Dubai on hold, Vegas on rebound?

After several years of fast-paced growth, development in Dubai hit the skids with about 400 projects put on hold because of a lack of funding for them. Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, the opening of the $8.5 billion City Center resort on Tuesday could be the beginning of the turnaround for the glitz capital of the world.

So, what do you see ahead for the economy of Las Vegas, Dubai or your neck of the woods? Is the worst over in the U.S. but still to come in other parts of the world? Or are you bracing for another downturn before things fully recover?

An educational marketing campaign

Kelly Teenor, director of marketing and associate at Hall & Foreman, Inc. (Tustin, CA), a 40-person civil engineering, surveying, and planning firm, sends us in to the holiday weekend with a lesson on sharing knowledge and building relationships:

"The premise of this educational marketing campaign is simple: Explain the changes to the California General Permit.

"Effective July 1, 2010, a stricter California General Permit that regulates water quality at construction sites goes into effect. It affects both new development and redevelopment projects. Anticipating that the changes would generate questions from our clients, Hall & Foreman, Inc. teamed with Rain for Rent, a nationwide liquid handling solutions firm, to hold a conference that gives answers. The conference brings together the regulatory agencies and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) construction permit holders so they can discuss the new regulations and implementation solutions.

"The conference format is designed around two concepts: share knowledge and build relationships. The one-day agenda includes two panels. The morning panel features regulators while the afternoon panel features private sector storm water management experts. The panel format provides the audience plenty of opportunity to ask questions and explore 'what if?' scenarios. Networking during lunch encourages the information sharing to continue. A vendor display area showcases local storm water-related products, services, and solutions.

"More than 60 attendees participated in the mid-November conference. Indicative of the high interest level in the general permit changes, the regulator panel ran longer than originally scheduled. To meet the demand for information, two additional conferences are planned throughout Southern California. The conferences are being promoted through multi-channels. Direct client contact is made by project managers and sales representatives who distribute the registration brochure in both hard copy and electronic formats. On-line channels include posting the brochure on the Hall & Foreman website with Tweets linking to the registration form. Plus, each of the panelists can distribute the brochure to their contacts.

"Sharing knowledge and building relationships are key to the building industry successfully navigating the stricter California General Permit. Recognizing this, Hall & Foreman and Rain for Rent are making it happen."

What do you think of this outreach program? Is your firm doing anything similar?

More unfinished business

The cancellation of the University California-Berkeley's proposed museum is nothing new when it comes to grand plans coming to a screeching and disappointing halt in San Francisco. Sadly, many long-time observers say they've seen this before in the City By The Bay.

How are things looking in your neck of the woods? Are plans being mothballed, or is the apparent economic turnaround starting to bring shelved plans back? What do you see happening as we head toward the end of 2009 and on to a new year?

In the eye of the beholder

A list ranking the ugliest buildings in the world picks the Morris A. Mechanic Theater in Baltimore as this year's winner - or should we say loser? Interestingly, last year's most hideous - Boston City Hall - couldn't even crack this year's top 10 somehow. Apparently, the folks who compiled the list found a lot more places they liked less in the last 12 months. Apologies if any of your buildings made the cut.

So, what do you think about this list? Does it make you want to scale back your creativity for fear of this sort of negative publicity? Or do you believe in the saying, "There's no such thing as bad PR?"

Can't slow him down

Famed 101-year-old Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer is reportedly back at work just weeks after surgery for gallstones and an intestinal tumor. O Globo, a Portuguese-language daily newspaper, reports Niemeyer is working on a collection of buildings in Niteroi, a city outside of Rio de Janeiro. Talk about a love of his work!

Does this story make you rethink or put off your retirement plans? How prepared are you and your firm for when the next generation of leaders will take over?

Race to the bottom

Ty Kicklighter, chief financial officer at Walter Schoel Engineering Company (Birmingham, AL), a 40-person civil, environmental, and surveying firm, kicks off the holiday workweek with a call to action for his colleagues in the AEC space:

"The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli follows the life of a T-shirt from the cotton field through harvest, production, distribution, initial sale, and finally to the used clothing market in Africa. It is an interesting take on the inner workings of economics and the global economy. One portion of the book describes the 'race to the bottom' in textile production, describing its rise and fall in countries around the world, from Europe in the 1700s to China today, as production shifts to the lowest cost producer. An interesting note is that many of the countries or areas that have 'lost' this race and been beaten out by cheaper labor and manufacturing, ultimately are better off and have a higher standard of living after having lost the race. Prior to entering the race, many of the laborers lacked skills, had very little autonomy, and were primarily in family agricultural jobs that seemed hopeless. Losing the race forced innovation, left a more skilled workforce, and also left a workforce motivated to maintain their autonomy and not return to the farm.

"Certainly in the current economy, fee pressures in the design professions seem like a race to the bottom. Firms are sacrificing profits for work, competing with many more firms for the same work, freezing salaries, and reducing labor costs to stay competitive. Even under these circumstances, it is worth being reminded that the race to the bottom in regards to fees is not sustainable, both for individual firms and for the industry. Those firms that avoid this race by innovative thinking, continuous skill building, and leveraging a motivated workforce will ultimately be the real winners."

So, what do you think? How can your firm and the AEC industry as a whole combat the race to the bottom, even in these trying economic times?

Energy Star changes ahead?

We're not sure when or how this will affect the AEC industry, but there could be some changes coming to the Energy Star system that determines whether a building or appliance is energy-efficient. One possible idea is adding a "superstar green label" for the top performers. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in its Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009 that would require an overhaul of Energy Star.

So, what do you think? Should the program be overhaul, given a few tweaks or left alone?