Syska Snippets
Did you miss some of our press releases or emails? Not to worry. In every issue of Connections we provide a news summary.
Here is the latest:
New Hires
We welcome Kostas Tsekouras, who joined us in January.
Kostas is the managing director for our Middle East and North Africa region. Based in Dubai, he oversees business throughout the region, managing local staff, growing client relationships, and ensuring successful project delivery. He has extensive senior-level experience in information technology and data centers. Previously he served as chief technology officer for Khazna Data Centers in Dubai. His earlier roles in Dubai include ICT advisor and data center business advisor at Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du); and senior director, Global Carrier Affairs and Regional Business Development, at BlackBerry Middle East & Africa.
Kostas Tsekouras
Recent Promotions
We recently promoted five professionals to associate partner, seven to senior associate, and eight to associate.
The new associate partners are:
Matthew Brady, PE, LEED AP BD+C
(New York)
Kenneth Duncan, PE
(Dallas)
Sami El Khoury, PE
(San Francisco)
Nickolas Patsios, PE
(New York)
The new senior associates are:
Craig Brandt, PE, LEED AP
(Washington, D.C.)
Cody Little, CPD
(Dallas)
Yesha Modi
(New York)
Yosief Philipos, PE
(New York)
Moni Solomonov, LEED AP BD+C
(New York)
Lauren Wesson
(San Francisco)
Jason Yang
(New York)
The new associates are:
Brian Fields, RCDD, CTS
(Raleigh)
Patrick LeGassic
(San Diego)
Kyle McBride, PE
(Richmond)
Xuechao Xu, PE
(New York)
Daniel Reuter, PE, LEED AP
(Jacksonville)
Kiarash Shirani
(Los Angeles)
Joseph Spath, PE
(San Diego)
Congratulations to all!
Engineering Excellence Awards
We’re proud to announce that Syska has won two Engineering Excellence Awards from ACEC NY: a platinum award for Accenture’s Headquarters in New York City (Building/Technology Systems category) and a gold award in the same category for NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital’s Alexandra Cohen Hospital for Women and Newborns, also in New York City. Another round of congratulations for these project teams, please!
Image © James Ewing JBSA
Engineering Project of the Year
James Hardie Industries was awarded the Engineering Project of the Year at the 34th Annual Chicago Real Estate Awards. James Hardie is a global building materials company and the largest global manufacturer of fiber cement products. Syska Hennessy Group provided full design and programming services associated with the construction of their new LEED certified office.
Accenture New York headquarters image © Eric Laignel Photography
Latest Articles for Consulting-Specifying Engineer (CSE)
Have you read Syska’s latest contributions to CSE’s content program? We invite you to check out the following articles:
- Tom Grimard and Donn McMullen about asset management systems at airports
- Lucy Vereenooghe’s article on prefabrication in the U.S. construction industry
- Christian Nazon’s article on BMS replacements.
Happy Reading!
Electrification Task Force
In January, we established an electrification task force to guide compliance with New York City’s Intro 2317 law. This law, which was enacted in December, prohibits the installation of natural gas-based systems in new commercial construction projects via a phased ban starting in 2024.
The task force comprises engineers from Syska leadership and the firm’s national sustainability practice. Some have served on industry committees that advised New York City lawmakers on the development of Intro 2317 and/or Local Law 97; others have helped clients comply with strict electrification laws in California and other states. Members of the task force will collaborate on strategies to achieve beneficial electrification, keeping clients’ utility bills and energy use low while reducing carbon emissions in accordance with the new law.
Speaking Engagements
Tim Burdge, MSFM, FMP, Senior Associate and John Bilotta, PE, Principal spoke at the New Jersey Cannabusiness Association on May 6, 2022. They discussed what cannabis facility owners and operators should know about how engineers' roles in cannabis facility design, construction, and administration may support a variety of beneficial organizational and operational outcomes while effecting operational cost reductions.
In May, Syska Hennessy spoke at Gensler’s Los Angeles office on "What Architects Need to Know – 2022 Title 24 Updates, Decarbonization, and Energy Efficiency." The session evolved into a more in-depth discussion of decarbonization and electrification. Thank you to our talented speakers, Sam Mahdavian (Associate Partner, Los Angeles), Kris Baker (Associate Partner, Los Angeles-remote) and Desiree Robinson (San Diego).
Also in May, Charles Joyce, Senior Associate in our New York office, presented a two-part ACEC webinar on the new 2022 NYC Building Code fire alarm system design requirements.
Our Chicago office’s Ryan Helsdingen spoke at the Consulting Electrical Engineers (CEE) 2022 Technical Forum. He participated in an EV Infrastructure panel discussion.
Val Loh, Senior Principal, moderated a panel discussion on May 10th entitled “The New Era of Office Space” focusing on constructing, developing and designing creative workspaces at the Future of Dallas Workplace Bisnow Event.
NY Client Event
Syska Hennessy hosted its annual New York Client day at the Bryant Park Grill on May 18th. The weather was perfect for this well-attended get together. Thank you all! It gets better every year.
Syska Hennessy has opened an office in Tampa, its 19th office worldwide!
Located downtown at 400 North Ashley Drive, the Tampa office supplements Syska’s facility in Jacksonville, established 20 years ago. Engineers in both locations support multiple confidential financial clients, corporate interior fit-outs, critical facilities projects, and aviation and energy sector clients in each city, as well as in South Florida and Orlando. They also collaborate on other projects while upholding longstanding relationships with premier architects and project managers across the state. To learn more, click here, and if you are in the area, stop by.
Makers Quarter Block D Office Building is Published
Robert Fagnant, LEED AP, Associate Partner in our San Diego Office, was interviewed for a book entitled “Designing for Zero Carbon: Case Studies of All-Electric Buildings written by Edward Thomas Dean, FAIA. The Makers Quarter Block D Office Building was showcased in the publication and was even used as the cover image. Justin Di Palo and Desiree Robinson, along with the architect and owners, also furnished valuable information for the narrative describing our Block D project. Congratulations to the team. The book can be found on Amazon.
Photo Credit for attached: BNIM | Nick Merrick © Hall+Merrick 2018
AEC Companies on Technology and Innovation
Robert Ioanna, Chief Technical Officer, was recently featured in a Commercial Observer article on how Architecture, Engineering, Construction companies are investing in technologies that will benefit the industry as a whole. Syska Hennessy along with Thornton Tomasetti, STO Building Group, and SHoP Architects are part of AEC Angels, a Manhattan-based venture fund specializing in seed through Series B+ investments.
AEC Angels’ investments to date include Rhumbix, a cloud-based platform that digitalizes project field data; OpenSpace, image documentation software that uses AI to create 360-degree representations of construction sites; and EnviroPower, a later-stage energy technology company that has developed the SmartWatt Boiler.
To learn more, click here for the full article.
Orlando Magic
The Orlando International Airport’s South Terminal Complex was featured in the June issue of Passenger Terminal World. Scheduled to open in September 2022, the 15 new gates will enable the seventh busiest airport in the U.S. to handle millions more passengers per year. Sergiu Pelau, Principal, and Charbel Farah, Senior Principal, were both interviewed for the piece and appear on page 24 under the Sustainability Factors section. To read the full article, click here.