HERE'S THE LATEST

Christina Aßmann presented at the 2018 Greenbuild Conference and Expo in Chicago, IL on Friday, November 16, 2018. Along with Amber Bartosh, Assistant Professor at Syracuse University School of Architecture, they presented “Virtual Reality: An Emerging Tool for Sustainable Design.” This presentation highlighted the application of VR as a visualization and simulation tool to support the design process and educational outreach of Nuthatch Hollow, a 2,500-square foot facility to be used for teaching and research of Environmental Studies.

Ed McGraw co-presented on Thursday, October 4, 2018 on “Data Drives Controls and Energy Savings in Schools” at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) BuildingEnergy NYC Conference + Tradeshow. Energy management in schools can play a vital role in reducing operating costs and improving classroom productivity. The session focused on specific case studies where schools leverage data analytics and controls to drive energy and cost savings while engaging all stakeholders in the schools to make smart energy decisions.

Ashley McGraw Architects is pleased to announce the promotion of Daniel Donovan AIA, LEED AP, BD+C to Associate Principal. “In his years as Senior Project Manager, Dan has consistently brought clarity and creativity to projects of all scales,” said Ed McGraw, founding partner and CEO of Ashley McGraw. “As Associate Principal, he will actively contribute to the direction of the firm, as well as continue to be a large part of our success serving as a leader in educational design.”

Jason Evans, Associate Principal, is featured in The Architect's Newspaper article "After a decade-long fight over I-81, Syracuse inches toward a decision." Jason is a member of ReThink81, a grass roots effort advocating for a more comprehensive, well thought out design options for the I-81 Viaduct Project. ReThink81 is committed to economic growth and improved accessibility throughout the Greater Syracuse area.

Ed McGraw presented at the New York State Council of School Superintendents (NYSCOSS) Fall Leadership Summit on Sunday, September 23, 2018. The presentation “Designing Instructional Space to Promote Student Engagement” engaged attendees on how flexible space requires flexible furniture; the classroom layout should provide space for students to work collaboratively in small groups, independently, or as a whole class; and how to engage stakeholders in co-creating high impact learning environments. Ed co-presented with Dr. Tonia Thompson, Superintendent of Binghamton City School District.

The Koffman Southern Tier Incubator was selected as the first place winner in the Commercial Large design category in the 2018 Professional Design Competition by the American Society of Interior Designers New York Upstate/Canada East (ASID NYU/CE). An awards ceremony was held on Friday, September 21 as part of the ASID NYE/CE “Fall into Design” annual signature event.

On Friday, September 14, 2018, the Thousand Islands Central School District held a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new turf field stadium. The new varsity field, THE TURF, is the new addition to Viking territory.

At the 13th Annual North American Passive House Conference (NAPHC) in Boston from September 21-22, 2018, two presentations featured Binghamton University’s Nuthatch Hollow project. The NAPHC is the leading passive building conference for climate-specific zero energy design, construction, and building science expertise. Nicole Schuster, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC, Associate Principal, co-presented “Passive + Active: Batteries, Resilience, and the Duck Curve (CT).” Christina Aßmann, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC, Project Architect, co-presented “Virtual Reality at Nuthatch Hollow – An Emerging Tool for Sustainability Design Visualization of High Performance Buildings”.

Susanne Angarano, Principal and Senior Interior Designer, co-presented at the International Living Future Institute’s Living Product Expo on September 13, 2018 in Pittsburgh, PA. The presentation “Biophilic Design Integration: Macro to Micro and the Spaces In Between” engaged attendees on learning ways to craft the qualitative sustainable narrative, creating a stronger awareness of and connection to the natural environment.

The 2018 Central New York Best Places to Work awards event was held on September 12, 2018 to recognize 40 organizations across the area. Ashley McGraw Architects was ranked #7 out of the 15 awarded companies in the 25-100 employees category.

A special ribbon cutting ceremony was held pre-game to the Windsor Central School District Black Knights' home football game on Friday, September 7, 2018. The ceremony officially "kicked off" the District's new multi-purpose athletic field.

The Liverpool Central School District and Chestnut Elementary School communities celebrated the end of renovations with a special ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, September 5, 2018. In March 2014, residents approved Phase Two of the Long-Range Facility Plan. The components of the capital referendum included substantial renovations to Chestnut Hill Elementary and Chestnut Hill Middle, a complete roof renovation for Liverpool High School, and safety and security upgrades at all district buildings.

On Thursday, July 26, Edward McGraw and Andrew Schuster presented "Combining Technology, Beauty and Meaning in the new SEF Net Zero Energy Office Building” at the Energypath conference. The Sustainable Energy Fund is designing and building a Net Zero Energy office building to demonstrate that NZE can be achieved for the same cost as a conventional developer office building. Energypath 2018, held at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, is the region’s largest sustainable energy event, attracting industry professionals, policymakers, and academia throughout the region and across the United States.

