I broke a Christmas gift on Christmas day. Actually, I broke part of a gift. I broke a plastic bucket filled with automotive cleaning supplies from a well-known, high quality company. When I went to put the bucket filled with bottles of fluids and micro-fiber rags into the garage closet, the very thin and brittle handle fractured. Why would this happen to something sold by an o...

Well before new construction projects break ground, we at Marx Okubo are often asked to get involved in order to better and more proactively inform owners and lenders. We see a wide range of documentation on nearly every project, ranging from drawings and schedules to contracts and leases and more—one of which is a construction budget. Often, we look at a budget based on early...

More and more of our clients are asking, “How does my property stack up against others?...What can we do to increase our chances of avoiding new construction problems?...And what can we add to this existing building to improve its resilience?” If you are not aware of what building resilience is, or what you need to know about it, you are not alone. This emerging topic refers to...

Shortly after midnight on June 16, 2015 in Berkeley, California, three men and three women were killed when the balcony they were standing on collapsed. Seven others were injured and, ultimately, a multimillion-dollar lawsuit ensued and was settled by parties involved in the construction and management of the complex. The issues behind this catastrophic collapse are neither uni...

Ask anyone involved in developing or building a construction project these days, and most likely they will tell you that one of their biggest challenges is staying in budget. In many cases, the costs are simply higher than developers and investors expected or planned for. Budget issues are widespread—and they are slowing or threatening the viability of construction projects acr...

These days many people will tell you that sustainability has spread far enough across the building owner and manager communities that all the “low hanging fruit” is gone. The low hanging fruit being discussed is a reference to energy conservation measures (ECMs) that building owners undertake to improve their buildings and reduce operating costs. It is often said that owners mu...

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” –Charles Darwin\ \ (As appears in NAREIM Dialogues Spring issue, 2018) A fallacy of many of today's intelligent sustainable buildings is the inability of so-called intelligent buildings’ abilities to adapt to changing societal trends an...

Marx Okubo Senior Associate Soojin Hur has been selected as one of the charter members of the Access Code Collaborative (ACC), a diverse stakeholder group representing building/facility owners, so we wanted to take a moment to raise some awareness and encourage participation. The ACC was created by the Division of the State Architect (DSA), which is authorized by California sta...

Our population is aging: According to United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the number of people 60 and over made up just 17 percent of the North American population in 2006. That number will nearly double to 27 percent by 2050. While this trend is a positive result of technological and medical advancements, it is also big challenge. Elderly people bring exp...

One of the hottest issues facing cities is parking. It comes up as a space issue as well a component of the bigger transportation picture. Many project teams have realized that they’re building multifamily buildings of the future using parking models of the past.  While cars were seen as an absolute necessity for many baby boomers, younger demographic groups are viewing ca...

In Los Angeles County, there are currently 18,570 multifamily units under construction, 45,898 units planned, and an additional 30,090 units proposed. This may seem like a glut of new housing entering the market, but Southern California, like many areas around the country, is still in the midst of a severe housing shortage with just one apartment unit being constructed for ever...

With major funding cuts and an increased focus on a STEM curriculum, arts programs across the country continue to suffer. Marx Okubo wants to do something about that: We are committed to keeping the arts alive. Our collaborative, creative teams know that a well-rounded education includes an understanding of arts-education programs, such as painting, photography, graphic arts, a...

Roughly 20% of all Americans have a disability. While many are elderly citizens experiencing the effects of the natural aging process, others have disabilities that they’d prefer to keep private. People with disabilities come in all ages and with a variety of mindsets, but that doesn’t mean they deserve any less than able-bodied Americans when it comes to experiencing the great...

Unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, are changing all types of industries, including real estate and construction engineering. This advanced technology is making it easier, faster and cheaper to perform real estate photography and due diligence reviews. In the past, real estate developers or contractors would commonly commission small aircraft or helicopters to photograph constru...

The U.S. solar market is anticipated to triple within five years as utility-size installations move forward. It’s no wonder. As one of the few capital improvements that can directly lower or offset a property’s operating costs, photovoltaic (PV) solar systems are a powerful investment. In many municipalities codes now require that buildings be ready to accept PV installations,...

There’s no doubt that bike culture is revolutionizing American cities. In fact, between 2000 and 2009, bike use in the top 55 U.S. cities rose by 70 percent. It’s a trend that’s not expected to wane any time soon. Bicycles are a key component of a new transportation paradigm. We’re already seeing civic programs catering to bicycling, including transit integration, bike lanes, c...