "Securing enough power to support operations is one of the biggest challenges companies face today,” Mike says. “If you’re not thinking about power availability early in your planning process, you could be in for a long and costly wait.” To avoid such delays, he advises clients to evaluate power availability early in their project planning—ideally before purchasing land. The challenges and opportunities in the rapidly developing industrial market make it imperative for owners to take a proactive approach, Mike says. This will enable them to stay ahead of the curve and build smarter, more sustainable operations. "The companies that succeed will be the ones that embrace change and invest in the right strategies today."
This episode examines the Missouri Botanical Garden’s new Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center in St. Louis, winner of ENR’s National 2024 Best of the Best Project Award in the cultural category. The LEED Gold project houses an event center, gift shop, meeting spaces, restaurant, and auditorium, and included the renovation of the historic Linnean House, the oldest continuously operated public greenhouse west of the Mississippi. Insight into the project is provided by guests Zach Carter of IMEG and Deniz Piskin, Vice President for Facilities and Construction at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The decision to build the new center was largely driven by continual growth in the number of annual visitors; last year 1.3 million people visited the Garden, far more than the previous center could have comfortably accommodated. “The way the original visitor center was constructed, there were a lot of little bottlenecks in getting visitors through the center and into the garden,” Deniz says. The overall visitor experience was the other focus of the project. In addition to the vastly improved entrance and its accessibility, upon entering the new center, visitors are immersed in natural light as they view the exterior gardens through the facility’s south wall of windows. An architectural lantern, or skylight, in the lobby includes a custom-designed scrim perforated in a pattern inspired by tree canopies. These and many other biophilic elements bring the outdoors in. “Everywhere you look, there's something related to nature,” says Deniz. Hidden from sight are the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and technology systems designed by IMEG. Key features include a 50,000-gallon rainwater collection cistern to provide water for the plants in the greenhouse (botanical garden staff consider rain “liquid gold”); displacement ventilation/natural stratification in the 50-foot tall lobby to improve occupant comfort; rooftop solar arrays; and a generator devoted to providing backup power to maintain the appropriate climate for the greenhouse, which features a variety of plants from the Mediterranean. Collaboration among all stakeholders was integral to the design-assist project, which was completed in multiple phases and included the construction of a temporary visitor center to keep the Garden open to visitors throughout construction. Deniz advises other organizations contemplating such a milestone project to “start with a clear understanding of what your goals and objectives are and check back throughout the design process to ensure you are not deviating from your goals. That's what this team did. We always kept in mind our visitors, always kept in mind the visitor experience.” See photos of the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center and read the IMEG project case study. For further information and photographs, read this feature published by Metropolis.
This episode of The Future Built Smarter examines the state of the hospitality market with IMEG’s Bob Winter—one in a series of conversations with the firm’s market sector leaders. Most recently serving as an IMEG client executive in southern California, Bob is now turning his full attention to the growth and continued development of IMEG’s portfolio in the hospitality sector—a market he has led for several years and in which he has vast experience. “I absolutely am excited,” he says of his re-established focus. “Our hospitality group includes MEP, structural, technology, and architectural lighting experts, and our teams are spread across the country, from New York and Philadelphia to Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, and Southern California. “Hospitality is relationship-based,” he adds, with teams assembled for specific projects based on the type of project and expertise required, regardless of where a project is located. “Projects led by developers or architects in Chicago could be taking place in other markets throughout the country, maybe South Florida, for example. It always helps if we have an office where the project is, which we often do, but the design can be done by a remote team.” Bob’s key goals include expanding IMEG’s work in luxury resorts, adaptive reuse, and major renovation projects. “The more complicated, the more challenging projects—those are the ones we want to acquire more of,” he says. Efficiency is another priority. “I want to work with the team so that we’re very efficient in our execution, taking advantage of hospitality’s repetitive design elements. Every property is unique, but guest room stacks are often similar, for example.” While economic uncertainty has been “top of mind” in the industry for the past year and a half, he says 2025 has been identified as a year of “cautious optimism.” One area of growth is in branded residences, which help finance hospitality projects. “We have a number of these that we were successful in winning—like a Dream Hotel with condos, a Waldorf project with residences, and a Breckenridge Grand Vacation project,” he says. Another area of opportunity is in property improvement plans (PIPs), which require hotels to undergo updates every seven to 10 years. “Certainly, during COVID, PIP requirements got lax,” Bob says. “Some properties look tired as a result. But PIPs are no longer optional going forward.” A key geographic area for growth is the Sun Belt—particularly Florida, Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina. “There’s quite a bit of work happening there,” he says. He also sees renewed investment interest in San Francisco and San Diego. “San Francisco is attracting private equity interest because properties can likely be obtained at a good deal, and recovery is noticeable.” Despite the uncertainties in the market, Bob remains optimistic about the future of hospitality. “Hopefully by the end of Q1 or Q2, we’ll see a resurgence,” he says. “Consistent schedules, less delays, and more activity across the board—that’s what I’m hoping for.”
