The Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation hosted a forum with featured speaker and futurist Edie Weiner, who outlined the eight opportunities for growth she sees for the AEC industry in the years to come.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published “Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Final Rule” on August 9, 2010, and it is set to take effect on November 7, 2010. OSHA hopes that this new standard will prevent 22 fatalities and 175 nonfatal injuries annually. Although it is difficult to evaluate how effective the new rules will be, all contractors must comply with them. Here is an overview of the new standard, which is intended to not only combat fatality and injury associated with working with cranes and derricks but also to account for technological advances in this equipment.
As Harvard University celebrates the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification of 50 campus buildings, the world of higher education has come just a bit closer to embracing a sustainable future. This well known institution is the first to incorporate such a large number of certified new and existing buildings into the fabric of its campus. An additional 39 buildings are currently being planned or awaiting certification as well. The current spread of certified buildings covers a total of 1.5 million sq. ft. and will reach over 4 million sq. ft. when all plans are carried through to completion. Anyone familiar with the LEED certification process understands that this framework includes a set of regulatory measures that incorporate building performance, energy standards, building materials, and operation and maintenance practices through a rigorous assessment process requiring an incredible amount of planning and critique.
As many architects, engineers, developers, and facility managers know, a LEED project comes with many lofty goals. Often those goals include ambitious reductions in energy and water usage. However, once the project is finished, those goals are typically overlooked, indicating a glaring need for an ongoing process that ensures that expected performance is met or exceeded. It is with this in mind that the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has created the Building Performance Partnership.
What do Arthur Erickson, Robson Square, and The Olympics all have in common? The ability to attract crowds.
"On Saturday night, more than 50,000 people milled around Robson Square in downtown Vancouver. 50,000 in one small area! On Sunday, it got worse. The crowds were so heavy that the media dubbed it Super Sunday," writes June Campbell.
Maintenance of your summer vacation property is probably the last thing on your mind right now, but the end of the season will be here before you know it. Formulating a plan and contacting the professional resources you need in advance can help to minimize frustration and make the upcoming task of closing down your property less daunting. Here’s a handy checklist of interior and exterior maintenance items to keep in mind as the days of summer sun begin to dwindle.
In today’s mobile society, relocating is more common than ever. Being aware of renters’ rights and following these moving tips can help make the moving process go quickly and seamlessly.
As the construction industry continuously looks for ways to enhance its offerings to companies and clients, its abilities to do more with less and to offer better value by using better technologies will provide real benefit. It’s also rewarding for us drivetrain and energy nerds to see the application of some pretty cool and useful technologies such as biofuels that are morphing from research lab to fuel tank and from start-up enterprise to hyper-clean engine.
The International Living Future Institute unveiled its Net Zero Energy Building Certification program in October 2011. In April 2012, the ILFI announced that it had awarded its first two certifications under the program.
Meeting any set of sustainable building standards is a challenge, but to reach net zero status – supplying 100% of a building’s energy needs through on-site renewable sources – is surely the Holy Grail of green design. The Living Building Challenge, a third-party certification program offered through the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), has recently launched the Net Zero Energy Building Certification option, and two projects have already attained certification. This program is not just another set of checklists, however. Following the poetic analogy of a flower, the ILFI uses the dandelion as a logo and emphasizes beauty, collaboration, and curative properties, giving back to the community and paying it forward.
When you begin a development project, you never know what you will encounter along the way. You think you have spotted a property, and you think you have determined a profitable use for that piece of land or building. However, the unknown lies ahead.
If you’re planning to build a house on a rural site, it’s a good idea to try to camp there first, to get a sense of the site’s key features and best orientations. These houses blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors.
This is the fourth article in the series on U.S. infrastructure, following our bridges article, “A Bridge to Everywhere." The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) assigned the United States’ DAMS infrastructure a grade of “D” on their 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.
As discussed in the prior infrastructure article, the average age of a bridge in the United States is now 44 years. The average dam is an older sibling to the typical bridge, at 52 years old. Dams and bridges in the United States share many things in common. Being generous and assuming an average life span in parallel with human years, both these national systems are in the midst of a mid-life crisis.
