Better healthcare by designOWP/PÔÇÖs healthcare practice director Deb Sheehan tells Keith Regan that the firm focuses on the care itself first and the bricks and mortar second. OWP/P has carved out a global reputation for its integrated architecture, interior design, engineering and consulting work to clients worldwide.

Sharing expertisePushing the envelope on sustainability comes naturally at the University of Victoria, Sarah Webb explains to Gary Toushek. "When you see how beautiful our campus here is, beside the ocean, with gardens and open spaces and aesthetically pleasing green buildings, any student interested in sustainability issues instinctively wants to apply those aspects to life at home and in the community at large, and it can be a rewarding experience.ÔÇØ Sarah WebbÔÇÖs energy and enthusiasm reverberates through the phone line as she describes the wide ran

All part of the planWith a new mission and a higher profile, Vancouver Island University is in the midst of its first major campus master planning initiative in decades, and Keith Regan reports that sustainability is included in every facet of that plan. In the spring of 2008, the British Columbia provincial government introduced legislation that will change the institution long known as Malaspina University College into a fully chartered university known as Vancouver Island University.

Looking aheadA future-focused approach builds a foundation for UNM HospitalsÔÇÖ Barbara and Bill Richardson Pavilion, Jenn Monroe reports. Being the only public hospital in any city brings with it a number of challenges. Add that it is the only teaching hospital in the state, and you have the venue for University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.  ÔÇ£Our medical care is cutting edge, and the UNM School of Medicine faculty treat our patients. ItÔÇÖs top-notch healthcare,ÔÇØ says Lyn Kehoe, internal communications manager.

Charting a new courseUnited Maritime Group emerges from obscurity to answer the complex transporting needs of a global world. Kate Sawyer reports. United Maritime GroupÔÇÖs captains are familiar with the worldÔÇÖs vast shipping lanes, both deep-water transcontinental ocean courses and continental river systems. No matter what the cargo, or where the destination, this companyÔÇÖs unique structure of comprehensive specialty divisions allows it to get the job done.

New city lifeWhen Patrick Turner of Turner Development comes across a rundown inner-city area, he doesnÔÇÖt see terminal hopelessness; he sees an opportunity to revitalize the urban landscape, reports Ruari McCallion. As the nature of the economy changes, some places are inevitably going to be left behind. The old industrial heartland of the US is, increasingly, presenting a panorama of abandoned buildings, crumbling infrastructure and echoes of prosperity long since moved on.  Docklands and manufacturing areas suffer in a sad silence.

┬áObsessive propulsionMarine propulsion systems designed and manufactured by Thrustmaster of Texas are used all over the world, Gary Toushek learns. When it was founded in Houston in 1984 by owner and president Joe Bekker, Thrustmaster of Texas was a small manufacturer of outboard, deck-mounted propulsion units. Bekker is a graduate (with a degree in mechanical engineering) of the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands and was always interested in propellers and propulsion systems, especially for marine applications.

The public is watchingImproving the transportation infrastructure in East Texas is a public service requiring responsibility and accountability from everyone involved. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) describes its mission as being ÔÇ£to work cooperatively to provide safe, effective and efficient movement of people and goods.ÔÇØ It aspires to the vision of being ÔÇ£a progressive state transportation agency recognized and respected by the citizens of Texas.ÔÇØ One of TxDOTÔÇÖs 25 districts that certainly lives up to that vision is the Bryan

A new hospital for a new centuryIt has served the people of Illinois right through the 20th century; now Sherman Hospital is relocating to a new campus that will see it through the 21st. John OÔÇÖHanlon gets the full story from project specialist Dawn Stoner. Sherman Hospital treated its first patients in 1888, with four beds and one treatment room.

The greening of QueenÔÇÖsOntarioÔÇÖs QueenÔÇÖs University takes a realistic approach to sustainability, Jenn Monroe reports. In one year, September 2009, QueenÔÇÖs University in Kingston, Ontario, is planning to celebrate the completion of Phase I of its QueenÔÇÖs Centre, a new athletics, recreational and student life complex that will feature the new School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, a varsity gymnasium, an aquatic center, a fitness and weight center, and an underground parking garage.