PODCAST: Willy Marsh, The Man Who Built USC Village

School News — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 18:00:12 +0000

Here’s what you need to know about the recently completed USC Village:

“Massive in scale, timeless in design, USC Village is a new kind of space where living and learning come together,” according to a statement about the latest project of the University of Southern California (USC).

The project also happens to be the biggest development in the history of south Los Angeles. A $700-million investment funded entirely by USC, the development includes six buildings, totaling 1.25 million square feet of space on 15 acres. USC Village combines residential college living for 2,500 students with retail choices never before seen in the neighborhood.

The man who saw to that the project was built on time and on budget is Director of Construction Willy Marsh. He spent thousands of hours on the project. And now he’s done — almost. Among the topics explored in this lively interview with Marsh are the innovations he and his team employed to complete six buildings on time and on budget. Among them was a new building technique to finish exterior brick walls that used 2,500 pre-cast panels measuring 24 feet x 12 feet and weighing 9,000 pounds each, and were assembled off site, then delivered and installed.

The panels consisted of of brick, grout, precast window surrounds, rebar and concrete, according to Marsh. By using this method, the six buildings were “skinned” in a relatively quick 11 months. Had traditional methods been used, it’s estimated that the same process would have taken at least 1.5 years longer to complete. Throughout, the off-site fabrication helped maintain high levels of quality control.

Having the panels installed with cranes also eliminated the need for scaffolding, which saved time and reduced risks to workers’ safety.

As Marsh said in an interview with the USC News, “I’m sitting back a little more in the chair now because of these critical milestones we’ve achieved.”

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Green Retrofits Could Save $41.1 Billion Annually

BOULDER, Colo. — A study released by Pike Research reports that if all commercial space built as of 2010 were included in a 10-year retrofit program, the savings in energy expenses could potentially reach upwards of $41.1 billion per year.

Pike Research, which focuses on renewable power market data, estimates that such programs would require an annual investment of $22.5 billion over the 10-year period.

The study, “Energy Efficiency Retrofits for Commercial and Public Buildings,” analyzes market opportunities for building retrofits in the United States, and provides a detailed examination of drivers, barriers and industry dynamics in today’s market. The report includes an in-depth assessment of policy and regulatory factors, financing structures, retrofit business cases, key industry players and market forecasts.

The report identifies some of the biggest opportunities for energy savings in buildings, and examines how federal and state legislation mold the energy efficiency retrofit market, and looks at primary challenges to energy efficient retrofitting. The study looks into issues that will affect the green construction sector over the next five years.

“The building retrofit industry faces a number of key challenges,” says Clint Wheelock, managing director at Pike Research. “The current financial crisis has had a significant dampening effect on property owners’ investments in their properties. Financing for such projects is scarce, and the limited investment in building efficiency is not keeping pace with the growing national demand for energy.”

Wheelock adds that some of the best-funded opportunities for retrofits today are in institutional buildings, especially federal facilities. This market, already strong because of federal policy mandates and creditworthiness, received a boost from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

However, federal office buildings comprise less than three percent of the existing 79 billion square feet of commercial space, meaning the largest untapped potential is for energy retrofits in private commercial structures. Pike Research expects the private sector retrofit market to experience strong growth through 2014 and beyond.

Read the entire study at www.pikeresearch.com

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PODCAST: Willy Marsh, The Man Who Built USC Village

Green Retrofits Could Save $41.1 Billion Annually