The Dallas City Council is expected to vote soon on a proposed code amendment that would limit a building’s exterior reflectivity of “visible light” to 15%.
The purpose of this rule is to cut down on “undesirable glare for pedestrians and potentially hazardous glare for motorists.” This marks the first time the city has tried to regulate glass and glare on new construction.
Kirk Teske, AIA Dallas’ president, says that the amendment would cut the number of glass options available to developer by some 60%.
“Even more alarming is that most of the remaining options are dark or tinted glass types that greatly limit the amount of natural daylight transmitted to the interior of the building,” he says.
Related Stories
| Sep 13, 2010
World's busiest land port also to be its greenest
A larger, more efficient, and supergreen border crossing facility is planned for the San Ysidro (Calif.) Port of Entry to better handle the more than 100,000 people who cross the U.S.-Mexico border there each day.
| Sep 13, 2010
Data Centers Keeping Energy, Security in Check
Power consumption for data centers doubled from 2000 and 2006, and it is anticipated to double again by 2011, making these mission-critical facilities the nation's largest commercial user of electric power. With major technology companies investing heavily in new data centers, it's no wonder Building Teams see these mission-critical facilities as a golden opportunity, and why they are working hard to keep energy costs at data centers in check.
| Aug 11, 2010
JE Dunn, Balfour Beatty among country's biggest institutional building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Institutional Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Arup, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest international design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 International 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
Stimulus funding helps get NOAA project off the ground
The award-winning design for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) new Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) replacement laboratory saw its first sign of movement on Sept 15 with a groundbreaking ceremony held in La Jolla, Calif. The $102 million project is funded primarily by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), resulting in a rapidly advanced construction plan for the facility.
| Aug 11, 2010
Arup, SOM top BD+C's ranking of the country's largest mixed-use design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Mixed-Use 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
IFMA workplace study: Average space per employee up 40 sf since 2007, likely due to corporate layoffs
The International Facility Management Association has released “Operations and Maintenance Benchmarks, Research Report #32,” a study outlining the facility trends affecting workplaces throughout North America. Among the new report’s findings are that the average space per person has risen nearly 40 square feet since 2007, likely due to recent corporate layoffs.
| Aug 11, 2010
'Too cold' and 'too hot' most common complaints among office workers, says IFMA study
The International Facility Management Association has released “Temperature Wars: Savings vs. Comfort,” a new study that takes an in-depth look at the most common thermal complaints made by workers and the variety of ways facility professionals respond to them.For many years, IFMA has surveyed facility professionals to learn the top office complaints among employees.
