• Our Knowledge

    The knowledge we bring to each design challenge is rooted in formal education and honed through years of experience. It is our currency, and therefore, a strategic expectation of our staff is to become a voice of their respective industry. As such, experts are categorized as either experts in a particular building type (market experts), or practice experts.

    Practice experts are designers that work on a broad array of project types and have dedicated themselves to innovating the best practices in project delivery and the building systems of the construction industry. Market experts have dedicated themselves to innovating a particular building type and focus their research on the business of our clients, and the needs of their end customers.

    These article and presentations are the result of our findings and are shared here to engender conversation about the most important challenges in our economy, our communities, and our lives.

  • Campus Heritage Planning - Understanding the Economics

    Dale McGirr

    Article for the Society of College and University Planning (SCUP) Journal, Planning in Higher Education. Dale and Ron address the economic and financial issues surrounding campus preservation projects that tend to prevent approval of such projects, even when they have great strategic importance.

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  • High Stakes Process Management

    Tom Gormley

    GBBN's lead project managers invite clients from around the globe to share the key ingredients to successfully managing large, high risk projects as part of GBBN's 2012 Healthcare Design Forum. Real examples are shared from the University of Kentucky and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

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  • Global Thinking l Local Impact

    Dan Shapiro

    GBBN medical planners and designers invite clients from around the globe to share practical examples of how global design principles have impacted local projects as part of GBBN's 2012 Healthcare Design Forum. The presentation includes examples related to landmark presence, public spaces, natural light integration, and building orientation.

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  • Enhancing the Patient Experience: Design Drivers for Urban Hospital Ambulatory Care

    Jim Harrell

    Jim Harrell, GBBN's senior healthcare planner and designer and Tim Gramann, COO of Group Health Associates present their views on ambulatory care in the urban environment at the Health Care Design 11 Conference in Nashville.

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  • Using Tax Credits To Help Fund Facilities Needs of Non-Profit Organizations

    Steve Kenat

    Steve Kenat, Dale McGirr, and John Michel share their knowledge on how non-profit organizations can expand, renovate, or replace their facilities through a variety of federal and state tax credit programs.

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  • Design for Staffing Optimization

    Jim Harrell

    This presentation illustrates the "Ribbon" design for the Emergency Department using the ED at UPMC Mercy as a case study. The "Ribbon" or continuous, closed loop layout of exam rooms can keep operating costs in line. It permits a minimal staff to effectively manage a few more patients for a short period or until additional staff needed.

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  • Getting Your Hospital to Go Green

    Alan Warner

    Getting your hospital to "Go Green" does not start with a Sustainability Rating Systems, it's about the attitude your organization has in defining a systematic change to how you approach projects. In regard to Sustainability, it's a matter of asking three questions: Who are you? What are you? and Where do you want to go?

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  • BIM, BAM, BOOM

    Jack Randall

    There are many challenges facing today’s Facility Manager. They are constantly being requested to consider and utilize new technologies to manage their facilities. This presentation illustrates how BIM (Building Information Model) + BAM (Building Assembly Model) + BOOM (Building Operation Optimization Model) can help.

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  • Designing for Life in China

    Jervy Zhu

    GBBN hosted the Greater Cincinnati Chinese Chamber of Commerce and shared their story of “Designing for Life in China” which has been a 9 year journey that commenced with a large scale urban residential development and has expanded into the robust healthcare market. Co-presenters included: Robert Gramann, FAIA and Alan Warner, AIA

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  • Green School Design

    Andrew Plogsted

    GBBN was invited to present with Cincinnati Public Schools to City Council's Quality of Life Committee. The presentation covered CPS's leadership in green school design, district sustainability initiatives, highlights of selected schools, green partnerships, and the House Bill 264 energy reduction program.

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  • The Business Case for Sustainability

    Steve Kenat

    GBBN was invited to present a program on the Business Case for Sustainability to the 2011 Annual Meeting for Prudential Commercial Real Estate Group. Included were case studies of two of GBBN's recent LEED Commercial Interiors projects, models for Return on Investment for green building across markets, and incentives available to Owners, Tenants and Brokers that facilitate green practices.

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  • Academic Impressions P3 2011

    Dale McGirr

    Learn how to address key policy & communication issues before a project begins. Topics include: Public / Private partnerships, pitfalls that block progress and strategic drivers for active campus edge development.

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  • Design Forum - Evidence Based Design

    Jim Harrell

    The GBBN Healthcare Team invited clients from around the globe to discuss the latest trends in healthcare. This presentation represents trends in Evidence Based Design.

