TZL 1349

BUSINESS NEWS WARE MALCOMB ANNOUNCES CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETE ON TWO NEW BUILDINGS AT MISSISSAUGAGATEWAYCENTRE WareMalcomb , an award-winning international design firm, announced construction is complete on two new buildings at Mississauga Gateway Centre, a Class A office complex offering both retail and office leasing opportunities in Mississauga, Ontario in Canada. Ware Malcomb provided architecture and interior design services and Triovest Realty Advisors was the development manager for the project. Built on a 9.43-acre site, the two new five and four-storey buildings are located at 2 and 8 Prologis Boulevard and total 21,048 square meters. The project was designed for Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and the complex offers leasable build-to-suit space for office tenants. The buildings are conjoined by a two-storey entrance plaza that provides common areas and a coffee kiosk for tenants. The coffee

kiosk was designed by Ware Malcomb’s interior architecture and design team. The entrance plaza also features a green roof and green wall, adding to its sustainability features. Curtain wall and aluminum composite panels were used on the exterior. The buildings have achieved LEED CS Gold Certification. In 2014, Ware Malcomb provided architectural design services for the first buildings at Mississauga Gateway Centre: a five-storey, 13,935 square meter office building and a separate single-storey, 4,181 square meter office building. Since then the complex has grown into a premier business park with seven buildings totaling approximately 59,458 square meters of Class A office space. “Ware Malcomb has a long history with Mississauga Gateway Centre, and it is exciting to see it continue to grow as a premier destination for office and retail tenants alike,” said Frank Di Roma, Principal of Ware Malcomb’s Canada operations, including offices in Vaughan and Toronto. “This latest

addition provides a striking new environment for a range of businesses.” The general contractor for the project was Ledcor Construction Limited. Established in 1972, Ware Malcomb is an international design firm providing planning, architecture, interior design, branding, civil engineeringandbuildingmeasurement services to commercial real estate and corporate clients. With office locations throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, the firm specializes in the design of commercial office, corporate, industrial, science and technology, healthcare, retail, auto, public/educational facilities and renovation projects. Ware Malcomb is recognized as an Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private company and a Hot Firm and Best Firm to Work For by Zweig Group. The firm is also ranked among the top 15 architecture/engineering firms in Engineering News-Record ’s Top 500 Design Firms and the top 25 interior design firms in Interior Design magazine’s Top 100 Giants.

MAX GEORGE, from page 11

As a profession today, success goes to firms that understand client needs, know how to connect the myriad of resources available, and create solutions in the most efficient way for the highest value. Knowing how to connect the dots is simply not possible without having the right combination of specialists with a significant understanding and appreciation for the other professions they work alongside of (both directly and indirectly). Neither of those is possible by staying within the traditional bounds of a single profession or by only interacting with like professions in your firm. An overlooked great example is the non-technically educated staff who often have amazing backgrounds that can be leveraged to great advantage and whose skill sets can fill critical gaps. Think of that assistant who so easily interacts with strangers. Why isn’t he/she helping with public presentations? There is limited success in trying to be a jack-of-all-trades, as it is with being such a specialist that you are oblivious to the world around you. A new mindset is needed to address this challenge. Training shouldn’t simply address a specific goal. The mindset today must be continuous, never-ending learning and growth in specific technical skills for a profession as well as related and “soft” skills. Staff do what leaders check and value as important. As leaders, we need to be at the front of this shift and support constant growth across the board, for professional staff and “overhead” staff alike. Otherwise, you will have unengaged employees producing mediocre work and looking for a better opportunity elsewhere. MAX GEORGE, PS, CFM, is survey group manager and associate at Fleis & VandenBrink. Contact him at mgeorge@fveng.com.

what I call non-traditional training – things that they don’t teach in school and aren’t required for any professional license, but are critical for survival and growth. Advancements in technology have also profoundly impacted design professions by dramatically affecting how we create project plans and specifications. While I have no hard numbers to substantiate this claim, I’m betting that most individuals who are using CAD software (Revit, Civil 3D, InRoads, etc.) are only utilizing about 25 percent of the software’s capabilities. “Staff do what leaders check and value as important. As leaders, we need to be at the front of this shift and support constant growth across the board, for professional staff and ‘overhead’ staff alike. Otherwise, you will have unengaged employees producing mediocre work and looking for a better opportunity elsewhere.” We never seem to get beyond that 25 percent due in part to the constant upgrades and planned obsolescence. Yet we need to stay current with the software or the pain and disruption caused by having to get “current” can cripple a firm. The software is to our industry what laser cutters, drill presses, and milling machines are to the manufacturing industry. Having skilled operators means constantly training them. But how many design professionals have a program in place to try and get beyond that 25 percent, or to even train new hires in how to use the software?

THE ZWEIG LETTER JUNE 15, 2020, ISSUE 1349

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