Corporate Real Estate Related Articles

Syska Hennessy key staff members regularly contribute technical articles on a variety of topics to leading industry publications. In addition, Syska Hennessy projects are often the recipient of industry awards for excellence in design and construction. You may contact any number of our experts for more information.

Click on the links below for more details on any of the articles listed.

Green Power
This article gives an introduction towind, solar, and geothermal power, explaining how they affect the building market as well as project planning and construction.
appeared in Building Design & Construction

A New Beginning for 2000 Avenue of the Stars
The revived 2000 Avenue of the Stars is great example of adaptive reuse and energy efficiency.
appeared in Buildings.com

Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Your Real Risks
In the face of myraid threats, which security risks should facility executives worry about the most?
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

The Green Grid Continues Momentum with Further Industry Collaboration and Membership Growth
The Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) Joins the Ecosystem of Government and Industry Organizations and More Than 150 Companies Teaming with the Green Grid
appeared in BusinessWire

Fire Safety System Retrofits: Don’t Get Burned
A fire safety system retrofit creates a situation with no room for errors and countless opportunities for them to happen. The average commercial high-rise fire safety system takes four years to retrofit. During that time, a multitude of different components must be tracked and managed to ensure that the overall system continues to function.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

11 Surprising Ways that Your Building Wastes Energy
If you take a close-up look at your facilities, you'll discover that energy is being wasted in ways you didn't realize
appeared in Buildings.com

Optimal Systems for Class A Buildings
make them smarter, safer, more reliable.
appeared in Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Journal

Understanding BAS Functions
Picture a 2.3 million square foot facility with a total HVAC system capacity of 10,500 tons to support occupancy of up to 40,000 people. Now imagine letting the HVAC system run at full load all the time, regardless of how many people are actually in the building.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

U.S. Patent Office Breaks the Mold
Power Solutions and Sachs Electric earn seal of approval with efficient new systems
appeared in Electrical Contractor

Light Untamed
We’re not as familiar with are the complexities that accompany a daylighting design and the problems of its often erroneous implementation. To reap the benefits, daylighting strategies must be designed and installed correctly--a task that isn’t as simple as it seems.
appeared in Consulting-Specifying Engineer

Communicating When There is No Time to Lose
A new emphasis on communication during emergencies has led to fresh thinking about mass notification systems
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Late to the Party
Trendsetting Los Angeles makes a fashionably late entrance to the Green Movement.
appeared in Commercial Property News Magazine

The positive effects of sustainable design: Why your next project should be green
People who are buying or leasing buildings nowadays are increasingly aware of the quality of the building’s systems. They are looking at numbers, the value the systems will bring, the end capacities, and the long-term operating and maintenance costs. Green design addresses all those concerns.
appeared in Real Estate Journal

Why Sustainable Construction Makes Good (Financial) Sense
Sustainability making good financial sense.
appeared in CoreNet

Target's Data Centers Keep Pace With Rapid Retail Growth
By using data center capacity management and forecasting best practices, Target's IT team have clear visibility into data center operations. As a result, they've had little trouble making the case for new data center construction.
appeared in SearchCIO News

Force of Nature
Earth's elements are cornerstone of EPA's new Denver digs
appeared in Archi-Tech

Star Power
One central plant shines among the stars
appeared in Distributed Energy

Environmentality
More and more property owners are giving developers the green light for sustainable building.
appeared in Western Real Estate Business

The Use of Outside Air Economizers In Data Center Environments
There are two types of economizers which can accomplish a reduction in hours of chiller operation – waterside economizers, and airside economizers. This white paper explains briefly waterside economizers and the remainder will concentrate on issues relating to airside economizers.
appeared in ZDT Magazine

HVAC and Fire Safety for Elevator Systems
Elevator industry resources estimate that there are about 900,000 installed elevator systems in the United States.
appeared in Consulting-Specifying Engineer

Chilled Beam Ceiling Systems Promise Energy, Maintenance Savings
While chilled beam technology has been used in commercial space in Europe for more than a decade, it is just beginning to take root in the U.S.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Syska Hennessy’s Ann Banning-Wright: Office Building Construction has Turned Green Overnight
Ann Banning-Wright has been bowled over by how fast the commercial building market has begun to incorporate the principles of green architecture into new office building construction.
appeared in EnergyTechStocks.com

Lines of Defense
Sprinklers make headlines for their effectiveness, but they’re only one aspect of balanced fire safety design
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

'Clients look to us to lead them'
Chief Strategy Officer Ann Banning-Wright discusses Syska's national initiative called "Evolving the Role of the Engineer".
appeared in Building Design & Construction

GOING BEYOND LEED: Engineering today’s green buildings into tomorrow’s climate-responsible projects
LEED guidelines are accepted so widely today that the USGBC and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) are writing a standard to be adopted into the International Building Code. So, what’s next? What is the next level of building green?
appeared in Real Estate Weekly

