Industry Pulse

On the Horizon

Liesch Environmental Services Inc., in association with Liesch Associates and FishPro, Madison, has signed on with the Wisconsin Division of State Facilities to handle consultant and design services for the estimated $20.1 million renovation and compliance project for the Wild Rose Fish Hatchery in Wild Rose. … Fischer-Fischer-Theis Inc., Waukesha, has joined the team developing plans for the estimated $5.4 million National Guard Armory Readiness Center project at Camp Douglas. … Ring & Du Chateau Inc., Wauwatosa, will provide design and consultant services for the estimated $10 million central campus design and utility improvements project for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. … The village of Hales Corners is planning a renovation project for its Village Hall. … Uihlein Wilson Architects Inc., in association with Booth Hansen, Milwaukee, will handle the design of an estimated $28.2 million Dayton Street residence hall for the UW-Madison. … Venture Architects, Milwaukee, and Voss-Jorgensen-Schueler Co. Inc., Waukesha, are moving forward with plans for an estimated $12.9 million judicial building for Washington County in West Bend. … Welman Architects Inc., Waukesha, will provide architectural and engineering services for an estimated $1.1 million office and laboratory remodel in the Engineering Math Sciences building at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. … Kahler Slater Architects Inc., Milwaukee, and YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee are working through the approval process for an estimated $12 million YMCA on a 20-acre site on South 27th Street in Franklin. … Christopher Kidd and Associates LLC Architects and Engineers, Wauwatosa, is waiting for a green light to proceed with plans for a new Audi Automobile Dealership in Brown Deer.

By Design

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is hoping to spread its wings a little at its Phoenix Sports Center, and it's looking to Venture Architects, a Milwaukee-based joint venture between Kahler Slater Architects Inc. and the Zimmerman Design Group, to achieve that goal. Venture has prepared initial concept drawings for preliminary fund raising for a 120,000-square-foot addition and remodeling of the center. The project would focus primarily on a 72,000-square-foot event center, an indoor running track and a large gathering space with a 4,000-seat capacity for student events, campus programs and athletic competitions. The addition and remodeling, with an estimated construction cost of $23.8 million, could go to bid in August 2005, with construction starting in October 2005 and completion in summer 2007.

Rendering courtesy of Venture Architects

“I’m not sure there’s such a demand for tall kids with fewer cavities, but I am concerned with what else could be happening to us when we don’t get enough daylight.” Eric Truelove

Peer Review

A NATURAL FIT

Truelove finds true calling

Believe it or not, studies have shown that school children with a lot of exposure to daylight learn more, grow taller and have fewer cavities.

"I'm not sure there's such a demand for tall kids with fewer cavities, but I am concerned with what else could be happening to us when we don't get enough daylight," said Eric Truelove, director of sustainable design services for The Renschler Co. Inc., Madison.

Concerns over daylight and its benefits are just a small part of Truelove's commitment to green building. And he doesn't really need studies to show him how bad it can get when people view environmental awareness as a suggestion rather than a mandate.

A Connecticut native, Truelove, 47, recalls his first exposure to environmental catastrophe.

"I can remember in the 1960s when they declared the Connecticut River dead," he said. "I remember my parents' reaction to that because we had fished and picnicked at the river. I was fortunate to be raised in a state that experienced harmful effects to the environment and started doing things about it."

Truelove headed off to Arizona State in the mid-1970s — around the same time the Connecticut River was rising from the dead — to earn a bachelor's degree in engineering. When he graduated in 1980, he signed on as a research and development engineer in the utility industry in Phoenix. And that's where he stayed for the next nine years until he found himself drawn to the consumer side of energy production, which eventually helped him shape the rest of his career.

It was 1993, and Truelove was attending the first meeting of the U.S. Green Building Council in Maryland. He was working for Affiliated Engineers Inc. in Madison as a project engineer with the hope that working in design and construction would help him wield more influence over owners' choices for their buildings.

Affiliated had sent Truelove to the conference, and although he had a strong environmental interest, he didn't know what to expect. The meeting drew developers, government agencies and designers, and Truelove feared it wouldn't be a particularly impressive event.

He was wrong.

"These were people who were traditionally quite conservative, but they talked about ways, within a budget, to make buildings better for the environment and the people inside the buildings," he said. "After the conference, I said this is the way everything is going to be. It just hit me over the head."

When he returned home, Truelove wanted to put what he had learned to work for Affiliated, but client interest wouldn't support his hopes. Truelove spent six more years working for Affiliated before he moved on to IBC Engineering Services Inc. in Waukesha and then to Renschler in April. Along the way, he took part in four projects that are in the process of earning USGBC certification.

In a way, generating client interest is what opened the doors for Truelove at Renschler. In his new position, he focuses on marketing to clients the benefits of green building. If the clients are interested, Truelove helps them identify what aspects of sustainable design work for their projects and budgets. Using Renschler's design/build philosophy to his advantage, he then puts together a team to get the project done.

He works with clients who are already sold on green building and call for "materials so benign that I could basically put them in a blender and eat them," as well as those who aren't familiar with the process.

But either way, Truelove said he's happy with the direction his passion has taken him.

"I love it here," he said. "It's everything I could have asked for."