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  • Design Forum - Trends in Technology

    John Blignaut

    The GBBN Healthcare Team invited clients from around the globe to discuss the latest trends in healthcare. This presentation represents trends in Technology in the healthcare environment.

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  • Design Forum - Trends & Tools

    John Blignaut

    The GBBN Healthcare Team invited clients from around the globe to discuss the latest trends in healthcare. This presentation covers the latest tools in the healthcare environment.

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  • Design Forum - Patient Safety

    Jim Harrell

    The GBBN Healthcare Team invited clients from around the globe to discuss the latest trends in healthcare. This presentation represents trends in Patient Safety.

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  • Design Forum - China Healthcare

    Dan Shapiro

    The GBBN Healthcare Team invited clients from around the globe to discuss the latest trends in healthcare. This presentation represents trends in healthcare in China.

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  • What happened to the Nurses’ Station? The case for the Interdisciplinary Team Center.

    Jim Harrell

    In today’s healthcare environment, the idea of the hospital-based Nurses’ Station is undergoing a major transformation. The notions that once defined the configuration of the Nurses’ Station have been altered by the transition to an electronic medical record and research on the environment of the patient care unit as it affects patients and staff.

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  • In and Out of the Emergency Room: Streamlined Design of Patient Flow

    Jim Harrell

    The Emergency Department has become the “Front Door” to the hospital. Many institutions report that fifty percent of more of their admissions come through the ED. Yet in many hospitals the flow to and through the Emergency Department is fraught with bottlenecks, confusing and conflicting messages regarding circulation to and within the ED. How can good design help patient flow?

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  • What Happened to the Nurses' Station?

    Jim Harrell

    What happened to the Nurses' station? The Case for Interdisciplinary Team Center. This presentation was shared at the Healthcare Design Conference.

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  • Green Roof Symposium

    David Humlong

    Learn more about the rooftop garden at the University of Kentucky Patient Care Facility. This was presented at the LFUCG Green Roof Symposium.

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  • Green Convene Presentation

    Jason Groneck

    Advancing Sustainability from Local to Global. Learn more about the importance of working from a client's vision, mission and culture;

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  • Green School Buildings

    Andrew Plogsted

    Green Schools overview and description of the Cincinnati Public Schools green transition. Also includes information on Sustainable Design Initiatives including: Indoor Air Quality Program, Storm Water management, and Urban T

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  • Healing Environments in China

    Jim Harrell

    Healing Environments in China: Lessons Learned from Contemporary Chinese Design

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  • 5th Annual Xavier University / SODEC International Trade Conference Presentation

    Alan Warner

    Green China Imperative for Survival and Path to World Leadership

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  • North Central SCUP 2010 - Campus Planning Leadership: Creating Community Value

    Dale McGirr

    Learn about the history and strategic forces of off campus neighborhoods and the institutional strategic drivers for community development.

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  • Achieve IPD - An Owner's Symposium

    Matthew Birk

    How IPD and BIM Benefits Owners, Developers and Other Stakeholders

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  • iGreen

    Alan Warner

    Those of us in the design and construction industry are inundated with countless facts on sustainability and the dramatic impacts building construction and operations have on climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, indoor air quality, energy consumption, storm water management and on and on. Do not let the overwhelming issues keep you from acting.

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  • The Cincinnati Greens

    Alan Warner

    This region is replete with devoted individuals who have selflessly committed themselves to remaking Cincinnati and our region into a green community. What have they accomplished?

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  • AIA Best Practices - Ten Principles of Community Partnering

    Ron Kull

    The authors developed 10 principles of community partnering from their experience in creating partnerships and completing projects at the University of Cincinnati, where they worked together for 15 years

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  • The New Normal and the Paradigmatic Design Problem

    Alan Warner

    Leadership starts right here, right now. What we have is the Paradigmatic Design Problem of the ages. And you are central to this new future. Any construction activity that you commit to (from replacing the carpet in your office to that new $200 million factory) has a direct 1:1 impact upon your future and your legacy.

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  • AIA 150: Ohio’s Vision 2020 TALKING POINTS on New Perspectives on Sustainable Design

    Alan Warner

    What gets measured gets done. The proven path to the benefits of Green High Performance Design is by using common national green design measurement standards as recommended by the AIA.

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  • Putting a Number to the Quality of Life

    Alan Warner

    Green High Performance Design combines common sense standards with proven technologies to create integrated, consensus-based design. By incorporating the needs of Owners and Users with the initiatives of Architects, Engineers and Contractors, projects are delivered by considering the entire cycle of design, construction and operations.

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