New Public Library Confirms Santa Monica’s Commitment to Sustainability
The City of Santa Monica's new public library likely contributed to a recent report of a 5.7 percent decrease in its Ecological Footprint, an index that tracks a location’s use of the earth’s resources in terms of water and land area.
appeared in Environmental Design + Construction

Cool your chips: What's ahead in energy management
There are already ways to add liquid to your existing rack server, and cooling the chips themselves is a logical next step, some believe. Various technologies are at different stages of commercialization.
appeared in Computerworld

Demand for Green Increasing
More and more office buildings are going green, with the installation of solar panels, fluorescent light bulbs and waterless urinals that are energy efficient and reduce pollution.
appeared in GlobeSt.com

Blazing a Path: New Technology, Design Approach Move Fire Safety Forward
The objective of fire and life safety systems installed in a facility remains the same as ever: to protect the occupants and facility in the event of a fire or other emergency. That isn’t going to change.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

GSA Design Excellence Awards Honor 18 Projects
Exemplary work in public design took center stage today as the U.S. General Services Administration honored 18 projects for excellence during its Design Awards ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
appeared in Earth Times

Why Sustainable Construction Makes Good (Financial) Sense
While altruistic sentiment continues to be of importance to many, "green" building practices are now increasingly motivated by economic factors, as well.
appeared in Real Estate Journal

Green data center advice: Is LEED feasible?
Green data center practices are on the docket for many data center managers in 2007. The experts at consulting and engineering firm Syska Hennessy Group recognized this trend and have formed a Green Critical Facilities Committee
appeared in SearchDataCenter.com

Security Integration: Making it Work
Convergence — joining physical and logical security — means moving beyond the buzz to uncover opportunities for efficiency.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Optimizing Security and Life/Safety for Commercial High-Rise Buildings
Given the events of 9/11, it only makes sense that managers of high-rise office buildings would be particularly interested in doing everything possible to protect their building tenants.
appeared in Real Estate Journal

Strategic Energy Planning: A Step Zero Approach
With sharp increases in the costs of natural gas and fuel oil over the last few years, facility managers have begun facing significant new challenges to successful implementation and operation of energy-related capital projects.
appeared in Facilities Manager

Why Your Next Project Should Be Green
A discussion on why sustainable building is one trend that’s here to stay.
appeared in Texas Real Estate Business

Green on the Inside
Engineered systems such as BAS and innovative HVAC are key sustainable ingredients for office buildings
appeared in Consulting-Specifying Engineer

Top Grade for USDA
State-of-the-art life safety systems are a key part of a major upgrade for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's headquarters complex.
appeared in Consulting-Specifying Engineer

Syska Hennessy Forms Green Critical Facilities Committee (Green CF)
Being industry leaders in the design and construction of Critical Facilities and Sustainable and High Performance Building Technology, we recognize the need to integrate these practices and look beyond traditional design.
appeared in The Data Center Journal

Attention to Detail Pays Off In Planning Fire Safety Upgrades
Of all the responsibilities facility executive must handle, none is as important as protecting the building’s occupants. That’s why it’s critical that any upgrades to a building’s fire and life safety systems be thoughtfully addressed.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Integrated Technologies Provide an Enhanced Approach to Building Security
Integrated systems bring all building security data together into one place. This information can include not only who enters and exits, but where it occurs.
appeared in Real Estate Journal

USPTO Makes Its Mark with Consolidation
Citation of Excellence in Buildings’ New Construction Awards 2006: U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Headquarters, Alexandria, VA, submitted by Syska Hennessy Group Inc.
appeared in Buildings.com

Save Your Energy
The cost of electricity continues to rise. What can you do to reduce the cost of your utility bills?
appeared in ASHRAE Journal

Assessing Your Furniture & Flooring Needs
It’s The Little Things That Count
appeared in Processor

Data Center Criticality Levels
A Proposed New Classification System for Today’s Critical Facilities
appeared in Energy & Power Management

Flexible Design Can Improve Fire Safety
An alternative to prescriptive building codes, performance-based designs are tailored for specific facilities
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Integrated Technologies Enhance Building Security
Advances in security technologies are enabling facilities to implement more effective security strategies at a lower cost…
appeared in Real Estate Weekly

Improving Indoor Office Environment Boosts Productivity
There is a perception that high performance buildings are costly and with limited results, however an increasing number of new projects are being designed to enhance indoor air quality. Are they worth it?
appeared in Real Estate Weekly

Paying for Deferred Maintenance
Projects put on hold, repair that is neglected, and preventive maintenance that is ignored add up to a costly and complex problem
appeared in Buildings.com

