The Value Of Forward-Thinking MEP Design In Retail Environments

Retail design comprises a large portion of our work portfolio. In fact, it’s occupied a sizeable percentage since the very inception of VP Engineering. We’ve designed across the entire retail spectrum over the past 15 years and have subsequently witnessed the rise of several retail trends from big-box power centers and the advent of discount […]

Let Them Down Easy: The Art of Saying “No” by Saying “Yes”

In our 15 years as a Charlotte-based MEP design firm, we’ve come to learn and appreciate how truly critical flexibility is to our success. It’s why we go out of our way to accommodate changes in a project’s scope, budget and timeline, even if that means shaving our fees, working late or rolling that extra […]

Helping Clients Evaluate Their Needs

As a design engineer, it is tempting to provide the most sophisticated, energy efficient systems for every project. As a consultant, we need to provide what the client needs. Often, the client does not know what they need, and that’s why they pay us. Here are three questions to ask when helping a client evaluate […]

Q&A Session: Adam & Daniel

We spoke with Adam Cross, a Plumbing Design Controller, and Daniel Payne, an Electrical Design Controller, here at VP Engineering about hotel projects and how they keep up with the most modern design. Keep reading to hear their answers and learn how VP approaches boutique and national brand hotel designs. What different hotels have you worked […]

17 Things You Should Know About Carolinas’ Economy

The 8th Annual Interface Carolinas Conference was held on June 1, 2017 in Charlotte and was, as usual, very informative. The Interface Carolinas Conference is a one-day affair that discusses the state of the Carolinas’ commercial markets. It focuses on retail, office, multi-family, and industrial sectors as well as capital markets. I thought it might […]

Does Your Building Have a “We” Space?

When the general public became familiar with the internet in the early 1990’s, change seemed inevitable. What no one knew was how granular and ubiquitous those changes would become. A prime example of this is social media. Through Facebook and Twitter (and countless other sites), we can tell the world as much or as little […]

Senior Living Design Trends to Implement Today

It’s easy to see that senior living facilities are thriving: just look at the demographics and industry numbers. The anecdotal evidence is there too – I pass three new senior living construction projects during my commute to work. As the Vice President of Business Development, my personal knowledge of senior living design has become limited […]

How Lighting Illuminates More Than A Room

Picture this: you’re at your desk, working on a project, stressing about the deadline. The phone rings, emails come in; it’s a typical day at the office. At some point, you look up from where you’re hunched over and glance outside. It’s beautiful. Cloudless and sunny. Instinctively, you feel the pull to go outside, to […]

Lessons Learned from the Environments for Aging Conference

Photo Credit: Environments for Aging For those who design senior living facilities, the Environments For Aging (EFA) conference is a must-attend. As an academic conference, those who attend learn about the latest senior living design trends and the data that set and guide those trends. Of all the conferences I have attended over the years, […]

Aging Boomers: Exploring Senior Living Expectations

The senior living industry is at the start of a renaissance in both growth and design. This is based on two simple factors: numbers and taste. First, the numbers: Members of the boomer generation were born between 1946 and 1964, and make up 76 million of our current US population. Ignoring the death and immigration […]

Category: Blog