This episode of The Future Built Smarter features Steve Meyer, IMEG’s Transportation and Bridge Market Leader. “I try to get to know all of IMEG’s client executives and business developers to see where we can help fill the needs of our clients,” Steve says. This holistic approach, he adds, allows IMEG to provide comprehensive engineering design and services as needed for any project—from roadways to bridges to buildings—creating a seamless process for clients. “It makes it easy for the client that they can just hire one firm and fulfill quite a few services. Not only can we design their building, we also can design the road to their building.” IMEG’s transportation projects include traffic studies, bridge, roadway, and highway design, rehabilitation and inspection, non-motorized corridors, and grant applications that secure funding for infrastructure improvements. In the wake of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Steve says there have been many infrastructure improvements made across the country but there’s much more work to be done. “Overall, my impression of roads and bridges today is that they’re improving,” he says. “We’re getting better as a nation, but we still have a long way to go.” Steve points to new techniques in the past several years that now can be used to extend the life of roads and bridges, helping clients get more for their money and delay more expensive replacement projects. Technological advances, too, have played a big role in how services are delivered. “The biggest change I’ve seen in transportation over the last 10 years has been the use of drone technology,” Steve says. “We can use drones to survey roads, inspect bridges, and even explore hard-to-reach areas. It saves time, improves safety, and gives us incredible precision.” Widespread use of 360-degree cameras also has allowed engineers to quickly and safely capture detailed views of infrastructure and sites. “We can even lower these cameras into manholes to inspect pipes and systems without putting anyone in harm’s way.” Steve finds great satisfaction in helping provide the infrastructure that people need to improve their communities and way of life, one of the main reasons he became an engineer more than 20 years ago. A recent project he worked on in South Dakota, for example, replaced a deteriorating bridge on a roadway through a lake with a box culvert, a more economical, longer lasting, and adaptable solution. “The lake’s rising levels were inundating the road and damaging the bridge,” he says. “By replacing it with a box culvert designed to allow for future elevation changes, we ensured the road could remain open longer, even as water levels rise. This is critical for the community—it connects a rural school with the nearby town.” Steve expects transportation projects to continue status quo over the next five to 10 years as the country continues to grapple with catching up on projects to repair, replace, and improve worn-out and outdated infrastructure. At the same time, he expects IMEG will play an ever larger role in such projects as the firm continues to grow and add new specialties. “We’ll continue to see a lot of transportation projects, but as more teams join IMEG, we’ll gain even more expertise and capacity to take on diverse challenges. Our goal in the transportation market remains the same: to help communities improve their roads and bridges.”