- Chris Thompson

Off the Clock

War games

Jim Boullion figures he's been killed anywhere from 25 to 30 times.

Actually, it's a pretty sure bet that I won't live through the summer," he said. "On any given weekend, I'll probably end up dead."

Lucky for Boullion and the Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin, where he works as the government affairs director, his numerous fatalities don't actually hurt. He's always able to get up and try again despite the near certainty that he will, at best, lose an arm or a leg and, at worst, die once again.

Boullion participates in Civil War re-enactments. He's fought in the Battle of Gettysburg, and he's traveled to other Civil War hot spots in Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia.

Boullion knows he'll make it through each weekend to return home, but the fact that he also knows his character in the re-enactments is likely to die cuts close to the reason why he has participated in three or four of the events each summer for the last four years.

"The most important thing is to remember what they did and why they did it," he said. "The battles and the smoke are to get the spectators there, and once they're there, you can educate them on the sacrifices that were made to hold this country together."

Aside from the lessons learned from the Civil War, Boullion, a professed history buff, sees the re-enactments as a great hobby, a chance to get away from the daily grind and spend some time with friends.

"The guys I travel with are some of the smartest, most interesting people," he said. "We sit around the campfire and talk politics and history. It's the ultimate roughing-it camping. You bring just what you can fit in your pack."

Boullion first took interest in re-enactments about six years ago when he and a friend traveled to Pennsylvania for the 135th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. He enjoyed it, and when he returned home he mentioned the experience to a friend, who just happened to be involved in re-enactments.

The next thing he knew, Boullion was outfitted with Civil War equipment, muzzle-loading muskets and a uniform. And shortly after, he was listening to reveille at sunrise and preparing for battle.

But no matter how much fun he has finding himself on the business end of an enemy musket, Boullion maintains that there are serious undertones to the experience.

"You can read all the books in the world, but until you walk in their shoes, you can't get an appreciation of what it was like," he said.

- Chris Thompson

Dotted Line

DeGroot Inc., Green Bay, won a $2.5 million contract to construct sewer and water extensions on Lineville Road in Suamico. … Oscar J. Boldt Construction Co., Madison, secured a $10.1 million contract to build the Lot 76 Parking Ramp for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. … Miron Construction Co. Inc., Neenah, won a $6.5 million contract to handle the renovation and addition to Upham Science Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a $6 million contract to renovate Taylor Residence Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. … Downey Inc., Milwaukee, won a $2.8 million HVAC contract for the Upham Science Hall project. … G&L Electric Inc., Neenah, won a $1.5 million electrical contract for the Taylor Residence Hall project. … Mathy Construction Co., Onalaska, landed a $2.9 million contract to cross into Wabasha County, Minn., for a road construction project. …

Your Honor The Bentley Company, Milwaukee, gave its Vision Award to Fred Kinateder Masonry Inc., Waukesha, Heitman Inc., Milwaukee, and Klein-Dickert Co. Inc., Madison, for their workmanship and contributions to The Bentley Company. … Natural Resource Technology Inc., Pewaukee, was ranked 84th on The Zweig Letter Hot Firm 2004 List of the 100 fastest-growing environmental consulting firms in the country.

C.C.I., E-Con Division, Wisconsin Rapids, will upgrade the telecommunications and power systems for the Appleton Area School District after winning a $1.5 million contract for the job. … United Construction Inc., Abrams, won a $1 million carpentry and general trades contract for improvements to the Pinecrest Medical Care Facility in Powers, Mich. … Capitol Underground Inc., Middleton, will handle utility and street work in the Verona Technology Park after winning a $1.3 million contract for the work. … Voss Jorgensen Schueler Co. Inc., Waukesha, won a $5.8 million contract to construct additions and renovations at Congress School and Craig School in Milwaukee. … Advance Mechanical Contractors Inc., Racine, will construct the southwest service area sanitary sewer, a force main, a pump station, a water main and a receiving station in Oconomowoc after winning a $3.5 million contract for the work. Advanced Mechanical also won a $1.1 million contract to install a permanent baffle at the Jones Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Milwaukee. … J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc., Janesville, landed a $4 million contract to build a new police station for the city of Janesville. … Oudenhoven Construction Inc., Kaukauna, won a $1.4 million contract to build a solid-waste transfer station at the Outagamie County Landfill in Appleton. …

A-1 Excavating Inc., Bloomer, will construct the 2004 street and utility improvements for the city of New Richmond after winning a $2.2 million contract for the job. … Lunda Construction Co., Black River Falls, nailed down a $2 million contract for road and bridge work in Madison. … Spancrete Industries Inc., Green Bay, will furnish and install precast concrete for the Cherry Street Parking Garage project in Green Bay after winning a $5.5 million contract for the work. … F.C. Raemisch & Son Inc., Waunakee, won a $1 million contract to construct the Warrior Athletic Complex in Waunakee for the Waunakee Community School District. … Seater Construction Co. Inc., Racine, inked a $3.3 million contract to demolish a pool and bathhouse and build a new aquatic center at Horeb Springs Park in Waukesha. … MSI General Corp., Oconomowoc, has kicked off construction of the second phase of Delavan Retail, an 11,000-square-foot retail space on East Geneva Street in Delavan.