NEWS
Choosing The Right 3D Scanning Tool: LiDAR, Thermography, or UAV
NKB leverages advanced scanning and sensing tools to enhance accuracy, mitigate risk, and inform critical decisions at the earliest stages of design. Because our projects often involve complex conditions and tight construction budgets, we rely on technologies that reveal concealed elements, capture existing conditions with high fidelity, and support the selection of the most efficient and cost‑effective design strategies.
Behind the Scenes: How Integrated Design Solves Complex Challenges
Complex building projects rarely fit into neat categories – they demand thoughtful coordination across disciplines to balance competing priorities. Integrated design brings teams together from the start, transforming complexity into cohesive, high-performing spaces that truly serve the people who use them.
Community Impact: How Design Firms Can Give Back & Why It Matters
Design has the power to do more than shape buildings – it can shape communities. When firms intentionally engage with the people and places they serve, their work becomes rooted in purpose, connection, and long-term impact. Community-centered design strengthens not only the built environment, but also the well-being, resilience, and identity of those who call it home.
Understanding Firestopping: The Often Overlooked Protector in Building Safety
When we think about fire safety, attention usually goes to visible systems like alarms, sprinklers, and exits. Yet one of the most critical protections is often hidden from view: firestopping. Firestopping is a passive fire protection system that seals openings in fire-resistance-rated walls, floors, and ceilings, helping prevent the spread of smoke, heat, and flames during a fire. Required under Chapter 7 of the International Building Code, these systems play a vital role in life safety. With most fire-related deaths caused by smoke inhalation, properly installed firestopping can truly be the difference between containment and catastrophe.
The Nuances of Knowing Codes
When it comes to federal building design, applying the “right” building code isn’t simply a matter of referencing the latest edition on the shelf. Federal projects occupy a unique regulatory space – one that balances national consistency with local adaptation, agency-specific requirements, and overarching federal mandates. Understanding how these layers intersect is essential for architects and engineers navigating design compliance, ensuring not only that facilities meet technical and safety standards but also that they align with the complex hierarchy of federal and model building codes.