This episode of The Future Built Smarter examines the intersection of AEC technology and artificial intelligence (AI) with guest Alice Leung, Vice President at Brick and Mortar Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on construction technology. Alice explains that the firm invests in startups that address existing productivity challenges within the industry. "We're here to invest in startups that are trying to solve real problems in the construction industry—not just crazy solutions looking for problems to solve.” Alice says the industry is seeing an influx of interest and investment in technology—noteworthy at a time when McKinsey & Company reports continue to highlight stagnation in construction productivity. "The industry is frustrated that the world thinks we are not more innovative, more technology forward, or productive," she says. AI is the chief driver of innovative construction technology, with current practical applications including streamlining manual tasks to make operations more efficient. This is transforming the estimating process, for example, with some AI software companies using AI to count components such as light fixtures or toilets from PDFs and models, significantly reducing the time and labor required for these tasks—and freeing up technical staff for more important design tasks. “Another low-hanging fruit area is in RFP's—just being able to take past project proposals [and using AI] to help write new proposal material,” Alice says. “So, if you're limited by the number of people that you have putting together proposals, if you're able to leverage AI to speed up a lot of that work, in theory, you can go after more projects, you can win more work, build out a stronger pipeline.” Alice adds that AI also is being used more and more to quickly create 3D environments to allow architects and engineers to present their designs to clients at an early stage, allowing them to visually understand the design and speed up decision-making. "Generative AI is really good at turning sketches into photorealistic stuff... There is just so much auto creation of virtual environments." Those in the AEC industry who are looking to innovate with AI technologies should not overlook the importance of governance, particularly regarding data privacy. "There’s a lot of conversation around data privacy... do we share our data with startups?" Alice says. When evaluating working with startups, she adds, “make sure that they have the technology architecture to be able but to swap in and swap out AI models,” which are getting better and exponentially faster—and often updated every six months or so. “The last thing you want is to have a big partnership with a startup that has hard coded their model or has built it in a way where they can't swap it out easily.” Learn more about Brick & Mortar Ventures at brickmortar.vc/.
This episode of The Future Built Smarter features Matt Malcolm, leader of IMEG’s newest service, IMEG Labs. “With IMEG Labs we are able to offer our clients third-party unbiased evaluation of technology as part of the design process—ahead of actual construction events or implementation on a client's site,” says Matt. The evaluations and demonstrations are conducted at the IMEG Labs testing site in the firm’s office in Naperville, IL. “We can take the different technologies that we're describing as we talk about integration and smart buildings and bring them into our small-scale environment. We can leverage the agile framework and talk about how these things fit together, build out some proof of concepting, and make adjustments before we actually have people installing these things on site.” Owners and clients are encouraged to visit IMEG Labs for demonstrations of their anticipated technology solutions and integrations. “It's really about all the things that are behind the walls, the things that are above the ceilings, the things that are in the IDF closets—all the different functional boxes and smart pieces and parts that are connected to a network and drive how a business operates, whether it's a hospital or a school or an airport. We connect them together with the appropriate wires to showcase everything it takes to achieve the business outcome or use case that a client is looking for.” This service, Matt adds, “allows us to early in the process decide what brands or manufacturers work well together, which ones might be a barrier to implementing because there's a huge implementation cost or integration development cost. It's about timely evaluation of how these systems are going to work together so that they can influence the decisions.” IMEG Labs also can set up mockups for training and continual improvement at a client’s site and can innovate solutions for which there may not yet be a product on the market that allows an owner to push the envelope. “Clients are coming up with some great ideas and we're taking those ideas and trying to see how they could come to life. We're piloting a couple of different technologies—things that haven't really been done before in certain environments.” Listen to the podcast to learn more or contact Matt Malcolm.
This episode of The Future Built Smarter features Dr. Sam Zolfagharian, president of the AI consulting firm YegaTech, which helps AEC companies adapt to the era of disruption caused by the introduction of artificial intelligence into the industry. A keynote speaker and author of the forthcoming book, “Disrupt It,” Sam also holds a Ph.D. in design computing and construction management and has over 20 years of experience developing technologies for the industry. Of six essential elements AEC companies should focus on when creating an AI strategy, she says the first step is establishing a culture of innovation. “If we can’t get the buy-in from our employees, if we don't change their mindset, it doesn't matter which tool we bring on board, it doesn't matter how much investment we do—they're not going to adopt it. “They might be scared of AI taking over their job, or they might just not be interested to try it because they're missing the ‘why’ part. So, it's really important to build that culture of innovation.” Even high-level executives sometimes need enlightenment as to the benefits of using AI to improve processes and outcomes. The day before Sam was to present an AR workshop for a company, a board member shared her skepticism about the usefulness of AI. After the session, however, the board member told Sam she now understood how AI could help their employees and augment their jobs. “At that moment I wondered how many other executives and board members may have the same mindset because they've been in the industry for a while and are skeptical about technology,” said Sam. “So, I'm hoping that with education we can change that mindset and build that culture of innovation for our industry.” To learn more about YegaTech and the upcoming book, “Disrupt It,” visit https://yegatech.com/.
