If Oregon and Washington follow California in regulating off-road diesel nitrogen oxide and fine particulate matter emissions, contractors may need to install pollution controls on their equipment or purchase replacements, according to warnings from The Associated General Contractors of America. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton If Oregon and Washington follow California’s lead in the regulation of off-road diesel emissions, smoke-filled exhaust from heavy construction equipment may be a thing of the past. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton Related Links: Above and Beyond “There are a lot of different things in play, but in terms of actual, on-the-ground requirements, we haven’t seen them
Completion of a new water treatment plant in Port Angeles, Wash. in December was one of the final projects necessary for the start of the largest dam removal project in the United States. Photo: John Korsmo Construction These chemical injection pumps are part of the $25.5-million Port Angeles Water Treatment Plant built by Watts/Korsmo A JV that will help filter the extra thousands of cu yds of silt that will flow down the Elwha River when the National Park Service completes its dam removal project. Photo: NPS Congress approved removal of the Elwha River and Glines Canyon Dams in 1993.
Spiking oil prices, soaring utility costs and worries about global warming have sprung energy efficiency from obscurity onto the list of new directions in design and construction. Photo: DKA Located near Broadway and 15th Avenue East on Capitol Hill, the Capital Park renovation added energy efficiency plus improved fixtures and finishes. Related Links: Fan Service: Firm Retrofits Energy-Saving FANWALLS into Manufacturing Plant Case Study: Aventine Complex LEEDs the Way to Energy Savings High-end, expensive green projects have always captured the attention of the nation. But as the nation focuses more on maximizing resources and minimizing waste, and the costs associated
As part of its quest to conserve energy and operate a more efficient facility, Maxim Integrated Products of Beaverton, Ore., has installed the first of several FANWALL® arrays, retrofitting existing air-supply units. Photo: EC Co. EC Co. crews install a FANWALL array at Maxim Integrated Products, a silicone wafer manufacturer in Beaverton, Ore. EC Co. crews removed the old air-handler fan and installed a FANWALL within a 12-hour window. Related Links: Energy Efficiency: Once Overlooked, Now an Area of Growth Case Study: Aventine Complex LEEDs the Way to Energy Savings “We’re doing it to save energy, and we looked to
Northwest Construction launched the Legacy Awards at the 2009 Best of breakfast, to recognize individuals who have made a lasting change in the local construction industry. The 2009 award went to Jack Rafn, Rafn Co., Bellevue, who sat on the original steering committee that contacted Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) National and requested chapter-in-formation status. Photo Credit: ABC Jack Rafn worked to maintain cooperative relationships with all project team members, a controversial idea when he started his company in 1978. Rafn Company lost a job they had been low bidder on, solely because of their open shop status. This discrimination
McGraw-Hill Construction is forecasting that total construction starts will climb 11% to $466.2 billion in 2010, following an estimated 25% decline in 2009. Bob Murray is vice president of economic affairs with McGraw-Hill Construction. Related Links: McGraw-Hill Construction is forecasting mixed numbers for the Southwest. After a 39% drop in construction between 2006 and 2009, an improving residential market and signs of strength in select public-sector markets such as transportation and infrastructure could spark an overall turnaround in 2010, says Bob Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. "This is not a booming market; it is just inching
A consortium of building industry professionals, nonprofit organizations and local and state government agencies is working to meet the Living Building Challenge with the construction of the Oregon Sustainability Center in Portland. The Oregon Sustainability Center would anchor an eco-district in Portland, on the campus of Portland State University The building would serve as a concrete example of how others can implement sustainable features in commercial projects. The glass curtain wall is designed to bring as much daylight as possible into the building while taking into account how surrounding buildings may cause shadows and other obstacles. As an anchor for
Projects at Portland International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac Airport) will allow the facilities to handle more passengers and give them a better experience. Photo: Port of Seattle The Port of Seattle stalled work on the Sea-Tac car rental facility while it obtained funding for the project. Turner Construction is the general contractor. Photo:Port of Portland The Port of Portland will have a new headquarters and a parking garage at Portland International Airport when Hoffman Construction, Portland, finishes the LEED Gold project. Port of Portland The Port of Portland is building a $166-million, seven-story, 1.2 million sq ft, 3,500-car
The timely creation of a new, environmentally-educational 67,000 sq ft “living room” for the young city of Shoreline was the result of a public-partnership that welcomed citizens in the process. Photo: LMN, Seattle The city of Shoreline as a new city hall because of a public private partnership. The timely creation of a new, environmentally - educational 67,000 sq ft “living room” for the young city of Shoreline was the result of a public-partnership that welcomed citizens in the process. The city saved its tax pennies since incorporating a dozen years ago to buy land and put a $10 million
As a society, we’re good about setting some big goals. Putting a man on the moon, developing an information superhighway, cutting carbon emissions as a means to combat climate change-these are laudable and in the case of the first two, already achieved. Related Links: To LEED or Not To LEED But what we sometimes forget is that these “big” goals are only achieved through slow, hard work and a series of intermediate steps, without which, we’d never have made it. In the case of climate change, the fact that buildings generate 40 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions means we
RSS