Altruistic or Opportunistic?
Today, green buildings are sprouting up across the country, leaving hard-core investors asking, “How do green buildings really pencil out?”
appeared in National Real Estate Investor Magazine

Meeting the Requirements of Local Law 26
It is about people not buildings.
appeared in Real Estate Journal

Sustainable Design: Going beyond LEED and beginning the process of codification
The trend we are seeing today is using the minimum standard allowed by building codes when it comes to green buildings. There is no sustainable code that addresses the environmental impact of the construction and operation of a building.
appeared in Real Estate Journal

Planning for Perfection
Syska Hennessy engineers, in an attempt to redefine the "perfect" office building, take a look at today's office building trends with a review of the past and an eye on the future.
appeared in Consulting-Specifying Engineer

Office Max
Corporate clients want open layouts with lots of informal meeting spaces in today's offices. But it's below the surface—and in the ceiling—where designers must create the efficient and flexible M/E infrastructure that's the key to improved business productivity.
appeared in Consulting-Specifying Engineer

Security Considerations for Today's Facilities
Security planning has evolved into a business necessity, an essential requirement of any commercial real estate development. Corporate tenants are not only concerned with the standard security issues – safety for their offices and people -- they must now worry about creating highly secure environments for their IT operations, data centers and critical facilities.
appeared in Real Estate Journal

Santa Monica Library Seeks LEED® Silver
The two-story building has over three levels of underground parking.
appeared in Interior Design

Squelching Fire Safety Risks
Planning for life safety systems that exceed code can improve occupant safety and help keep an organization running should a fire strike
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

High-Class Hospitality
Following a post-9/11 slumber, hotel and casino building is waking up again.
appeared in Consulting-Specifying Engineer

Compliance with Executive Order 111 Makes New York State Buildings Greener
In an effort to be more energy efficient and environmentally responsible, New York State Governor George Pataki issued Executive Order 111 through the Governor’s Office of Regulatory Reform.
appeared in Real Estate Journal

The New Buzz
Exciting new technologies that broaden communications options, improve productivity and comfort, heighten safety and security and provide innovative conveniences are powerful incentives building owners and managers can offer to attract tenants and improve retention.
appeared in Journal of Property Management

Taking Security To the Next Level
With increasing focus on real-world concerns, a broad business perspective on risk and response is needed.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

New Codes Aim For Safer High-Rises
Chicago and New York prepare to comply with new rules, including expanded requirements for sprinklers
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

House-Shaped Hospital New ‘Home’ For Children in Valhalla, N.Y.
As hospitals get more and more specialized, they are seeking to address the specific health and emotional needs of children and their families.
appeared in Real Estate Weekly

Facilities Unplugged
Convenience and increased productivity are benefits of wireless technology, but there are still hurdles to be cleared.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Balanced Approach to Fire Safety
When it comes to protecting people and property, a mix of active and passive fire protection measures is the best choice
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Economy, Technology Combine to Make Cogeneration a Viable Option for Building Owners Today
Today’s changing economy and technology advances is now making cogeneration more of a viable alternative solution for medium to large office and residential buildings.
appeared in Real Estate Journal

Air Filtration Can Make Breathing Easier
Selecting an air filtration system with the right level of efficiency for a particular building type can increase indoor air quality and help create a healthy facility.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Cooler Technology Cuts Datacentre Size
Syska Hennessy has unveiled a unique design for cooling datacentres that will allow companies to pack far more servers into a datacentre space.
appeared in ComputerWeekly.com

Break New Ground
Tune in to the latest architectural trends in retail, multifamily, industrial and office construction and remodeling.
appeared in Journal of Property Management

A New Horizon At Verizon
Among the damage from the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks was Verizon’s 140 West Street facility in lower Manhattan. Located just across the street from Ground Zero, the original New York Telephone Company headquarters building, constructed in 1926, suffered major damage.
appeared in Engineered Systems

Don't Forget Your Data
Syska's Jerry Burkhardt discusses the need for computer back-up during power outages.
appeared in Institute of Real Estate Management

A Cost-Effective Strategy for Achieving LEED® Certification
Many owners believe that a green building is too costly to consider. Yet a well-designed building can easily meet all prerequisites and achieve LEED® certification.
appeared in Real Estate Journal

CBR Threats May Demand Higher Levels of Security
Choices about HVAC design, security procedures and hardware, and architecture can help minimize the harm if an attack were to occur.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Experts Talk About Key Security Issues in Planning, Technology and Terrorism
Security gets a lot of ink in newspapers and magazines, but it can be hard for facility executives to get behind the headlines. This report takes a close look at four questions that illustrate the diversity of security challenges — within the organization, nationally and internationally.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Lighting Efficiency: Obstacles and Opportunities
Lighting, perhaps the most visible use of electricity, often has been the first target for efficiency upgrades. But many facilities have upgraded lighting systems in the last decade, and some facility executives wonder just how much efficiency can be gained from another improvement.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Dollars and Sense
Selling owners on a long-term view of facility operations is tough, but solid life-cycle cost estimates can lead to more intelligent decisions about investing in intelligent buildings.
appeared in Consulting-Specifying Engineer

