Pinterest! One of the fastest growing social networks on the Web today is also an amazing resource for architecture students, practicing architects, and those with a passion for the art form. Dr. Tami Hausman, one of the AEC industry's foremost strategic planners, gives us her top ten picks.
In the interests of energy efficiency, saving money, and protecting the environment, many homeowners are selecting alternative means of supplying daily utilities such as electricity and hot water. For example, solar water heaters can help homeowners successfully meet these growing interests.
The Living Building Challenge helps architects rethink how we build for a sustainable future.
Having provided 43 years of service, the Ice Arena at Bowling Green State University is a popular venue on campus that serves the BGSU students and faculty as well as the local municipal community. Currently operated by The Department of Recreation and Wellness, the Ice Arena was originally designed in 1965 and contains the main ice sheet, sized at 200’ X 85’. It also houses a studio ice sheet that is 80’ X 40’ and a curling ice sheet at 150’ X 57’, as well as a lounge and other supporting facilities.
Rainwater can be harvested with large, sophisticated, complex systems, linked rain barrels, or a single rain barrel. A single rain barrel is typically installed under a downspout as a repository for the rainwater collected by the roof gutters.
Having constraints can actually lead to creativity. This assumption has been confirmed by research into human psychology and can be empirically observed in many creative disciplines. Constraints were plentiful in the international design competition for the University of Baltimore’s (UB's) new John and Frances Angelos Law Center. The winning design, by Behnisch Architekten, is now under construction on the UB campus.
Installing solar panels is becoming more feasible as various financial incentives become available. Jeff Wilson breaks it down into hard numbers to give an idea of what’s really involved with "going solar."
When my family decided to streamline our energy use at home, we first tackled our efficiency problems with a Deep Energy Retrofit. This effort included air-sealing and insulating the building envelope and replacing all of the windows and doors. Once we had our house sealed up tight, we added an Energy Recovery Ventilator to keep indoor air fresh while keeping the energy we use to heat and cool that air inside the house, where it belongs. Only after we completely exhausted energy efficiency measures did we decide to have a 4-kW photovoltaic solar array installed.
Follow these simple suggestions to create a workable, intelligently designed kitchen that will add to your family's health and enjoyment without spending a fortune.
As LEED celebrates its 10th anniversary, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) reports that one billion square feet of buildings around the world have now been LEED certified. Although that is just a drop in the global bucket, certification has helped to spur green construction; according to the Green Outlook 2011: Green Trends Driving Growth report by McGraw--Hill Construction (MHC), LEED specification is mentioned in 71% of all U.S. projects valued at over $50 million.
Europe's 2012 Solar Decathlon has a winner! It's Canopea, the entry from Team Rhône-Alpes!
Construction documents technology uses in-progress photos and video footage to offer a significant improvement over the traditional method of producing "as-built" drawings.
Construction documentation technology has multiplied the advantages of the traditional “as-built” process, in which a red pen and the memory of the construction superintendent were the primary tools. Along with (or instead of) a set of marked-up drawings as a final contract deliverable, a more comprehensive construction journal is possible with the new construction documentation technology, which electronically captures the “as-built” process and cross-references electronic drawings to digital photographs.
Theodore (Ted) E. Scott is the Managing Member of Stormwater Maintenance, LLC, in Hunt Valley, Maryland. He has provided our audience some insights into the inspection, maintenance, and repair of storm water systems. There are three categories of these systems that we’ll investigate: surface basins, underground structures and drainage systems.
