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Some small-business owners setting up pensions

Consultants report rise in niche-group interest in defined-benefit plans as many business owners near retirement age

December 1, 2011

Despite the trend among medium-sized and large companies to halt their defined-benefit pension plans, certain small businesses are finding advantages in setting them up, some retirement-plan consultants here say.Mike Furrer, an independent to of

Residential architects see slight improvements

First-quarter billing index for house-design firms is strongest since mid-2007

July 28, 2011

h few extras persist in home-design trends, but they are becoming less dominant as the housing market indicates the beginning of a thaw, according to a recent survey by the American Institute of Architects.There are indications that the falling

Survey finds much of U.S. isn't prepared for floods

Civil engineering group gives a D-minus grade to nation's levee system

July 28, 2011

Even as the nation experiences a rash of record-breaking storms and floods, a new America THINKS survey from HNTB Corp. shows the public remains unprepared for either, the Kansas City, Mo.-based company says."Historically, we do a lot better job

Architects research why solar energy is uncommon

Group tries to find ways to work power source into early-stage design

July 28, 2011

News Wise

Solar energy can be harnessed to both heat and power buildings, so why isn't it specified more often in building design? Seeking to answer that question is the International Energy Agency's Solar Heating and Cooling Program's Task 41: Solar and

The need for LEED

Professionals say staying up on green rating system key to staying competitive

July 28, 2011

Chey Scott

Professionals in the Inland Northwest architecture and engineering fields say industry awareness of the national Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design certification program has grown significantly in the last several years and that it

Blue Room revs up for new project

Boutique architecture firm lands 'atypical' design job for new carmakers' facility

July 28, 2011

Mike McLean

Blue Room Architecture & Design PS, a Spokane-based boutique architectural firm, says it's designing a state-of-the art production, sales, and display facility for Shelby SuperCars LLC, in West Richland, Wash.Blue Room, which occupies 1,800 feet

Few foresee flow improving soon in project pipeline

Most architecture, engineering firms expect slow recovery

July 28, 2011

Mike McLean

Few Spokane-area architects and engineers say they are seeing more than a trickle of planned construction in the project pipeline, and most say they don't expect the flow to improve much in the near future.Architects and engineers, who generally

Designing homes that cater to nation's aging population

Not enough attention is being paid to rising need, professors assert in book

June 17, 2010

News Wise

One major aspect missing from recent health-care reform conversations is housing, especially with regard to the aging population of the U.S., say three University of Arkansas researchers.The researchers—Korydon Smith, Jennifer Webb, and to

Rendering courtesy of Blue Room Architecture & Design PS

Blue Room designs new plan from Cliff House ashes

Architectural firm tapped to redesign Arbor Crest icon after December fire

June 17, 2010

Kim Frlan

How do you re-create a historical mansion that's been gutted by fire when no blueprints exist and you can't enter the condemned structure? That was the problem facing Blue Room Architecture & Design PS when it was hired to design the restoration of

Architect association chapter here calls for masonry award nominees

June 17, 2010

Mike McLean

The Spokane chapter of the American Institute of Architects is calling for entries for its biennial Excellence in Masonry Design Awards.Eligible projects must be declared and registered by July 1, says Kevin Krebs, of the Masonry Industry Group,