LANDAU BUILDING COMPANY
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Landau News
New Hires
Landau would like to welcome two new members to the team! John Kamer is our newest Project Manager, and Gus Lauro is our newest Project Engineer.
John Kamer comes to Landau with thirty years in the industry. He is a graduate of Penn State with a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering. He previously managed public school construction work in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Maryland.
John was raised in Saxonburg, PA, where he currently resides with his wife, two daughters, son, and yorkie. He loves hockey (Go Pens!), cooking, and music, particularly jazz, blues, and jam bands.
Gus Lauro completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees from West Virginia University, most recently receiving his master’s in both finance and business administration. Gus grew up in the Latrobe area and is an avid hunter and snowboarder. He was previously a construction and operations intern at a global real estate investment and development company headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA.
Passavant Hospital Foundation Scrub Run
Throughout the past year, Landau Building Company is proud to have worked closely with and supported the Passavant Hospital Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises funds to develop new hospital services and facilities at UPMC Passavant in McCandless and Cranberry townships as well as to provide health education and programming for the community. We worked with the Foundation for our annual Customer Appreciation Shoot in 2015 and 2016, with all proceeds benefiting the organization, and they are truly hardworking, wonderful individuals. Back in August, the Foundation hosted a 4K/8K Scrub Run/Walk at North Park. Landau sponsored two water tables for the runners and walkers, and some of our employees participated in the event. It was a great time for us and for the community!
2016 LBC Customer Appreciation Shoot
On Friday, September 23rd, Landau held its 12th annual Customer Appreciation Shoot at Millvale Sportsman Club. All of the proceeds from the donations, silent auction, raffle tickets, and 50/50 benefited the Passavant Hospital Foundation. We had some great items for the raffle and silent auction items, like Steelers and Penguins tickets, golf outings, a coffee basket, wine basket, and gift cards. We seem to be blessed with beautiful weather every year (knock on wood!), with clear skies and warm sunshine for our guests. Check out more pictures on our Facebook page. Waterfall Catering from the Carpenters Training Center provided a delicious Oktoberfest buffet lunch, including a Bavarian bratwurst bar, wienerschnitzel, potato pancakes, and warm pretzel basket with dipping mustard. Every year our guests can enter in a friendly competition, and this year’s winners are: First Place: Scott Hazlett from DRS Architects, Second Place: Bill Paul of Deckman Company, Third Place: Fritz Baehr, F.J. Baehr Architects. A big thank you to the Passavant Hospital Foundation for helping us again this year with the raffles, 50/50, and silent auction coordination. Another thank you to the following businesses for their generous donations:
A.J. Vater Allegheny Country Club
Arrow Electric Atlas Wholesale Supply
Blackhawk Neff Blumling & Gusky, LLP
Bruin Roofing Carl Taylor & Sons
CEC Construction Tool Supply
Dan Taylor Interiors Davis-Fetch Corporation
DeWalt FMRW Engineering
Ida Yeager Sales Kevin Cotchen
J.A. Sauer Paul Lumber
Passavant Hospital Foundation Phoenix Roofing
Triad Engineering
Meeting the President
Golf is a favorite outing among various leaders and professionals, a way to relax, have fun, and network. Landau superintendent Emory Lukacs was finishing up the last touches on renovations to the fitness and Pro Shop at Allegheny Country Club when none other than former President George W. Bush arrived for a day of golf! That’s right, the former president of the United States visited the historic country club – and therefore our job site!
Crane at St. Margaret Hospital
Construction at St. Margaret Hospital, located on Freeport Road, is progressing quickly! Landau was hired for the Emergency Generator #1 Installation Project, which should be finished next month. A crane was needed onsite to lift the generator and supporting equipment to the roof and to the wall opening for installation. It can be a long process, especially with the rainstorm that hit the second day, but our team didn’t let their spirits drop or their work suffer. Superintendent Jeff Bono couldn’t say enough how proud he is of all the workers on the job and that the work ethic of his men is outstanding. Great job, guys!
New Hires
Landau Building Company would like to welcome Selma Voljevica as our newest Project Engineer. Selma graduated from Penn State University in 2012 with a B.S. in Environmental Systems Engineering and minor in Energy Engineering. Her responsibilities as project engineer include preparing schedules, managing submittals, assisting the project manager, and coordinating with the superintendent. Selma enjoys running, biking, hiking, and DIY projects in her free time, and we’re glad to have her!
Southern Tier Brewery Coming to Pittsburgh
We have exciting news! Landau Building Company was selected to build Southern Tier Brewery’s new Brew Pub and outdoor Bier Garden on the North Shore! Its location between PNC Park and Heinz Field makes it perfect for game days, so be sure to check it out later this summer! North Shore has rapidly become a major hot spot in Pittsburgh, and Landau is excited to be part of its growth. Fukui Architects is the architect on this project.
