Advanced urbanism is focus of new MIT research center

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Architecture + Planning has launched a major new research center focused on urban planning, design, construction, and retrofitting. The Center for Advanced Urbanism will seek 21st Century solutions, starting with infrastructure design issues. This focus was selected due to increasing suburban development, which puts capacity on existing infrastructures, and the need for a broader systemic view of infrastructure roles. Center Director Alexander D'Hooghe (Professor of Architecture) and Research Director Alan Berger (Professor of Urban Design and Landscape Architecture) will coordinate collaborations with multiple MIT groups and private-industry sponsors.

A new, one-year integrated studio experience will give students the chance to work on a complex urban problem from the combined perspectives of architecture, ecology, energy, housing, landscape, policy, real estate, and technology.

(http://archinect.com/news/article/67459186/mit-launches-new-research-center-on-advanced-urbanism)

The editors of Building Design+Construction present 10 “Great Solutions” that highlight innovative technology and products that can be used to address some of the many problems Building Teams face in their day-to-day work. Readers are encouraged to submit entries for Great Solutions; if we use yours, you’ll receive a $25 gift certificate. Look for more Great Solutions in 2012 at: www.bdcnetwork.com/greatsolutions/2012.

Rainscreen system installed at the west building envelope expansion of the University of Arizona’s Meinel Optical Sciences Center in Tucson, with its folded glass wall and copper-paneled, breathable cladding over precast concrete.

| Dec 10, 2011

Energy performance starts at the building envelope

Rainscreen system installed at the west building expansion of the University of Arizona’s Meinel Optical Sciences Center in Tucson, with its folded glass wall and copper-paneled, breathable cladding over precast concrete.

| Dec 10, 2011

Turning Balconies Outside In

Operable glass balcony glazing systems provide solution to increase usable space in residential and commercial structures.

| Dec 10, 2011

BIM tools to make your project easier to manage

Two innovations—program manager Gafcon’s SharePoint360 project management platform and a new BIM “wall creator” add-on developed by ClarkDietrich Building Systems for use with the Revit BIM platform and construction consultant—show how fabricators and owner’s reps are stepping in to fill the gaps between construction and design that can typically be exposed by working with a 3D model.