The lead architectural and design team has been revealed for the expansion at the BJCC has

Populous, formerly known as HOK, is the lead firm working on the expansion of the Birmingham-Jefferson County Convention Center (BJCC) which includes an $540 million multipurpose facility, announced their design team on the project.  The team includes a number of local black-owned design, contracting, and engineering firms including:

Designers

>> Charles Williams & Associates
>> Cohen Carnaggio Reynolds
>> Dorsey Architects & Associates
>> Formworks Architects
>> Giattina Aycock Architecture Studio
>> Hoskins Architecture
>> Margret D. Jones Interiors
>> NHB Group
>> TRI Architecture
>> Williams-Blackstock Architects

Engineers, consultants
>> Auditoria
>> BBG&S Engineering Consultants
>> BNI Structural Engineers
>> Code Consultants Inc.
>> CRS Engineering Inc.
>> Henderson Engineers
>> Hyde Engineering
>> Jackson Renfro and Associates
>> LBYD Civil and Structural Engineers
>> Lerch Bates
>> Macknally Ross Land Design
>> Saber Company
>> Schoel Consulting Engineers
>> MBA Structural Engineers
>> MW/Davis and Dumas & Associates
>> Robert A. Johnson & Associates
>> RWDI
>> S2O Consultants Inc.
>> TALA Professional Services
>> WJHW Audiovisual

Alabama State Representative Mary Moore (D-Birmingham) said that she is satisfied with the 30% participation of minority firms in the project after giving the BJCC massive criticism for their lack of minority businesses involved in the inital plans of the project. 

The cost breakdown of the project is that Populous and 8 other national firms will handle 50 percent of the work, with the remaining half done by local firms, he said. The architects will split a fee amounting to about 8 percent of the $400 million cost of building the facility itself.

Also Birmingham mayor Larry Langford released a "progress report" saying all the things he's done while in office for the past 2 years.  Including the paving of downtwon streets, jumpstarting the expansion at the BJCC, the Fair Park project, neighborhood clean-ups, demolition of abandoned buildings, and the enforcement of penalties against absentee landowners of overgrown lots, etc. 

In other words, he's trying to cover his ass on the eve of his federal corruption and tax evasion trial in at the federal court house in Tuscaloosa. 

Nice progress and it's good to see this is moving forward.  I'm looking forward to this project coming together.  It would major accomplishment for Birmingham to finally have a major and modern convention and event facility that can handle major events.  I just wish the stupid ass Birmingham News stop calling the project a "dome" when it doesn't even have a domed-roof.  They need to stop appeasing the lowest commond denominator of "CAVE" dwellers, Citizens Against Virtually Everything.  That was quoted by Langford and I'm going to use it. 

One poster on the al.com site summed it up best:

Funny about you saying how the Silverdome was built 35 miles outside the city center. No offense, but if this dome just happened to be located in, say, Hoover, then you wouldn't hear but a third of the criticism given period.


It seems as though some people have a vested interest in seeing the Magic City fail. They criticize and dogpile on Birmingham from the comfort of their homes over-the-mountain and outside the county. These are the same people who should really stick to talking about what they know -- the Alabama and Auburn scores.

And there it is.