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insider view

featured project

meet the team

industry insights

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/ SPRING 2016

ICONICA_Making Headlines

The National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded the Dental Associates Iron Block Building one of its four prestigious 2015 Driehaus Preservation Awards.

Iconica was honored for outstanding construction work in

restoring this magnificent building at the center of Downtown

Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Jim Pientka, President, accepted the honor on November 4,

on behalf of Iconica at the National Cathedral in Washington

D.C. during the opening plenary ceremony of the 2015

National Preservation Conference.

Ecstatic and thankful, we tip our caps to Mark Demsky,

Architect for Dental Associates, a dental care organization

now headquartered in the newly preserved building. Mark’s

passion, along with that of Dr. Thomas Manos, Owner of

Dental Associates, and Anthony Vastardis, CEO, was the

driving force behind the project.

Iconica worked closely with Mark to complete design details

and construction drawings, and subsequently complete the

construction of the interior renovation. It’s easy to imagine

some of the challenges involved with altering a building

erected before the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. For a

more thorough description, see our previous blog post from

11/11/15 at iconicacreates.com.

In the words of the National Trust for Historic Preservation:

“The National Preservation Awards are bestowed on

distinguished individuals, nonprofit organizations, public

agencies and corporations whose skill and determination

have given new meaning to their communities through

preservation of our architectural and cultural heritage.

Iron Block Building Wins Prestigious Driehaus Preservation Award

MAKING HEADLINES

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Preservation Award nominees are judged for the success they have achieved in the preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and interpretation of our architectural and cultural heritage. The Driehaus Preservation Awards recognize and celebrate the country’s best preservation projects—projects that highlight cutting-edge preservation approaches or technologies. These exclusive awards serve to educate and inspire and raise the visibility of the preservation movement. Iron Block Building is Wisconsin’s last standing building with a cast iron facade. Despite its designation as a Milwaukee Landmark and its place on the National Register, the building suffered years of neglect until Dental Associates undertook a complete, meticulous, historically accurate renovation of the site, returning it to its former grandeur.”

ICONICA_Making Headlines

“It was amazing to accept the award

in the National Cathedral, and

meet many other representatives of the Historic Preservation

Project throughout the country.”Jim Pientka,

President, Iconica

“It was probably one of the finest restorations I have seen in the City of Milwaukee!”Robert Baumann, Milwaukee Alderman

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IRON BLOCK_FACT BOXLocation: 205 E. Wisconsin Ave

• With 14ft ceilings, and 11ft windows the building offers some of the best views of Downtown Milwaukee.

• The Iron Block building is actually a pair of connected buildings dating from 1860 and 1899.

• When the Dental Associates bought the building much of the interior detail was gone. There were only a handful of old photographs and clues as to what the interior looked like.

/ SPRING 2016

Providing Wisconsin residents with top-quality assisted living care is both a natural and a learned skill of Patti Martin, owner, operator, and CEO of Ashford Martin Corporation. We at Iconica, love working closely with her to design and build her facilities, making sure both form and function are in line with the Aster goals and brand.

Families of seniors who are already familiar with what Aster Assisted Living senior care facilities offer are not waiting for the completion of this building. They are hurrying to save a spot.

“We’ve had so many calls from people wanting to reserve apartments already. People are very excited to have us here.” Patti reports.

She, too, is excited, but not surprised. There has long been a need in Fort Atkinson and the surrounding area for a quality assisted living facility. Aster Assisted Living has a strong reputation as a preeminent senior care provider, and the anticipation for its arrival has been high.

This 60 unit building is phase one of a two-phase campus consisting of a total of 96 senior living units. Just a few short blocks from US Highway 12 on the Northwest side of Fort Atkinson, the site is within walking distance of nearby stores, restaurants, and medical facilities. In fact, the Dean/St. Mary’s clinic is directly across the street and UW Health is building a new clinic on the property to the north of the Aster community.

While location is important in any real estate project, our main concern is with the building design and construction. In designing any residence catering to the needs of seniors, we pay close attention to mobility and travel. Buildings are purposefully designed with multiple stories to let the elevators do the work and minimize walking distances.

Transitioning from single-family homes to much smaller apartment style living can be both a practical and emotional challenge. Friendly community areas are therefore a critical

design component as they extend the living spaces for all residents. Aster Assisted Living will include a multi-purpose room, library, dining rooms (one private), hair salon, fitness center, activity rooms, pub, computer room, chapel, and an outdoor patio for all to share. In addition to the residents’ own apartments are storage lockers, underground parking and administration offices.

Each apartment includes a full kitchen with wood cabinetry, appliances and granite countertops. Units also include individually controlled heating and air-conditioning, multiple closets—some are walk-ins, large bay windows, and package shelves outside of each apartment.

New residents are often pleasantly surprised at the amenities and luxury available to them. All of these features are the result of paying attention to the needs of seniors, and listening to what they have to say.

A Much Anticipated Addition to Fort Atkinson, Aster Assisted Living, is Coming to Life

FEATURED PROJECT

It was great to see all the stakeholders come together and visualize the construction of a wonderful home option for Fort Atkinson.”

