Ballinger

Structural Engineer and Group Manager Angela Fante, PE, LEED AP, Associate, was named 2011 Young Engineer of the Year by the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University with both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Architectural Engineering, Angela is an active member of the Delaware Valley Association of Structural Engineers, the American Institute of Steel Construction, and the Public Relations Committee of the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia. She recently served as Education Committee Chair for the Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware Chapter of the American Concrete Institute and is a mentor for Penn State's Student Society of Architectural Engineers. A Senior Project Engineer at Ballinger, Angela's recent projects include Virginia Commonwealth University's new School of Medicine, a new Surgical Pavilion for Shore Memorial Hospital, College of Charleston's new Science Building, the Vernon and Shirley Hill Pavilion at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Reading Hospital and Medical Center's Patient Care Center.

R&D Magazine has bestowed this year's annual Lab of the Year award upon the Ballinger-designed Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. This prestigious awards program is an international competition recognizing excellence in laboratory design. Situated at the heart of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, this unique 330,000 sf biomedical research facility is home to twin institutes, the private, nonprofit Morgridge Institute for Research and the public Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. To engage both the local and campus community with the science happening in the building, an unusually large part of the program is dedicated to public activity. A ground floor Town Center serves as a civic science place and a living room for the surrounding science and engineering campus quadrant. The secure research floors located above the public realm embrace the concepts of transparency and openness to promote interaction, collaboration and discovery within the lab environment.

Ballinger is proud to be ranked #38 on Interior Design's Giants list this year. Ballinger's interior design studio is fully integrated with in-house architecture and engineering studios to provide a holistic design process. Talented, experienced designers are committed to designing sensory, tactile, spatially-rich environments for a range of corporate, academic and health care clients.

The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, a leader in medical education for 100 years, sought to redefine the practice of medicine and the education of students through a combined curriculum reform and facility planning process. This talk, given by Bill Gustafson and Todd Drake of Ballinger and Dr. David Nichols and Dr. Rob Shochet of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to the Association of American Medical Colleges' GBA/GIP Joint Spring Meeting, explores the interplay between pedagogy and facility design in the new Armstrong Center for Medical Education.

Associate Principal Todd Drake joined forces with Dana Sunshine from The City University of New York and Dr. Thomas Riles from New York University Langone Medical Center to present the challenges and benefits associated with the development of the New York Simulation Center for Health Sciences at the Society for College and University Planning North Atlantic Regional Conference in Amherst, MA. A public/private partnership between CUNY and NYU, the center will provide medical simulation training for nursing, allied health and medical programs at both institutions as well as for major city emergency management leaders such as FDNY and the Red Cross.

Ballinger is proud to be ranked #14 on Interior Design's Health Care Giants list this year. An impressive catalog of work has characterized Ballinger's health care practice, from major replacement hospitals to hospital renovations to academic medical center teaching and simulation spaces.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was honored with a Delaware Valley Green Building Council Leadership Award at the DVGBC's Annual Green Building Celebration. The Ballinger-designed Colket Translational Research Building illustrates CHOP's commitment to sustainable design and construction.  Recently receiving LEED Gold certification, this sophisticated facility uniquely balances environmental stewardship with an intense, efficient research environment.

In honor of National Park(ing) Day sponsored by the Trust for Public Land, Ballinger joined numerous artists, institutions, activists and designers across Philadelphia in reclaiming traditional parking spots and turning them into people-friendly public space. Located on the 900 block of Chestnut Street, Ballinger's temporary park focused on reuse as a design aesthetic and included approximately 100 printing tubes transformed into planters, cradle to cradle certified carpet tiles and a chair made of recycled coke bottles.  Many thanks to those who helped Ballinger make this park possible: Knoll, Shaw Contract Group, Emeco, Service Point and Concrete Service Materials Co.

The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery was presented with the Focus on Energy Award of Excellence at Wisconsin Green Building Alliance's SE2 Conference in Madison for its leadership in energy efficient and sustainable design, construction and operation. A LEED Gold certified facility, the 330,000 sf building was lauded by the judges for its access to daylight and its management of solar heat gain, its energy efficient HVAC systems, and its efficient yet attractive building envelope.

George Washington University Trustees, University President Steven Knapp, faculty members and students attended the official groundbreaking for the Ballinger-designed Science and Engineering Hall, a new ten-story, 675,000 sf teaching and research facility for the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science.  Dr. Knapp acknowledged the work of the diverse team of people who have worked hard to make this project a priority, stating, "To be a powerful institution devoted to making advances in the realm of policy, in today’s world you have to have credibility and power and competence and excellence in science and engineering. This project is absolutely integral to everything we’re trying to achieve as a university.”  The building is scheduled for completion in 2015.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and the University of Wisconsin were presented with a Project Leadership Gold Award by the Construction Owners Association of America for excellence in project delivery, professionalism and project management. Designed by Ballinger, the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery was successfully completed in December 2010 using a true Integrated Project Delivery method for design and construction.

In the race to become less invasive, the hybrid operating room has become a distinguishing component in today’s surgical suite.  This presentation given at Healthcare Design '11 in Nashville, TN focused on the cardiovascular (CV) hybrid room, exploring changes in technology and surgical techniques that justify this major investment and projecting probable next steps that impact planning for such spaces.  Louis Meilink, AIA, ACHA, Principal and Dwight Smith, AIA, Senior Healthcare Planner from Ballinger discussed the implications of hybrid rooms from a design viewpoint. Johannes Bonatti, MD, Professor of Surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center, identified the key components to a successful CV hybrid room and outlined key cultural and operational paradigm shifts that guide anticipated next steps.

On January 19, 2012, Keith Mock, AIA, Principal, was inducted as President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects at the Athanaeum of Philadelphia in Washington Square. Keith's role will last one calendar year during which he will focus on advancing collegiality, learning and advocacy of the architectural profession within the region. With more than 30 years' experience as a practicing architect, Keith has served as the co-chair of the AIA/GBCA Joint Committee and is a member of the AIA Practice Committee. He actively participates in industry forums to address the pros and cons of emerging Project Delivery Models and the use of Building Information Network technologies. As the overseer of Ballinger's project operations and management, he experiences firsthand the impact processes and technologies have on the design and construction community.