On Friday, July 20, NESEA (Northeast Sustainable Energy Association) held a Pro Tour featuring the academic wing of Westhill Central School District's High School that has been retrofitted to save energy while better serving the needs of the clients.

After the "Zero Is The Magic Number: How Passive House Gets It" presentation by Christina Aßmann and Nicole Schuster at the New York Passive House Conference, TreeHugger's Lloyd Alter was so impressed with the 2,500 square foot lab and classroom Nuthatch Hollow project that he spotlighted the project in his article "Nuthatch Hollow goes for both Passive House and Living Building Challenge. This is Hard."

Susanne Angarano, Principal and Senior Interior Designer, and Jason Evans, Associate Principal, presented “Repurposing Mid-Century Campus Buildings for a New Generation” at the SUNY / PPAA & NY APPA 2018 Summer Conference in Lake Placid, NY on June 14, 2018. Susanne and Jason were joined by Mohamed Afify, Assistant Director, Long Term Planning, at Binghamton University.

The new MacArthur Elementary School at Binghamton City School District is featured on PRISM. PRISM Sustainability in the Built Environment (SBE) is a unique online journal, resource and cooperative effort to further sustainable building for both emerging and experienced architects, specifiers, consultants, builders, suppliers, and users of sustainable building materials.

Ashley McGraw Architects has been ranked one of Central New York's Best Places to Work in 2018. BizEventz and The Central New York Business Journal (CNYBJ) partnered with Research & Marketing Strategies Inc (RMS) to conduct the CNY's Best Places to Work survey.

Matthew Broderick, President, and Susanne Angarano, Principal and Senior Interior Designer, presented “Magnify the Impact: Engaging Faculty and Students in the Living Building Challenge Design Process” at the International Living Future Institute unconference in Portland, Oregon on May 3, 2018. Living Future unConference is the forum for leading minds in the green building movement to make strides toward a healthy future for all. Matt and Susanne were be joined by Pamela Mischen, Associate Professor of Public Administration and chair of the Sustainable Communities Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence at Binghamton University.

On April 17, 2018, Edward McGraw, Chief Executive Officer, and Calvin Ahn, Associate Principal/Senior Project Manager, will be presenting "Alexa Optimize Performance: The Future of Voice Interactive Building Dashboards" at the Getting to Zero National Forum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Project Architects and Certified Passive House Consultants Christina Aßmann and Nicole Schuster presented "Passive House + Living Building: Combining Rigorous Building Standards for Maximum Benefit" at the 16th Annual New York State Green Building Conference on Friday, April 6. 

Architectural Designer and Design Technology Manager Michael Frisina will be presenting "VR for Sustainability" at the 16th Annual New York State Green Building Conference on Thursday, April 5. He will be co-presenting with Amber Bartosh, Architect and Assistant Professor at Syracuse University.

Principal Andrew Schuster recently had the opportunity to discuss the future of work and whether sustainable office buildings is a new trend in company buildings and interior design with CNN. In the article, "How Office Buildings are Reducing their Carbon Footprint," Andrew provides the example of the Sustainable Energy Fund's new 15,000 square foot (sf) office building in Schnecksville, PA.

Principal and Senior Interior Designer Susanne Angarano was recently interviewed for the "Designing Against the Grain" blog by Pioneer Millworks. They have recently been highlighting designers regarding reclaimed wood, design trends, and thoughts on using natural materials. Naturally, Susanne was the perfect designer to interview about these topics. See the blog and interview here.

Ashley McGraw Architects announces Michael Frisina, Associate AIA, LEED AP, CPHC has been named a Certified Passive House Consultant by the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS). 

Architectural Designer Benjamin Darby and Architectural Designer and Design Technology Manager Michael Frisinia were featured at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s (NESEA) BuildingEnergy Boston conference on March 9, 2018. Ben and Mike presented “Iterative Daylighting Analysis Tools using Dynamo for Revit.”

Ashley McGraw Architects is pleased to announce the promotions of two team members. Project architects Jason Evans AIA, LEED AP BD+C and Nicole Schuster AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC have been named Associate Principals of the firm. 

Ashley McGraw Architects is pleased to announce its Syracuse office has been awarded LEED Silver certification. To celebrate, the firm hosted a ceremony on Monday, February 12, 2018. At the ceremony, Ashley McGraw also revealed their 2018 JUST label, which demonstrates the firm’s commitment to social justice and equity.

Ashley McGraw Architects is pleased to announce that principal Matthew Broderick, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C has been named president of the firm.

Ashley McGraw Architects is pleased to announce its downtown Syracuse office at 125 East Jefferson Street has been awarded LEED Silver certification.