ICONICA_Featured Project

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Todd Conkey, Director of Business Development

Iconica

ICONICACREATES.COM /

Without a doubt, everyone on our team loves one or both: designing and building. The passion shows in how we speak, how we operate, and even in what we have sitting around on our desks.

Some of us have legos, some little models, some have samples of interesting materials, and others keep small building parts. So, it wasn’t a big surprise when we got a tremendous response to the internal email we sent asking everyone about their favorite building toys. In fact, within minutes the topic sent the company abuzz—and trust me—most general questionnaires do not invoke such passionate response in our halls.

The idea to ask the team about their favorite building toys came to me in the midst of this holiday season while watching a news report. The report highlighted a new store in our area that specializes in buying and selling used and discontinued Lego Products. Legos played a big role in many childhoods and we suspected that was true of many on our team. We asked about favorite building toys, past and present, and confirmed we have a very creative group.

Legos, Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs were perennial favorites—and invoked memories of the big tubs that held them. Also popular were erector sets, Tonka Trucks, and those big cardboard bricks that can be stacked as tall as a child, and knocked down over, and over. Our team built with them as children and then as adults they built with their nieces, nephews and children. And those with advanced ‘experience’ are moving on to building with their grandchildren.

We shared stories of free-form building with found materials—the predecessor of adaptive reuse. The father of one of our engineers was a fitter, so the engineer and his siblings built a lot of things with piping and metal. One of our architects used sand, mud, and scrap 2x4s for his creations. And several mentioned forts out of sticks and branches, blankets over couch cushions, tree forts—anything to create a cozy space just for kids.

The mother of one of our Construction Project Managers taught two-year olds, and was skilled at suggesting crafty projects to keep the kids entertained. The Project Manager recalls making homemade recycled cities. He and his younger brother would toy around with empty paper towel rolls, small cardboard boxes, and other recycled items to make their own small cities on a poster board with scissors and glue. They would spend hours putting together the structures, and coloring small streets between everything for their Hot Wheels, pet hamsters, and more.

The same Project Manager had a sandbox that his dad built and he remembers Tonka Trucks ranging from dump trucks to semi-trailers and front end loaders. They had shovels and molds for the sand and would often search for and find frogs and lizards that could “live” in the creations they made.

A touching story came out from another member of our architectural staff who said that during his childhood, he accumulated a collection that filled a foot locker large enough to contain a grown man (or two depending on flexibility).

INSIDER VIEWWhat is behind the personalities that make your projects sing?

ICONICA_Insider View

“My favorite part of the job is getting

the chance to see it all come togeth-

er. Computer images are one thing,

but when you actually step into the

work site and see the elements, and

feel the natural stone, it is something

quite different, and truly brings the

project to life.”

— J.S.

MEETTHE TEAM

This month we feature Josh Stanz, our fast rising design star. Josh was born for his role as designer. Raised by architect parents, Josh always was interested in drawing, art, and putting structures together.

Josh’s latest project, River Valley Bank was one that he got the chance to lead on for the first time.

Josh Stanz

continued on page 8»5

/ SPRING 2016

You may have heard the grumblings throughout the construction industry about the difficulty in finding skilled laborers —from design all the way through construction—and the issues that this shortage causes.

Challenges that have dramatically increased following the

recent recession such as missed deadlines, lower quality

workmanship, and increased errors are now forcing us to

reevaluate the approaches that we take in hiring our own

talent, selecting subcontractors, and completing projects

in general.

This is not a new topic. It’s been in the news for many

months and we expect to see its impact for many more.

So, how did we get here — and how do we escape?

The Crash In the early days of the great recession,

thousands and thousands of construction industry employees

lost their jobs. Across the board, architects, engineers,

project managers, field supervisors, and skilled tradesmen

were laid off. As the recovery stalled, many were forced to

find new options and reinvent their lives. For senior skilled

laborers, concerns of “aging out” of the profession, a topic

continually debated, led many to retire. Not knowing how

long it would take for the economy, and more specifically, the

industry, to get back on track, other industry professionals

also retired early, or launched entirely different careers.

Construction company owners took critical, and sometimes

fatal blows to their bottom lines. As work continued to be

scarce, they found themselves faced with additional staff cuts

and critical decisions of whether to lay off highly-salaried

seasoned veterans or lower-paid younger employees with

vast potential. Staffs and processes became necessarily lean.

The Rebound and Resulting Shortage With the improving

economy, construction project numbers and values began

to rise, and the labor force became increasingly stretched.

Senior employees were charged with additional project

work and increased management duties, not to mention

INDUSTRY INSIGHTSConstruction Labor Shortage: Why it’s happening, and how we fix it.

ICONICA_Industry Insights

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ICONICA_Industry Insights

responsibilities for training and mentoring

new staff. Many contractors, attempting

to recoup recent losses, overpromised,

but then missed completion dates,

forcing building owners to accept later

move-in dates. In addition, mistakes from

the overworked and inexperienced led to

costly changes and sometimes injury.