Decarbonization of energy-intensive laboratories takes center stage in this episode featuring guests from the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL). “Laboratories are one of the highest consumers of energy because of the needs around safety,” says Gordon Sharp, I2SL president. “We’re talking about wet labs, which typically deal with hazardous materials or chemicals and require large amounts of ventilation. They also have other needs such as fume hoods and exposure control devices. Their unique design and operational requirements make them very different from other types of buildings.” The I2SL’s Labs2Zero initiative, launched in 2022, is designed to help the industry reduce energy consumption and take steps toward decarbonization. While the initiative emphasizes retrofitting existing labs, it also is expanding its focus to include new lab facilities as well. “This is I2SL's grand plan for decarbonizing lab facilities,” says Alison Farmer, Labs2Zero program director and I2SL board secretary. “Decarbonization is a real challenge in lab facilities, but it's also a significant opportunity. These labs are consuming a lot more energy per square foot than most other types of facilities. And because they're complex, because they're typically unique, and because you have to consider safety and everything else, they often have gotten left out of some of the bigger programs dealing with building decarbonization.” Labs2Zero resources include “score cards” in which owners can benchmark their building’s energy consumption and operational emissions compared to I2SL’s industry-wide database of energy use from more than 1,000 lab buildings. Other resources available now or in the future include embodied carbon benchmarking, Labs2Zero certification of the building energy scores, training for users of the program, and tools to help owners improve the performance of their buildings. To help owners identify the next steps on their decarbonization journey, Labs2Zero will be launching its AIM reporting tool in the coming months. This will guide owners through evaluating appropriate measures for decarbonization for their building and ultimately create a plan and business case for improvements. “With all of these components in place, we know that Labs2Zero is going to make a big difference in decarbonization of lab facilities,” says Farmer. Decarbonization, energy efficiency, and sustainability in laboratories and other high-tech facilities will be examined during the I2SL’s 2024 Annual Conference, “The Gateway to Efficient Labs,” Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 in St. Louis. The conference draws architects, engineers, lab owners, and sustainability professionals from around the world. Learn more about the I2SL, Labs2Zero, and the I2SL Annual Conference.
IMEG’s Peter Monroe joins this episode of The Future Built Smarter to share the experiences of his recent site visit to Antarctica. A former client executive and a structural engineer for 55 years, Peter made the journey from Denver to Antarctica in early 2024 to visit a project at McMurdo Station, a National Science Foundation research facility on Ross Island. McMurdo is undergoing extensive updates, and Peter’s visit was to observe the structural construction of the station’s new dormitory, one of two buildings for which IMEG has provided structural construction documents. Established in 1955, McMurdo consists of numerous buildings and infrastructure of varying sizes and functions, many that are no longer used, others that will be replaced and consolidated into more efficient modern facilities. “I've been telling people the best way to describe it is like some of the old mining towns here in Colorado or out in California that are half abandoned,” Peter says of his first impressions of McMurdo. He also discusses the added challenges of design and construction in the Antarctic—extreme weather and permafrost, materials logistics, limited construction seasons—and key takeaways from the dormitory project. “Generally, we made good decisions,” he says, adding that there were many lessons learned to apply to the core building—the next project IMEG will design for the NSF. “The dormitory is one of their first major projects and hopefully the lessons transfer.” While he was scheduled to be at McMurdo for six days, bad weather and airplane mechanical issues extended his stay to 12 days. That allowed him to be present for the dormitory “topping off” ceremony—the hoisting and placement of the final structural steel beam, which he signed along with the other project team partners who were present. The additional days also gave him extra time to explore and take photos and videos of the Antarctic’s native residents. “One of the days, there were two little Adelie penguins walking down the road and we were all standing there watching them. Another day the big emperor penguins came in and there was probably 50, 60, or 70 of them.” The Antarctica trip will always stand out among Peter’s career highlights and is decidedly his farthest site visit ever—eclipsing a past visit to Saudi Arabia and easily outdistancing anything else. “For something that was in Denver, I'd leave the office in the morning, go out, and be back before lunch.” Watch a video of Peter Monroe’s Antarctica site visit.
