Arch Nexus was excited to be the first stop in the sold out SRBX Brew Bike Event hosted by the Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange (SRBX). The bike-led architectural tour included projects that are activating the Historic ‘R’ Street Corridor, including Arch | Nexus SAC, MarketOne Builders, XL Construction and the Ice Blocks project.

Discussions were led by a group of leaders who are instrumental in the development of the vibrant Sacramento region: Mike Heller of Heller Pacific, Inc., Randy Paragary of the Paragary Restaurant Group, and Todd Leon of the Capitol Area Development Authority. Participants were led on a tour through the Arch | Nexus SAC building site, which is striving for Living Building Challenge certification, aspects of which were presented to the group for analysis and discussion. The Living Building Challenge can be used as a teaching tool for the region and its builders, helping builders in the area to conserve costs as well as the environment without sacrificing the safety or aesthetic of the building.

For more details on Arch | Nexus SAC, please visit: dev.archnexus.com/arch-nexus-sac/

Arch Nexus is pleased to announce that Cornerstone Building I in Cottonwood Heights, Utah was recently awarded LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Extensive planning was done to ensure that the building would meet a high standard for environmental sustainability and have a low operating cost.

Sustainable design features include many that are quickly becoming the standard within the industry such as high-performance glass, an IDEC cooling system, rooftop photovoltaic panels, fixed shading devices on the exterior facades, a reflective white roof, water efficient landscaping and tight envelope construction. Cornerstone has also incorporated all LED lighting in the building which reduces operating and maintenance costs as well as providing an attractive light quality.

In addition to the building’s sustainable qualities, Cornerstone features many amenities that encourage tenant and environmental health. These include access to public transportation, secure bicycle storage, a gym and shower/locker rooms and access to a nearby trail system where tenants can be seen walking throughout the day. Anticipating the needs of future commuters, electric charging stations are provided within the parking structure that can fully charge as many as 26 electric vehicles each day.

 

Arch Nexus seeks to promote environmental stewardship and employee wellness each year by holding an annual Bike to Work challenge in which employees are encouraged to walk, bike, or take alternative transportation to work. This year, Arch Nexus employees in both Sacramento and Salt Lake City logged 2925 miles over 312 bike rides to and from the office. With variation in car types and transportation distances, participants managed to save an approximate 2650.3 pounds in carbon emissions, as well as lowering fuel consumption and increasing their overall health and wellbeing.

 Biking or walking to work also helps individuals and communities stay healthy by decreasing traffic and exhaust inhalation while increasing productivity and strength. 

If you’re interested in seeing how much fuel and carbon emissions you can save on your commute by biking, please visit: 

https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle-0

 

 

With the 2016 Rio Olympic spirit of competition and teamwork in the air, Arch Nexus enthusiastically participated in the Salt Lake County Corporate Games, the closing ceremonies of which were held on August 27^th.

SLCO Corporate Games keep employees healthy and active while promoting workplace pride, camaraderie and team work. Arch Nexus volunteered at and competed in multiple events- including dodgeball, volleyball, golf, bowling, and many others throughout the month of August. Victories for individuals and teams were celebrated as we got to know share a friendly, competitive spirit with teams from a diverse array of companies in Salt Lake County.

For more information on how your company can participate in the SLCO Corporate games, please visit slco.org/RECREATION/sportsOffice/corpGames/index.html

On August 16th, Arch Nexus hosted a blood drive with American Red Cross. Throughout the course of the day, 21 units of blood were collected which will be used for up to 63 different patients. Of the 21 donors, 12 were first time donors with the Red Cross.

Blood donations can be used for a variety of medical treatments, many of which are lifesaving. For more information about volunteering, hosting a blood drive or finding one nearby, please visit http://www.redcrossblood.org/

John West, president of Cottonwood Partners, has been selected to receive the NAIOP Utah 2016 Developer of the Year award. According to NAIOP, “The Developer of the Year Award is given annually to one developer that best exemplifies leadership and innovation in the commercial real estate market…showing outstanding quality of projects and services, financial consistency and stability, ability to adapt to market conditions, active support of the industry through NAIOP, and support of the local community.”

Arch Nexus worked with John on one of his landmark projects, the Cottonwood Corporate Center, and we were impressed by his thoughtful and generous planning with Cottonwood’s iconic entrances, undulating roads to make parking both attractive and accessible, water-wise landscaping, and integration of major works of art. John has championed sustainable design with the goals of enhancing the market position of his properties, minimizing operating costs and increasing net revenue while incorporating lasting systems and materials.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To learn more about the great work that John West and Cottonwood Partners are doing, please visit www.cottonwoodpartners.com

Here at Nexus we have a strong affinity for nature. It calms, comforts and inspires us. It is this affinity that drove us to look to our beautiful and nearby Wasatch Mountains for opportunities to give service to our community while also being able to enjoy a bit of the beauty ourselves.  Our forests and mountains are a real treasures to us and we wanted to help in the efforts to manage, protect and encourage responsible use of them today and for future generations. A quick web search and a few phone calls later we were able to connect with the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation, with their assistance we decided that trail maintenance would be the perfect balance of work, interaction and ability to make an impact for good.  As trail users ourselves we were excited to be able to “pay it forward” and help provide others with planned, safe & responsible access to our mountains.