Today, both design and construction

company owners are scrambling

constantly to find qualified staff

while managing both field and office

operations. They know the difficulty

of quality labor, and the risks of

being overextended, but they see an

opportunity to recoup past losses, so

they keep promising while pushing their

workers harder.

The senior and experienced workers

that remain are being overtaxed and

overwhelmed. They are pressured into

working longer hours, including nights

and weekends, usually for the same pay.

The tipping point will come when the

abundance of work is no longer worth

the stress inflicted by supervisors and

owners. Some may choose to walk away.

Solutions Rebuilding qualified design

and construction teams takes time.

Generally speaking, engineers and

architects prefer stability, so after being

forced to find new careers, many stay

put. And while many entry-level and

mid-level construction laborers returned

to the industry once the economy

improved, most seniors did not. Many felt

too wounded, even traumatized, to want

to return when things improved. Gone

with them are the professional skills and

expertise that one can only get from years

of training and on-the-job problem solving.

Throughout the construction industry,

steps are being taken to address this

qualified labor shortage problem.

Companies are investing in on-the-

job training and improved mentoring.

Trade organizations are supporting

technical training programs, job

fairs and other educational programs

to get potential workers interested in

construction careers.

At Iconica, we have developed our own

strategy. Two tenets guide us: Focus on

Relationship-Building, and Investment

in Education.

Relationships are paramount- we

rely heavily on them. We have long

recognized the importance of not just

client relationships, but also those with

our subcontractors. We are not a firm

that blindly accepts the lowest bid. As

a design-build firm, if something goes

wrong, the cost to fix it comes out

of our pocket. Before we invite new

contractors to bid on our projects, we

get to know what their work ethic is like,

where they’re sourcing their labor, and

their capacity in terms of both size and

quantity of projects. When challenges

arise, we collaborate to find a workable

solution.

“We strive for long-term relationships

with our contractors. They understand

our quality and schedule expectations.

They know how we work; we know how

they work; and that allows us to deliver

a top quality project to our clients. We

don’t go out and blindly hire people we

don’t know.” —Jeff Hyland, Construction

Manager; Iconica

Part of maintaining healthy and long

relationships is honesty. Hyland

recommends a dose of reality and

cautions subcontractors not to bite off

more than they can chew:

“If everybody would commit to taking on

only the work that they can perform at a

high level from a quality standpoint, that

would help correct what we’re seeing in

the market. Over time, the younger guys

will gain experience, and we will build

that knowledge base back up.”

—Hyland

Training is a non-negotiable investment—

as an integrated design-build company,

we do things differently. Our process

is circular: Planning, action, feedback,

cooperation, and revision. We all work

together in one office— the designers

and construction folks, side by side,

collaborating together to provide the most

optimum result for the client. So, we must

educate people on our process as well.

The Good News With the economy, and

specifically construction, improving the

last few years, unique and challenging

(therefore fulfilling) projects are

abundant. Students and young workers

are recognizing the value in design and

construction careers and are beginning

to plan accordingly. Our collective

investment in training is paying off and

we are starting to see glimmers of a

stronger labor force. We are emerging

from the darkness. Let’s just remember,

that the road is long, and it is not the

rabbit, but the slow and steady turtle

that wins the race.

We need to reach out to the young talent; the engineers/designers and construction management students that are finishing school or just out of school. Get them on board and teach them the Iconica approach to Integrated Design Build. This would mean stretching the manager role to role of teacher as well, but it would help remedy the situation, and create a workforce that is willing to be more cooperative in the design-build environment.”

— David McKnight,

coo, Iconica

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(608) 664-3500

ICONICA_Insider Viewcontinued from page 5

At the age of 15, his family moved to Santa Cruz, CA but,

regretfully, the treasure chest of Legos could not go. His

parents gave the treasure chest to his three younger cousins

in Middleton. Six years later, he returned from California to

help care for his cousins and took a part time job at the local

restaurant where his uncle

had also worked. Turns out,

the Legos in the buckets

provided for the kids to play

with at the tables, were

100% his collection from so

many years ago, donated to

the restaurant by his uncle.

Over the next 4+ years, he

enjoyed encouraging kids to

build as much as they could

before their dinner arrived,

feeling a sense of pride that

those blocks came from his

own childhood, and inspired

his own career.

Team members added some interesting insights:

Sculpy—amazing creations, also wax

Magnetic kits—Magna tiles or Picasso tiles

Lego kits may not have the creative stimulation that

freestyle building has, but it’s like a puzzle in that it’s still

fun to see how fast it can be put together without the

directions (schedule is important

you know—especially to our

Construction Managers)

K’nex—used by another Project

Manager to win a career class

project in 8th grade, as well as a

physics project in 9th grade

Minecraft (a video game about

placing blocks to build anything you

can imagine)—is SO much easier to

clean up

And finally, a comment that clearly

did not come from a child or a

childhood memory: “Playing with

building toys is calming. No phones ringing, no interruptions,

just quiet time to be creative.”

Our passion is process and detail, creating beautiful,

usable spaces and getting it done right, on time, within

budget. In fact, since 1994, when Tom and Jim Pientka

took over leadership of the company, we’ve completed

nine million square feet on time and within budget. Few

can make such claims.