{Re}habitat

Often dubbed a trenchless technology, pipe bursting involves the replacement of an old pipeline with a same or larger diameter pipe that destroys the original pipe as the new one is installed. The pipe bursting tool, which is pulled through the sewer by a winch or rod located at the upstream manhole, forces its way through existing pipe materials by fragmenting the pipe and compressing the broken pieces into the soil as it progresses.

If you had to run to the store a few blocks down to pick up a gallon of milk, would you throw on your walking shoes, or would you drive? Some will relish the opportunity to get a little fresh air and exercise. More often than not, however, the majority of us will drive. If parking cost a dollar at the grocery store, however, would you make the same decision? This is the phenomenon being explored by many urban planning experts these days, including Donald Shoup, author of The High Cost of Free Parking and staunch critic of the policies dictating those expansive asphalt plains covering urban areas throughout the United States. Shoup decries parking requirements for a variety of reasons, and his 681-page volume can hardly be summarized in this article. Some key points, however, are of great interest to anyone interested in the sustainability of our urban areas, our citizens, or the environment at large.

David Adjaye, the designer of the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington DC, also designed some of the most affordable housing in Manhattan. Harlem's Sugar Hill Housing Development by Adjaye Associates is now accepting applications.

Broadway Housing Communities, a nonprofit developer of supportive housing, alters the urban landscape of northern Manhattan by building affordable housing projects that showcase the work of local artists. They selected London-based Adjaye Associates -- founded by David Adjaye, who is leading the team behind the Smithsonian African American Museum of History and Culture on the Washington Mall -- to design their seventh housing project in Sugar Hill, a historic district of Harlem.

Improvements in horizontal well drilling and subsurface rock fracturing technologies have greatly enhanced natural gas production in North America over the past several years. These technologies have significantly increased our known natural gas reserves in shale plays across the U.S., the largest in many ways being the Marcellus Shale. Natural gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale formation throughout southern New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, western Maryland, and most of West Virginia can now be economically recovered and marketed. The Marcellus Shale formation serves as a good illustration for this industry boom. Jim Daley of Greenhorne & O’Mara Consulting Engineers helped Buildipedia.com investigate the basic engineering considerations of natural gas drilling and collection systems, along with the more traditional construction tasks required by this industry: surveys and stormwater management, as well as road, bridge, and pipeline construction.

Are you working with your builder to plan construction for a new home or remodel your existing home? Maybe you are just contemplating your next move. Chances are you have heard about PEX plumbing and have wondered if it's a suitable option for your residence as compared to the more traditional piping material, copper. Although PEX (cross-linked polyethylene) is a relatively newer piping material than copper or even chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), it has a successful history of use in residential applications. PEX has been used in Europe since the 1960s and has experienced significant growth in the United States since its introduction in the 1980s. In a highly regulated industry, PEX piping undergoes extensive testing and certification to meet strict performance requirements to ensure a quality material that provides healthy drinking water.

Builders looking for a sustainable, environmentally friendly product may want to consider Accoya^® wood, which matches or exceeds the durability and stability of the very best tropical hardwoods. Accoya, made from fast-growing softwoods, was introduced to the North American market in 2008. The process used to make Accoya is called acetylation, which has been studied for over 80 years. Accsys Technologies, the makers of Accoya wood, built its production facility in 2007.

The New Royal Playhouse (Det Nye Skuespilhus) sits on the Copenhagen harbor, a calm monument to culture and a nuanced design that reflects a respect for its place. The building, by Danish firm Lundgaard and Tranberg Arkitekter, is completely contemporary and yet seems as though it has always been there.