The Cottonwood Canyon Foundation is aimed at solving existing problems in the Big and Little Cottonwood and Millcreek Canyons. With such high levels of recreation use each year, these canyons run the risk of being loved to death like so many other busy areas in our public lands. Through careful use and teamwork, these problems can be mitigated!

On August 10th and 11th staff from Arch Nexus in Salt Lake City got their hands dirty and volunteered to support the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation by digging out stubborn invasive plants and clearing trails of boulders and debris so that people can safely enjoy these wonderful areas in a way that helps preserve their natural life and beauty.

For anyone who is interested in volunteering with the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation please visit cottonwoodcanyons.org/volunteer/.

Weber County, in partnership with Arch Nexus, has committed to make improvements to public safety by upgrading the Weber Area Dispatch 911 and Emergency Services in Ogden, Utah. Ogden City is currently in the process of donating the land next to the current facility. With this donation, the Emergency Services Facility will be able to stay at the same location by means of a significant remodel and new building addition rather than a costly relocation.

The current building, which is not designed for emergency services, is too small for the current staff. In some cases employees are in offices shared by up to 3 people. Dispatchers who sit so close to each other receive emergency calls may be picked up by other police officer and firefighter radios. With careful planning, design and construction, Arch Nexus will increase the size, functionality and efficiency of the building as well as an aesthetic environment to better promote the safety and health of the employees within the building as well as the surrounding community.

For a brief article on the building by The Standard Examiner, please see:
http://www.standard.net/Local/2016/08/02/Weber-911-dispatch-center-will-expand-at-its-current-location.html

On Monday, August 8th, Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams presented a new plan to combat homelessness. Mayor McAdams says that the Homeless Services System Reform Plan’s aim is to “strategically reduce the demand for emergency shelters across our region.”

McAdams and his administration have been working aggressively to provide a better resolution than what exists now. He described, “We are building something different that integrates into the community.” The proposed services will take into account months of research that finds in order to support safety and a pathway to self-reliance, facilities must provide more than a bed and a meal.

“I’m convinced we are at a point where we can achieve larger goals by following collective impact principles as we work to move individuals and families from homelessness to stability and safety. We will take our efforts to the next level to focus on effective, efficient delivery of services, starting with developing goals and measurable outcomes,” McAdams stated. His plan asserts that just as the causes of homelessness varies, so do the needs of the individuals without a stable home. The system should recognize the unique circumstances and tailor service delivery based on what works for the people served. The plan will also be geared towards self-sufficiency so people can exit crisis quickly, diverting them from emergency shelters and away from homelessness.

Arch Nexus is proud to have provided Salt Lake County with plans, estimates, and graphics for the mayors presentation on Monday night. Nexus’ staff were present at the meeting on Monday to help answer questions from the community, and will continue to assist Salt Lake County in their efforts by providing additional specific criteria and recommendations for locations and possible project sites later this month.

To learn more about the Homeless Services System Reform Plan please click on the following links:

http://slco.org/homeless-services/
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865659107/A-real-plan-to-help-the-homeless-rises-in-Utah.html?pg=all
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865659351/Stakeholders-Can-homeless-reform-plan-reduce-shelter-demand.html
http://www.good4utah.com/news/local-news/salt-lake-county-mayor-reveals-plan-to-battle-homelessness

Two Arch | Nexus intern architects, Ardivan Tookaloo and Elahe Zarehzadeh, have teamed with Zahra Hassanipour (FFKR) Reihaneh Noori (University of Utah), Massih Nilforoushan (VCBO), and Mehran Rezcan (GSBS) to create a winning submission for the 2016 Design Competition sponsored by Salt Lake County and Women in Architecture SLC. This year, the competition focused on “Girls in Design”, the goal of which is to design and build a structure in Sunnyvale Park in West Valley City for the Utah refugee soccer team.

Sunnyvale Park is an environment where refugees and their children who live within the area can come together as a community to enjoy watching soccer, enhance relationships, and develop skills. To understand the needs to this community, the designers met with many of the soccer players to determine what type of structure would best enhance the park.

One of the children’s suggestions (among the requests for a Justin Bieber statue) was for activities to do on the side when they weren’t able to play soccer. This led to the idea and design of a structure which features a target net, practice wall, protective nets to prevent injury, and flexible seating. The structure is designed to be portable, in the case it needs to be relocated from Sunnyvale Park, and is made of simple materials- wood, rope, and bicycle tires to promote sustainability, budget, and to demonstrate that materials like these can be creatively and aesthetically repurposed.

The soccer practice wall is projected to be finished by mid-September. To learn more about Women In Architecture in Salt Lake City and this design competition, please click here.