Former Luling Steam Laundry wins award Wichita-based Building Controls and Services, Inc. (BCS) has turned a 1920's-vintage former laundry building into a showcase world headquarters. Their renovation has been recognized by the Kansas Preservation Alliance, who awarded the building the 2013 Medallion Award for Excellence.
The building, located in Wichita's historic Douglas Design District, was entirely rehabilitated while preserving the building's original character and architectural features. PEC performed the mechanical, electrical and structural engineering for the project. The award will be presented in May, at a ceremony in Topeka, KS.
"A wonderful piece of Americana" receives national award It's not just any bridge. It's one of the many "rainbow" bridges built in early 20th century America. Ft. Scott, KS' National Avenue Bridge, a reinforced concrete arch bridge that was designed by James Barney Marsh, needed extensive renovation after 80 years of wear and tear.
Professional Engineering Consultants, in partnership with Wildcat Concrete Services of Topeka, KS completed a total rehabilitation of the bridge in late 2012. PEC project manager Jim Zibert reflected, "It's a wonderful piece of Americana, and the Ft. Scott community was wise to value and preserve it." The bridge just won the American Public Works Association's 2013 Project of the Year Award for historic restoration for small cities. The award ceremoney will take place in Lawrence, KS in May.
"World's Best" water comes from PEC-designed plant Emporia, KS was honored with the distinction of having the world's best drinking water at the Berkley Springs International Water Tasting, held in West Virginia. The city's municipal water plant was designed by Professional Engineering Consultants.
The water was judged on rigorous criteria similar to a professional wine tasting. Categories included appearance, aroma, taste and "mouth feel."
KU Biodiversity Institute gets facilities to support nationally-renowned research Computers "daisy-chained together." Expensive equipment on rickety desks. Valuable biological samples that were in danger of being lost in the next power outage.
Those challenges and more were hurdles faced by students and researchers at the University of Kansas' (Lawrence) Biodiversity Institute, due to antiquated facilities in the 110 year-old Dyche Hall. Professional Engineering Consultants designed a new laboratory complex, a liquid nitrogen cryogenic facility, geographic information systems (GIS) laboratory, updated server room, offices, storage and other upgrades. PEC had previously designed new HVAC mechanical systems for the building. Dyche Hall is also home to the KU Natural History Museum, and the irreplaceable panorama that was a featured exhibit at the 1893 World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago.
PEC engineer to help design Guatemalan school
The group has been meeting with area leaders and residents to design an addition to the community’s grade school, to double its capacity. In addition to Britson, the group includes a number of WSU engineering students, and a WSU engineering faculty member. Several engineering challenges make designing the addition more complex than one for a school located in the U.S. The area has four active volcanoes, and just experienced an earthquake. In addition, the community’s resources are extremely limited, so only affordable and accessible local materials can be used in the design. Despite the limitations, it will be built to U.S. building standards. “The last thing we want to do is design something that will not serve those folks well. The structure has to be very economical, but extremely durable. It’ll be as safe as what you’d find here, and won’t cause them any problems,” Britson explained. “I have no doubt we can do that for them.” When the group returns to the U.S. on January 9th, they will engineer the final design with the input they’re presently gathering from the Guatemalan residents. The group will return to Cho Estancia at a later date to provide construction oversight. Volunteers, including parents whose children attend the school, will provide labor for the school’s addition. Funding for the project will be arranged through Engineers Without Borders, which will entail fundraising in both the U.S. and Guatemala.
A crane massive enough to lift a fully-loaded aircraft. That's massive. This 70-ton gantry crane is nearing completion. Designed by our structural division, It'll be used by our North Carolina client to maintain turbines and other equipment used in the generation of electricity. To give you some idea of the scale of this giant -- the rails that hold the legs are 62 feet apart. The gantry is 67 feet tall. It has a hoist capacity of 140,000 pounds, which is the maximum takeoff weight of a Boeing MD-80 aircraft. Need a lift?
We celebrate Wichita's aviation heritage We were happy to be a sponsor of the Kansas Aviation Museum's Cockpit Festival, held October 6th and 7th.
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Wes Britson, structural engineer for Professional Engineering Consultants (Wichita, KS) is in Cho Estancia, Guatemala, as part of the 
