After residential success, DOE will test heat pumps for cold climates in commercial sector

All eight manufacturers in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge completed rigorous product field testing to demonstrate energy efficiency and improved performance in cold weather.

MFPRO+ New Projects

Luxury waterfront tower in Brooklyn features East River and Manhattan skyline views

Leasing recently began for The Dupont, a 41-story luxury rental property along the Brooklyn, N.Y., waterfront. Located within the 22-acre Greenpoint Landing, where it overlooks the newly constructed Newtown Barge Park, the high-rise features East River and Manhattan skyline views along with 20,000 sf of indoor and outdoor communal space.

Resiliency

Climate change degrades buildings slowly but steadily

While natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires can destroy buildings in minutes, other factors exacerbated by climate change degrade buildings more slowly but still cause costly damage.

Office Buildings

Editorial call for Office Building project case studies

BD+C editors are looking to feature a roundup of office building projects for 2024, including office-to-residential conversions. Deadline for submission: December 6, 2024.

Engineers

Engineering goes hand-in-hand with design, putting a practical lens on the architect’s vision and finding the best way to make it happen. Without a talented engineer, the project will never reach completion, and certainly will not reach the standards of functionality and sustainability that the architect and client are seeking.

Aug 11, 2010

A glimmer of hope amid grim news as construction employment falls in most states, metro areas

The construction employment picture brightened slightly with 18 states adding construction jobs from April to May according to a new analysis of data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, construction employment overall continued to decline, noted Ken Simonson, the chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America.

Aug 11, 2010

Thom Mayne unveils 'floating cube' design for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas

Calling it a “living educational tool featuring architecture inspired by nature and science,” Pritzker Prize Laureate Thom Mayne and leaders from the Museum of Nature & Science unveiled the schematic designs and building model for the Perot Museum of Nature & Science at Victory Park. Groundbreaking on the approximately $185 million project will be held later this fall, and the Museum is expected to open by early 2013.

Aug 11, 2010

American Concrete Institute forms technical committee on BIM for concrete structures

The American Concrete Institute (ACI) announces the formation of a new technical committee on Building Information Modeling (BIM) of Concrete Structures.

Aug 11, 2010

10 tips for mitigating influenza in buildings

Adopting simple, common-sense measures and proper maintenance protocols can help mitigate the spread of influenza in buildings. In addition, there are system upgrades that can be performed to further mitigate risks. Trane Commercial Systems offers 10 tips to consider during the cold and flu season.

Aug 11, 2010

Reed Construction Data files corporate espionage lawsuit against McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge

Reed Construction Data (RCD), a leading construction information provider and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reed Elsevier (NYSE:RUK, NYSE:ENL), today filed suit in federal court against McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge, a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MHP). The suit charges that Dodge has unlawfully accessed confidential and trade secret information from RCD since 2002 by using a series of fake companies to pose as RCD customers.

Aug 11, 2010

Jacobs, HOK top BD+C's ranking of the 75 largest state/local government design firms

A ranking of the Top 75 State/Local Government Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants

Aug 11, 2010

NAVFAC releases guidelines for sustainable reconstruction of Navy facilities

The guidelines provide specific guidance for installation commanders, assessment teams, estimators, programmers and building designers for identifying the sustainable opportunities, synergies, strategies, features and benefits for improving installations following a disaster instead of simply repairing or replacing them as they were prior to the disaster.

Aug 11, 2010

City of Anaheim selects HOK Los Angeles and Parsons Brinckerhoff to design the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center

The Los Angeles office of HOK, a global architecture design firm, and Parsons Brinckerhoff, a global infrastructure strategic consulting, engineering and program/construction management organization, announced its combined team was selected by the Anaheim City Council and Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to design phase one of the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center.

Aug 11, 2010

Building Systems commissioning and retro-commissioning training program: Chicago, September 23, 2009

Building Systems: Commissioning and Retro-commissioning Presenter: Rebecca Ellis, P.E., LEED AP…

Aug 11, 2010

Construction employment shrinks in 319 of the nation's 336 largest metro areas in July, continuing months-long slide

Construction workers in communities across the country continued to suffer extreme job losses this July according to a new analysis of metropolitan area employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. That analysis found construction employment declined in 319 of the nation’s largest communities while only 11 areas saw increases and six saw no change in construction employment between July 2008 and July 2009.