Stephen Turner discusses the basics of building commissioning, why it's important to green building, and the future of sustainable building on Vertical City’s podcast. Listen: https://lnkd.in/ddWe66d. Vertical City interviews experts in architecture, urban planning, energy, agriculture and ecology to promote and develop solutions of sustainable living. They promote Vertical Cities that can save energy, support our growing population and preserve our land for food production, nature and recreation. Learn more at verticalcity.org.

Stephen Turner Inc. provided training on changes in the 2016 RI Energy Conservation Code and offered a tour of the just-completed 134,600 square foot URI chemistry building. The tour was part of the Rhode Island Code Compliance Enhancement Initiative, and with support from National Grid and CLEAResult, Approximately fifty people attended the training, which focused on building envelope and lighting and lighting controls, the areas of least compliance in Rhode Island. The tour highlighted the URI project team’s solutions to those issues, including daylighting strategies and wall assembly types, as well as the creative HVAC solutions required by a laboratory building of this size.

The Rhode Island Department of Education has awarded a Master Purchasing Agreement for commissioning services to Stephen Turner Inc. Granted after the state’s RFQ process, the contract extends Stephen Turner Inc.’s position as an approved commissioning provider for Rhode Island public school projects for an additional two years and streamlines sourcing of commissioning services for school districts. Having commissioned more than 20 RIDE projects in recent years, Stephen Turner Inc. has developed significant expertise in RIDE and NE-CHPS commissioning requirements. We are delighted to have the opportunity to continue investing in our communities and the future of our children.

The City of Cambridge has awarded the contract for the design, construction, turnover, and maintenance phases of the King Open and Cambridge Street Upper School and Community Complex project to Stephen Turner Inc. Having provided commissioning services for the feasibility and pre-design phases, we are grateful to continue working on this important and exciting project. Award on this Net Zero project, combined with the recent award of the city’s House Doctor contract, underline the effectiveness of our commissioning approach and the impact of commissioning on project success as a whole.

After a rigorous proposal and interview process, the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, awarded their Commissioning House Doctor contract to Stephen Turner Inc. The contract will enable the city to sole-source commissioning services from Stephen Turner Inc. for up to three years. Fourteen other firms submitted proposals under the RFQ, included several multinational construction and engineering heavyweights. The city’s award validates our approach, experience, and quality of work, and inspires us to continue striving to provide the highest standard of commissioning to our clients.

Stephen Turner, President of Stephen Turner Inc., delivered a guest lecture to candidates for a Master of Arts in Adaptive Reuse at RISD. Using building energy use statistics as a backdrop, Stephen argued for a life cycle view of building design and maintenance practices, and offered some case studies of systems that support continuing maintenance practices. The RISD Adaptive Reuse program, with its emphasis on sustainable design, dovetails nicely with commissioning as practiced by Stephen Turner Inc. Applying our extensive project experience in the academic context helps the students consider real-life opportunities and helps us step back to refine our philosophy. We welcome the chance to speak to and with the next generation of building professionals.

Stephen Turner and Nate Taylor offered a training module as part of the Financing and Planning Tools for Green Building program. Organized by the Connecticut Housing Coalition Community Developers Network, the professional development opportunity engaged experts to train two dozen developers, contractors, and other multifamily housing professionals on the keys to a successful green project. Stephen and Nate’s presentation, entitled Integrated Decision-Making for Success, sketched a variety of integrated project approaches, discussed commissioning as a useful option, and culminated with a mock Owner’s Project Requirements workshop to demonstrate a goal-setting technique that can drive decisions throughout the project.

KC Harding and Nate Taylor have received certificates of completion for the course Leading the Commissioning Process: Step-by-Step Strategies for New Construction Projects, offered through the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The course is facilitated by the University’s Department of Engineering, and is team-taught by industry leaders, including our firm’s own Stephen Turner. The course blends hands-on practice exercises with presentations on effective communication and documentation development.

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Congratulations to Project Manager Amanda Harding for earning her LEED AP O+M credential! Her focus on sustainable operations and maintenance principles and practices fills a vital niche on the Stephen Turner Inc. team, where she shares her expertise on turnover phase and ongoing commissioning, and works to implement continuous commissioning wherever possible.

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