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BUSINESS NEWS OZ ARCHITECTURE RECOGNIZED BY FAST COMPANY IN THE MAGAZINE’S 2018 INNOVATION BY DESIGN AWARDS OZ Architecture has been recognized by Fast Company as a finalist in its annual Innovation by Design Awards for 2018 in the “Spaces, Places, and Cities” category for its design and master plan of the new McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Innovation by Design is the only competition to honor creative work at the intersection of design, business, and innovation. The awards, which can be found in the October 2018 issue of Fast Company recognizes people, teams, and companies solving problems through design. Fast Company is honoring an influential and diverse group of leaders in fashion, architecture, graphic design and data visualization, social good, user experience, and more. “McMurdo Station – a 58-year-old research center in Antarctica – is finally receiving a master plan and design facilities that will significantly improve the livability, efficiency and sustainability of this entire Antarctica- based community becoming an icon of American leadership in science, architecture and engineering,” said Rick Petersen, principal at OZ Architecture. Never intended to be a permanent settlement, McMurdo Station has grown into a disparate outpost of more than 100 inefficient structures over 164 acres, with no central planning. Today, the approximate 1,000 summer workers and 250 year-round residents at McMurdo must battle the harsh Antarctic elements for simple tasks such as walking from one building to the next for a meal, visiting a science lab, or transporting goods from a warehouse. This not only leads to difficult and time-consuming

experiences for staff, but also results in heat energy loss and increased carbon emissions. What’s more, the station lacks many features critical to the workers’ ongoing wellness. The new plan will consolidate more than 100 buildings into 18, providing the community with unprecedented efficiencies. A new 300,000-square-foot campus will emphasize a higher quality of life for its residents, promote environmental stewardship, add progressive technology, and dramatically improve logistics and energy efficiency for the important work being done at McMurdo. Fast Company editors and writers spend a year researching and reviewing applicants for the awards. This year, winners and honorees were selected in the following categories: Apps and Games; Experimental; Fashion and Beauty; General Excellence; Graphic Design and Data Visualization; Health; Products; Retail Environments; Social Good; Spaces, Places, and Cities; Students; Timeless Design; User Experience; Web Design; and Workplace. Fast Company is also recognizing Google as the title’s first-ever Design Company of the Year. Headquartered in the vibrant RiNo Arts District of Denver, OZ Architecture has been at the forefront of design since 1964. The OZ team includes over 165 architects, designers, strategists, and artists whose broad range of expertise and passions create a variety of project types on every continent. The firm is recognized for designing award-winning projects that make a positive and lasting contribution to the community. BSA NAMED A CERTIFIED ESOP BSA , a national integrated design firm, has been named a Certified ESOP by Certified EO, a certification program for employee-owned companies.

Founded in 1975, BSA has always been owned by employee shareholders, but it opened ownership to all employees earlier this year when it launched its first-ever employee stock ownership plan. “Becoming an ESOP was a logical step for BSA since the firm has always believed in the power of employee ownership,” said BSA President Melissa Davis. “By empowering all employees as owners, we believe we can even more deeply engage their hearts and minds in the work we do for our clients.” Davis added, “Then, as owners, those employees can more fully participate in the successes they create.” BSA far exceeded the Certified EO’s minimum standards for certification, which require that a firm must be at least 30 percent employee- owned, must provide ownership access to all employees and cannot have highly concentrated ownership. Firms applying for certification must have these standards and other information assessed and confirmed by Certified EO. BSA, a national, integrated design firm, creates inspired solutions that improve lives. BSA provides architecture, engineering, interior design, and planning services for spaces that support and enhance healing, learning, and discovery – facilities known as LifeStructures. Certified EO is a marketing and certification program that helps employee-owned companies capture the potential of EO to increase sales and recruit top talent while spreading awareness of this vital concept. Certified EO helps consumers, businesses, and employees know when they’re dealing with EO companies.

CONFERENCE CALL, from page 7

Best Firms to Work For, Family Friendly, and Healthiest Employers lists. We spend as much time on retention as we do on recruitment. Just last year, we had an independent firm conduct an anonymous employee opinion survey. They were amazed when we had a 91 percent overall satisfaction rating. That rarely happens in our industry. As a result, we have a large core of key staff with 10-25 years at the com- pany. TZL: Benefits are evolving. Are you offering any new ones due to the changing demographic? JWH: Yes. We are always looking for ways to improve our benefits package. In recent years, we have implemented bio- metric screenings, health coaching, a telemedicine program to receive care without physically going to the doctor, nutri- tionist counseling, and more. It’s important to help employ- ees stay healthy and balanced.

makes us better and we strive to instill it when we’re build- ing our company, or putting a team together for a project. We’re committed to creating a diverse environment and are also proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative ac- tion employer. “At CALYX, half of our leaders are women. That’s not frequently found in civil engineering. We believe that diversity makes us better and we strive to instill it when we’re building our company, or putting a team together for a project.” TZL: A firm’s longevity is valuable. What are you doing to encourage your staff to stick around? JWH: What aren’t we doing? It’s a top priority for CALYX. We’ve created an amazing culture which has landed us on

TZL: Are you currently pursuing the R&D tax credit?

JWH: Yes.

THE ZWEIG LETTER December 10, 2018, ISSUE 1275

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