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Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.



Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

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Architects

Every building starts with a concept and a design. Architects are involved at every stage of the process, even after a design has been finalized, helping other building team members through the snares and missteps in the construction process. Building Design+Construction delivers news, trends, and research to the nation's largest architectural design firms. 

Feb 10, 2011

Medical Data Center Sets High Bar for BIM Design Team

The construction of a new data center becomes a test case for BIM’s ability to enhance project delivery across an entire medical campus.

Feb 10, 2011

Zero Energy Buildings: When Do They Pay Off in a Hot and Humid Climate?

There’s lots of talk about zero energy as the next big milestone in green building. Realistically, how close are we to this ambitious goal? At this point, the strategies required to get to zero energy are relatively expensive. Only a few buildings, most of them 6,000 sf or less, mostly located in California and similar moderate climates, have hit the mark. What about larger buildings, commercial buildings, more problematic climates? Given the constraints of current technology and the comfort demands of building users, is zero energy a worthwhile investment for buildings in, for example, a warm, humid climate?

Feb 9, 2011

Hospital Construction in the Age of Obamacare

The recession has hurt even the usually vibrant healthcare segment. Nearly three out of four hospital systems have put the brakes on capital projects.  We asked five capital expenditure insiders for their advice on how Building Teams can still succeed in this highly competitive sector.

Feb 9, 2011

Businesses make bigger, bolder sustainability commitments

In 2010, U.S. corporations continued to enhance their sustainable business efforts by making bigger, bolder, longer-term sustainability commitments. GreenBiz issued its 4th annual State of Green Business report, a free downloadable report that measures the progress of U.S. business and the economy from an environmental perspective, and highlights key trends in corporate culture in regard to the environment.

Feb 8, 2011

AIA names 104 members to College of Fellows

The Fellowship program was developed to elevate those architects who have made a significant contribution to architecture and society and who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession. Election to fellowship not only recognizes the achievements of architects as individuals, but also their significant contribution to architecture and society on a national level.

Feb 4, 2011

President Obama: 20% improvement in energy efficiency will save $40 billion

President Obama’s Better Buildings Initiative, announced February 3, 2011, aims to achieve a 20% improvement in energy efficiency in commercial buildings by 2020, improvements that will save American businesses $40 billion a year.

Jan 31, 2011

Cuningham Group Architecture launches Healthcare studio with Lee Brennan

International design firm Cuningham Group Architecture, P.A. (Cuningham Group) has announced the arrival of Lee Brennan, AIA, as Principal and Leader of its new Healthcare studio. Brennan comes to Cuningham Group with over 30 years of professional experience, 22 of those years in healthcare, encompassing all aspects of project delivery, from strategic planning and programming through design and construction. The firm’s new Healthcare studio will enhance Cuningham Group’s expertise in leisure and entertainment, education, mixed-use/housing and workplace environments.

Jan 31, 2011

HDR Architecture Releases Evidence-based Design Videos

As a follow-up to its book Evidence-based Design for Healthcare Facilities, HDR Architecture, Inc. has released three video case studies that highlight evidence-based design principles in action.

Jan 31, 2011

CISCA releases White Paper on Acoustics in Healthcare Environments

The Ceilings & Interior Systems Construction Association (CISCA) has released an extensive white paper “Acoustics in Healthcare Environments” for architects, interior designers, and other design professionals who work to improve healthcare settings for all users. This white paper serves as a comprehensive introduction to the acoustical issues commonly confronted on healthcare projects and howbest to address those.

Jan 28, 2011

Firestone Building Products Unveils FirestoneRoof Mobile Web App

Firestone Building Products Company unveiled FirestoneRoof, a first-of-its-kind free mobile web app. The FirestoneRoof mobile web app enables customers to instantly connect with Firestone commercial roofing experts and is designed to make it easier for building owners, facility managers, roofing consultants and others charged with maintaining commercial roofing systems to get the support they need, when they need it.
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