The brew pub and beer garden will feature a full menu as well exclusive and classic Southern Tier brews. Construction will begin in May and will finish by August 2016.
Point Park University New Media Center
Landau Building Company was awarded Point Park University’s Center for Media Innovation, located on the corner of Wood Street and Third Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh. This 4,000 SF center will include television and broadcast studios, a multimedia newsroom, a photo studio, transformation presentation space, and gallery space. The center will have floor-to-ceiling glass walls and a digital ticker reminiscent of a New York City-style media hub. Pittsburgh-based GBBN Architects are the designers.
The students of the School of Communications will be offered hands-on experience and collaboration with professors. They will also have the opportunity to work with industry professionals to become leaders in media innovation.
The new center is made possible in part by a grant from the Allegheny Foundation and sponsored by Trib Total Media. Richard Scaife, late owner of Trib Total Media, was committed to journalism’s role in society and wanted to find a way to build journalism through education, according to Matt Groll, who succeeded Scaife’s place as chairman of the Allegheny Foundation. To read Point Park University’s press release, click here. Anticipated completion is set for June 2016.
Christ Church Fox Chapel
Landau recently completed renovations to Christ Church Fox Chapel, transforming a confined, narrow space into an open and inviting community area. Christ Church Fox Chapel was previously the Gould family mansion and was converted into a church during the 1940s. Therefore, the overall goal was to maintain the traditional architecture, like modeling the doors and columns after the original design. Superintendent Jeff Miazgowicz spent extra time crafting new paneling for the columns himself, knowing how important it was to the church. The original parlors were converted into one large social area, complete with piano and electric fireplace. A men’s restroom, which was previously located in the adjacent building, was created from an old office and closet space, and the ladies room was updated as well. The walls were given a fresh coat of paint, and gray slate tile replaced the warped hardwood. Coincidently, the original blueprints from the 1940’s called for gray slate flooring, so it was extra special to the church that they could afford it now. The back walkway and terrace were rebuilt to level out the ground and to make those doors handicap-accessible. The space is completely transformed, creating new energy and optimism, and we couldn’t be more proud of our work here. A special thank you to Courtney Myhrum, a church member who volunteered her time as project manager for the church. We enjoyed working with Courtney, Reverend Alex Shuttleworth, and everyone at Christ Church, and we hope to work with them again in the future.
TribLive published a great article about this project, which you can read here.
The Paul Slowik Memorial Shoot
This past June, we lost a talented architect and dear friend, Paul Slowik, to cancer. He ran a successful architectural firm, Paul Slowik & Associates, and he was an active member of the Passavant Hospital Foundation. Paul’s father actually designed the original Passavant Hospital building in 1964, so the Foundation was close to his heart. Paul was Chairperson of the Foundation’s Legacy of Caring Awards, which honors the individuals who make Passavant Hospital grow and thrive. This year we decided to make our annual customer appreciation shoot the Paul Slowik Memorial Shoot, partnering with the Passavant Hospital Foundation to transform it into a charity event. We worked closely with Paul’s wife, Joyce, every step of the way. Paul and Joyce’s family came into town specially for the event, including son Bill and his wife Barb, daughter Stefany and her fiancee Broox, and even Bill’s in-laws and childhood friend Mike Taylor.
Our event was graciously sponsored by MedExpress, UPMC, Heritage Valley Health Systems, Architectural Innovations, E.A. Fischione Instruments, Radelet McCarthy Polletta, Blackhawk Neff, FMRW, North Park Lounge, Steve and Mary Bishop, and Joyce Slowik and friends. We are so grateful to have had their support. Joyce collected donations from businesses for the silent auction, which resulted in some great prizes, and many of our subcontractors/fellow industry members donated gift cards and other gifts for the silent auction and the raffle. Some of the silent auction prizes included Paul’s Jaeger machine, Pirates tickets, one night hotel stay with restaurant gift cards and an assortment of Paul’s “favorite things”. The Passavant Hospital Foundation handled the monetary transactions and ran the 50/50 at the door, which was a hit. At 11:30 a.m, we served our annual Oktoberfest themed lunch and Vice President Steve Bishop thanked everyone for their support and attendance. Steve was a good friend of Paul and spoke about him as a friend, as a professional, and as a man. “Paul – an infectiously positive person who touched our lives through his art, his ‘architecture,’ his humor, his humility, and his smile. Always an upbeat person, never a dull moment, and a true friend. We will always miss you.”
Because of everyone’s generosity and hard work, we were able to raise $18,500 for the Passavant Hospital Foundation. Landau Building Company, represented by Jeff Landau, Sharon Landau, and Steve Bishop, presented the check at the Foundation’s Legacy of Caring Gala on October 8th. Paul Slowik was honored this year for his contributions over the years and for his dedication to the Foundation.
Check out more photos from the shoot on our Facebook page