“I ought to be jealous of the tower. She is more famous than I am.” Sorry Gustave, but your sentiments ring truer today than they did 126 years ago, when your tower took Paris by storm. The Eiffel Tower, designed and built by engineer Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World’s Fair, stood as the globe’s tallest structure for 41 years. More importantly, it served as a beacon of innovation during the early days of metal-framed buildings.
Each year, there are a handful of milestone projects, like Gustave’s tower, that advance the AEC industry. BD+C’s inaugural Game Changers report highlights today’s pacesetting projects, from a prefab high-rise in China to a breakthrough research lab in the Midwest. Enjoy! (Bonus: Check out our timeline of 52 game-changing buildings through the years.)
Photo: Connie Zhou Photography
PNC's 'breathing' tower redefines the modern office building
Natural breezes flow through the banking giant's new 33-story, double-skin tower in Pittsburgh. Read more.
Model: Centerbrook Architects & Planners
Mayo Clinic's breakthrough research lab puts evidence-based design to the test
Mayo teams up with Delos to bring hard science to EBD research. Read more.
Photo: Tesla Motors
Tesla: Battery storage is not just about electric vehicles
With his $5 billion, 13.6 million-sf Gigafactory, Tesla’s Elon Musk seeks to change the economics of battery energy storage, forever. Read more.
Photo: Broad Sustainable Building
Asia’s modular miracle
A prefab construction company in China built a 57-story tower in 19 days. Here’s how they did it. Read more.
Photo: Wavegarden
Mega surf parks take entertainment to new extremes
Wave-making technologies vie for attention, as surfing is shortlisted for 2020 Olympic Games. Read more.
Rendering: NBBJ
London’s ’shadowless’ towers
Using advanced design computation, a design team demonstrates how to "erase" a building’s shadows. Read more.
TIMELINE: 52 game-changing buildings through the years
From the E.V. Haughwout Building (first passenger elevator) to the Sackett-Wilhelms printing plant (first building with modern AC), BD+C editors present a timeline of the pacesetting projects from the past 170 years. Read more.
Related Stories
Sponsored | Digital Twin | Jun 24, 2022
Pave the way for better business relationships with digital twins
Smart Buildings | Jun 1, 2022
Taking full advantage of smart building technology
Drew Deatherage of Crux Solutions discusses where owners and AEC firms could do better at optimizing smart technology in building design and operations.
AEC Tech | Apr 19, 2022
VDC maturity and the key to driving better, more predictable outcomes
While more stakeholders across the AEC value chain embrace the concept of virtual design and construction, what is driving the vastly different results that organizations achieve? The answer lies within an assessment of VDC maturity.
BIM and Information Technology | Mar 16, 2022
Construction still lags other industries in use of technology
JBKnowledge’s latest ConTech report asserts that while contractors have made some gains, too many don’t view IT as a priority, to their detriment.
AEC Tech | Dec 16, 2021
Autodesk to Acquire Cloud Based Estimating Company ProEst
Autodesk, Inc. is acquiring ProEst, a cloud-based estimating solution that enables construction teams to create estimates, perform digital takeoffs, generate detailed reports and proposals and manage bid-day processes. Autodesk plans to integrate ProEst with Autodesk Construction Cloud, a comprehensive construction management platform connecting teams, data and workflows across the entire building lifecycle.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | Oct 15, 2021
7 game-changing trends in structural engineering
Here are seven key areas where innovation in structural engineering is driving evolution.
AEC Tech Innovation | Oct 7, 2021
How tech informs design: A conversation with Mancini's Christian Giordano
Mancini's growth strategy includes developing tech tools that help clients appreciate its work.
Digital Twin | May 24, 2021
Digital twin’s value propositions for the built environment, explained
Ernst & Young’s white paper makes its cases for the technology’s myriad benefits.
AEC Tech | Mar 4, 2021
The Weekly show, March 4, 2021: Bringing AI to the masses, and Central Station Memphis hotel
This week on The Weekly show, BD+C editors speak with AEC industry leaders about the award-winning Central Station Memphis hotel reconstruction project, and how Autodesk aims to bring generative design and AI tools to the AEC masses.