The final episode in a series about IMEG’s refreshed Sustainability Plan features Olivia Paxson, a structural engineering designer with the firm. Olivia is also the Sustainability Plan’s champion in IMEG’s St. Louis office, where she collaborates with her co-workers to implement the plan’s mandated and optional initiatives. “We’ve already switched to LED lighting and that's thanks to the people we rent from,” she says. “We have a dishwasher, and we have reusable utensils, and we’re really close to a metro line as well as bus stations.” Like most IMEG offices, the St. Louis team is a tenant in its building and will be working to find more ways to collaborate with the other tenants and the owner to enact further changes. Olivia is excited over the effort she has seen across IMEG and the potential for meaningful change. “I think this collective action is so important because one individual can only do so much,” she says. “All the offices have come together—different people of different backgrounds, and they're not all engineers. We've got such a variety of people and because we're able to come together I think we can be pushed so much further.”
IMEG’s Anchila Monks is featured in the third episode in a series about the firm’s refreshed Sustainability Plan. A business developer with IMEG, Anchila is also the Sustainability Plan’s champion in the firm’s office in Portland, OR, where she collaborates with her co-workers to implement the plan’s mandated and optional initiatives. Anchila recalls what her grandmother told her at a young age: “She said that heaven and earth and humanity are different manifestations of one life energy, and that we only have one planet—and there is no Planet B.” For Anchila, this was the beginning of her understanding of the importance of taking care of the environment. Living and working in Portland—one of the country’s greenest communities—makes some of the Sustainability Plan’s optional initiatives easier to accomplish, such as biking and carpooling to work, recycling, and composting. The office also has “adopted a block” and formed a “Team Portland” group to participate in a community clean-up day. Like other IMEG Sustainability Champions, Anchila is passionate about her role, and urges people everywhere to not procrastinate in helping to save the environment. “Do not waste time,” she says. “This is the right time to do it.”
The second in a series of episodes on IMEG’s refreshed Sustainability Plan features Jessica Lee, a sustainability and energy consultant with the firm. Also the Sustainability Plan champion in IMEG’s Chicago office, Jessica collaborates with her co-workers to implement the plan’s mandated and optional initiatives. Jessica’s passion for the environment began as a child growing up within an indigenous community in Hawaii. “Being surrounded by the greenest greens and the bluest blues in the world made me appreciate nature and respect nature,” she says. “So, growing up I was just surrounded by the idea that the earth is what gives us life and we should work with it rather than against it.” In addition to contributing to the company-wide tracking of office energy use and other mandated initiatives, Jessica is looking forward to helping the Chicago office choose and implement its optional sustainability initiatives. She hopes these will include an office composting bin and increased use of public transportation to and from work. “Everybody's coming together to get new ideas on what they could do in the office and it's just really inspiring to see that,” she says.
In the first in a series of episodes on IMEG’s refreshed Sustainability Plan, Adam McMillen, director of sustainability, and Taylor Gawthorp-Cruse, senior sustainability and energy consultant, discuss key aspects of the initiative. Designed to integrate environmentally friendly practices at the firm’s offices, the updated plan builds upon the original version, released in 2018, and promotes conserving energy and water, lowering carbon emissions, and reducing waste. The 2024 version includes new mandated initiatives (such as tracking office energy usage) as well as optional initiatives (such as providing in-office composting) that allow each location to take actions best-suited for their office, whether corporate owned or rented. While the firm’s largest positive impact on the environment rests within its ability to reduce the carbon footprint of its clients’ projects, it also can now make a sizeable impact through the operations and actions at its own offices, which now number 90-plus across the U.S. “Now our carbon number has become a big number, and if we have a sustainable mindset where we work every day, then that scales, too,” says McMillen. “If you only have three offices, it is still worth it to think about it, but it has become more important for us now for sure.” Implementing an internal sustainability plan is a large undertaking, and organizations seeking to do so should start by identifying office champions who can lead the effort at each office location. “My biggest piece of advice is to harness the power of passionate people in your firm,” says Gawthorp-Cruse. “You’d be surprised by the drive of people who want to make a positive impact and bring new ideas to the table that maybe they don't get to express in their day-to-day work. Our sustainable office champions are amazing, and I think there's nothing a group of passionate people can't accomplish.”