SMRT Media Center: Latest News and Articles

Sheena Bitetti Earns PE

Structural Engineer Sheena Bitetti passed the National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCEES) exam with flying colors to become SMRT’s newest licensed professional engineer.  A graduate of the University of Maine with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, Sheena is working on MaineGeneral Medical Center’s new regional hospital in Augusta.  Being delivered via BIM and IPD, the 640,000 s.f. replacement hospital broke ground in early August 2011 and is scheduled for completion in 2014.

SMRT Wins Lakes Region Community College Project

SMRT was selected from a field of seven finalists to design a new academic building for Lakes Region Community College on their Laconia, New Hampshire campus. The renovation/addition project will house nursing, science labs and fire sciences. SMRT's extensive experience in healthcare, science/technology and public safety will inform our design of these specialized spaces.

St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center Dedicates Timeline

The St. Mary’s community at large came together to celebrate the Sisters of Charity at a luncheon and timeline dedication in their honor.  Over 120 feet long, the timeline is an illustrated history of the Sisters of Charity of Saint-Hyacinth and their legacy of care, which began in Montreal in 1737, migrated to Lewiston in 1878, and continues today.  The timeline was created by SMRT’s Interior Design Studio and is located in the new Regis A. Lepage Surgical Pavilion.  SMRT has provided healthcare design and engineering services to St. Mary’s for over a decade, most recently designing the operating rooms in the new surgical pavilion.

Kathy Dionne Presents to SMPS Northern New England

SMRT Marketing Manager Kathy Dionne presented Navigating the Federal SF330 Form to an attentive audience at a recent meeting of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Northern New England chapter. SMPS is a national organization for marketing professionals in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Kathy spends much of her time focused on marketing to the federal government - and knows the complex SF330 form inside and out!

Finalist in Martin's Point Bridge Competition

The team of Reed & Reed/T.Y. Lin/SMRT is among five finalists in the design-build competition for a new Martin's Point Bridge, located between Portland and Falmouth, Maine. Senior Landscape Architect Mark Johnson has more than 29 years of experience in landscape design and is currently working with Reed & Reed/T.Y. Lin on the Veterans Memorial Bridge that connects Portland and South Portland, Maine. Proposals are due in January 2012.

Grand Opening of Armed Forces Reserve Center in Puerto Rico

A gala ribbon cutting in Ceiba, Puerto Rico celebrated the grand opening of the new, four-building Armed Forces Reserve Center. Department of Defense officials lauded the complex for its design, efficiency and operational alignment. The project is tracking to LEED Silver certification.

SMRT attended the ceremony, along with our design-build partners Consigli Construction and McCullough Dominguez Architects (MDA) of San Juan. The mayor of Ceiba hailed the project as an economic boon to the region.

SMRT Design Divas Join Habitat for Humanity Women Build

SMRT architectural designer Abigail Cram pulled together a team, a.k.a. Design Divas, to volunteer on site at the opening day of the Habitat for Humanity Women Build. Abigail, interior designers Erin Anderson and Jessica King, and structural engineering intern Sheena Bitetti joined the future homeowner and fellow team members in raising the roof beam on a Habitat house in Freeport, Maine. Abigail volunteered for Habitat's Women Build while living in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Battery Plants Nearing Completion

SMRT is wrapping up A / E services for critical clean / dry rooms (ISO Class 6) at two lithium-ion battery manufacturing plants which are among the first to open in the United States. The Johnson Controls-Saft plant in Holland, Michigan will supply the automotive battery market, while the Saft plant in Jacksonville, Florida will manufacture cells and batteries for industrial and agricultural vehicles and defense application markets. Lithium-ion battery sales are anticipated to leap frog from today's $11 billion market to $43 billion by 2020.

Greg Carr Earns LEED Green Associate

Commissioning agent Greg Carr recently joined SMRT's growing ranks of LEED credentialed employees, earning LEED Green Associate status. This base level certification from the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) requires direct involvement on LEED projects and basic knowledge of green design, construction and operations. Working out of SMRT's Andover, Massachusetts office, Greg frequently provides commissioning services for projects seeking LEED certification.
 

Construction Begins on MaineGeneral Medical Center

More than 400 people - medical center employees, politicians, dignitaries, patients and families - gathered recently for a virtual groundbreaking at the site of the largest new healthcare construction project in central Maine, according to hospital officials. The new 640,000 s.f. MaineGeneral Medical Center will have 192 inpatient beds and all diagnostic, surgical and supporting services. "This hospital is going to change the way healthcare is practiced in the Kennebec Valley," said SMRT President Ellen Belknap, a designer of the $312 million project. "This site is a gift. To be on a green field and build a hospital from the ground up is an extraordinary opportunity."