Blog/Events
The brightest minds and top decisions makers in themed entertainment are headed to Seattle this week for the Themed Entertainment Association’s SATE’s signature conference.
If you are attending Thursday and Friday, connect with McLaren’s Entertainment Division Technical Design Manager, Steve Bonadonna, who will be exploring what’s next in Storytelling, Architecture, Technology and Experience. Share your stories with him and learn about our Entertainment Division’s latest adventures like the ARIZONA! A majestic Outdoor Art Exhibit, kinetic chandelier at the OMNIA Nightclub in Vegas and so many more.
Last week McLaren had an ‘Axe-cellent’ time with Themed Entertainment Association’s (TEA) Eastern Division at the Epic Axe Throwing event in Orlando, Florida. It was a great way to further build our community of architects, engineers, fabricators and scenic designers while supporting a new local business! #entrepreneurship
Dubbed by the press as “the current meteor in DC Theater”, tonight Round House Theatre hosts opening night after an impressive 8-month, $9 million renovation! This Bethesda, Maryland community staple was redesigned to continue its trajectory in the theater scene as a space to captivate audiences with stories that inspire and demand conversation. McLaren provided structural engineering and teamed with Charcoalblue, Forrester Construction and Kamm Architecture to bring this project center stage with an expanded lobby featuring a new staircase, back of house modernization, acoustic improvements and so much more.
For Theatre’s entryway, McLaren provided structural design of the new feature staircase, extension of the second-floor lobby plate to include 2 new cantilevered balcony elements and everything around the box office. This inviting bar area is open before and after the show and will serve light -fare associated with the performances. All the elements work together to create an inviting area for theater goers to keep the conversation going.
“Theatergoing has changed a lot in the 20 years since it was designed, and now that we’re competing a lot more with outside entertainment options and also the ‘cocooning’ phenomenon of people staying home and watching Netflix. People are looking for theater to be more of an experience now,” says Ed Zakreski, Round House’s managing director. “Part of our mission is to do shows that demand conversation and we wanted to provide a place for that conversation to occur.”
Round House Theatre kicked off its new renovations and 2019-2020 Season with Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, directed by Associate Artistic Director Nicole A. Watson. The fast-moving play follows a group of schoolgirls vying for the title of Miss Ghana 1986.
The theatre’s modifications maximized allowable program space, increased intimacy and connection between audience and performers, and improved acoustics and sightlines.
Meet McLaren’s new Senior Vice President of Technical Services, Gul Khan, PE, ENV SP. Mr. Khan comes to us with a distinguished career of over 30 years’ experience in executive management and leadership in engineering, environmental, construction and disaster response and recovery services in the AEC arena. He also has extensive expertise in managing U.S. military mission support programs (in the U.S. and around the world), federal civilian agency contracts, and professional services contracts with states and local agencies.
At McLaren, Gul will be overseeing all aspects of technical services practice areas that include new business pursuits, project delivery, and design centers collaboration to provide the highest quality of services to our clients.
With the addition of Mr. Khan’s dynamic perspective and capabilities, we are excited to continue McLaren’s trajectory as an industry leader across all of our technical divisions.
Hope to meet you at COPRI Ports ’19! Come to our refreshment break on Tuesday morning, check out our expert speakers and stop by McLaren’s booth (No. 318) to keep the discussion going. Share your maritime achievements and challenges with our marine engineers or just connect!
We are looking forward to being at the forefront of the industry with GlassBuild. If you are attending the National Glass Association Glass’s, ‘Window & Door Expo’ next week in Atlanta, get the conversation going with Daniel Chung, AIA and Nicolas Ferreira, PE, two members of McLaren’s Building Envelope team. Share your achievements and challenges with us and learn about our Building Envelope group’s latest accomplishments like the custom curtain wall for LaGuardia Airport, the unique façade design at the award-winning 520 West 28th Street in NYC, the cable mullion system design for 101 Seaport in Boston and so many more.
Join us on September 18th, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at McLaren’s office for an ASCE, Lower Hudson Valley Branch, PDH Lecture.
Topic: Drilled Shaft Design Practices, Project Experiences, & Lessons Learned from Construction
Speaker: Arsanious Guirguis, PE from Hardesty & Hanover
Description: Drilled shafts are widely recognized to provide large axial and lateral resistance in a small footprint and offer inherent advantages when constructing in challenging site conditions. Although drilled shafts can provide a very reliable foundation system, their success are sensitive to the construction procedures, drilled shaft details, specifications and quality assurance programs. This presentation will provide an overview of drilled shaft design and construction while identifying key aspects to promote successful drilled shaft foundations.
Date/Time: Wednesday, September 18, 2019, 6:00‐7:30 PM
6:00 – 6:30 Introductions, Social Hour, Refreshments
6:30 – 7:30 Presentation and Discussion
Location: McLaren Engineering Group ‐ 530 Chestnut Ridge Road, Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677
Cost: Students and Retired Branch Members – No Charge; Members – $10; Non‐Members – $25
Checks payable to: ASCE Lower Hudson Valley Branch – Please Pay at Door
PDH Credits: Approved 1.0 PDH Credits.
Meet our newest Baltimore Survey Crew Chief, Tariq Brown! He is bringing his expertise and dynamic skills to some of McLaren’s most exciting geomatics projects. Here he is performing an as-builts survey of the stormwater quality and storage facility hidden beneath a parking lot at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland. Please join us in welcoming Tariq to our team!
McLaren has been working with White Plains Hospital on advancing its campus into the 21st century and beyond. For the past decade, McLaren has been engineering this Hospital’s campus for expansion into advanced care. Currently, the McLaren team is providing civil and geotechnical engineering services for a Center for Advanced Medicine and Surgery. Find out more about the White Plains Hospital transformation.
A once vacant property has been transformed into a luxury mixed-use master-planned community just 10 minutes outside of Baltimore. Greenleigh at Crossroads is the largest example of “new urbanism” in the area, fusing together commercial, residential, retail and hospitality developments. In partnership with Design Collective, Inc., the McLaren team structurally engineered the Greenleigh’s wood-framed clubhouse to flaunt a contemporary urban design. The sloped roof features exposed elements and required attention to the aesthetic integrity of the members and connections. To eliminate the need for intermediate gusset plates, McLaren utilized concealed plate bolted connections and offset cross-bracing to help enhance the design.