Technology Aims For Cooler Datacenters
Syska Hennessy has unveiled a unique design for cooling datacentres that will allow companies to pack far more servers into a datacentre space.
appeared in Computerworld

Zoned Security: A New Solution
In the face of varied threats, a zoned approach can protect the facility from the inside out.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

In the Heat of Fire, Is Code Enough?
A range of established and emerging technologies can make Fire and emergency response systems more effective in life-threatening situations
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Steps That Can Reduce Energy Costs in a Real-time Power Market
When operating in a deregulated market, it is essential to be proactive and have an effectively-designed and well-maintained mechanical system in order to avoid short-term spikes during peak-demand periods. Here are some steps that can reduce energy costs.
appeared in Real Estate Journal

MANAGING OPERATING COSTS IN A REAL-TIME POWER MARKET
When operating in a deregulated market, it is essential to be proactive and have an effectively-designed and well-maintained mechanical system in order to avoid short-term spikes during peak-demand periods. Here are some steps that can reduce energy costs.
appeared in Real Estate Weekly

THINKING GREEN: DESIGNING HIGH-PERFORMANCE FACILITIES
Commercial building owners are finding that green buildings can be cost-effective to develop and maintain, and can be a magnet for corporate tenants, an important consideration in today’s real estate marketplace.
appeared in Real Estate Journal

Trading Conference Spaces (Special Report)
Facility professionals are being asked to find solutions utilizing smaller workspaces-yet still have room for office furnishings, and personnel to complete their daily tasks and duties.
appeared in Today's Facility Manager

What's Changed in Building Design Since 9/11?
On the 10-year anniversary of the first attack on World Trade Center, a group of designers, builders and code officials met to discuss what has changed for those who design, construct and operate buildings since September 11.
appeared in Consulting-Specifying Engineer

On a Plateau
New York Metropolitan Market Starts To Decline in 2003 After Record Highs
appeared in New York Construction News

Preventing Bioterrorism
Nine steps to reduce contamination risks.
appeared in Facilities Design & Management

Landmark Battles Back After Being Down and Briefly Out
The battered, 32-story telecommunications center that looms over the north side of the World Trade Center site has a toughness much deeper than its stout 76-year-old steel frame and brick and limestone façade.
appeared in Engineering News-Record

Skyscrapers Are Here to Stay
Syska VP Terry Gillick speaks out on current development trends for high-rise structures.
appeared in Commercial Property News Magazine

NAREE Panel Says Skyscraper Concept Here to Stay
The skyscraper concept is not about to be relegated to the scrapheap of real estate history. In fact, tall buildings will continue to rise as the style of choice in metropolitan areas and our cityscapes will be the better for it.
appeared in GlobeSt.com

110 Blocks Bring Order to Multi-location Cabling Project
A pharmaceutical company links its many offices with a tidy universal solution devoid of patch panels.
appeared in Cabling Installation & Management

The New Sherman Oaks Galleria: MEP Systems
You can save time and energy in renovating a retail center, by including the utility agency early in the process
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Business Strategies for the Worst-Case Scenario
six questions that every senior-level executive should ask when it comes to emergency preparedness - the answers could save your business
appeared in Area Development

Damage Assessment - Focus Shifting to Scrutiny of Utilities of WTC-Area Buildings
MEP: attention is starting to focus on the conditions of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems in the affected buildings.
appeared in Engineering News-Record

Makeover Makes a Mark On Famous California Mall
Sherman Oaks Galleria conversion into an office, entertainment and retail complex is no ordinary conversion.
appeared in Real Estate Journal

Do You Know Where Your Electrons Are?
Business or Residential--you know they're worried about those notorious California blackouts
appeared in California Real Estate Journal

Upgrading Fire/Life Safety Systems in Older Buildings
How to upgrade Fire/Life Safety Systems in older buildings without breaking the bank.
appeared in Building Operating Management/FacilitiesNet

Don't Be Left In the Dark - Prepare Now for Power Blackouts

appeared in Journal of Property Management

Gag Me with a Mall!
Sherman Oaks Galleria conversion into an office, entertainment and retail complex is no ordinary conversion.
appeared in Grid

Telecom/Office Hybrids: Staying Flexible in an Uncertain Market
For the owners and developers of telecom hotels, it's no longer a case of "if you build it, they will come."
appeared in Real Estate Journal