Related Links: Cover Story: Turner Construction Prioritizes Youth and Diversity Cover Story Sidebar: Turner Rewards Innovation with Cash Turner International Samsung C&T Corp. Website Perkins Eastman Website Harrowing moments—usually triggered from afar—come with Nick Billotti's territory as president of project manager Turner International.He recalls the time he was watching television on Easter Sunday morning in 2002, while at Orlando's Disney World. He did a double take when he realized he was looking at damage from a major earthquake in Taiwan, including tower cranes dangling from the half-erected Taipei 101, which now stands at 508 meters. "That's our building," he said
Related Links: American Insitute of Architects The American Institute of Architects and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Advanced Urbanism, in collaboration with the Clinton Global Initiative and others, are expanding into urban-health design as never before. AIA recently launched a 10-year research project aimed at developing model methods to alter the urban environment in ways that would improve physical well-being.The goal of "Decade of Design: Health and Urbanism" is to focus attention on health through research, community planning and community engagement. The aim is to "better understand the link between health factors and city form," says Alan M.
Related Links: U.S. Dept. of Energy Energy Information Administration The U.S. Dept. of Energy recently announced a dozen research grants, valued at about $12 million in total, to develop energy-efficient building technologies as well as open-source energy-efficiency software for both residential and commercial buildings. The projects will receive approximately $11 million from DOE and another $1 million in private funding.Commercial and residential buildings use nearly 40% of the total energy consumed in the U.S. each year and produce more than 40% of the nation's carbon pollution, says DOE. According to the Energy Information Administration, about 48% of energy consumption in
Related Links: Sustainable Performance Institute HUD Construction professionals have through Oct. 11 to provide the Sustainable Performance Institute with comments on the content of the draft of SPI's Green Firm Certification Program version 3.0.SPI certification is intended to validate the capability of architects, engineers and construction firms to deliver “consistent, high-quality sustainability services and confirms that marketing claims are true,” says the non-profit group. The latest version is presented as a simplified set of evaluation criteria for organizational sustainability. These criteria include vision, planning and implementation, project delivery, infrastructure, collaboration and partnering, and outcomes and metrics. The certification program also uses
Related Links: HUD's Sandy Rebuilding Strategy ENR Superstorm Sandy Special Report Citing a crucial need for a coordinated approach to resilient rebuilding in Hurricane Sandy-affected areas, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the creation of a HUD-led regional forum to "understand interdependencies and interconnections." Construction industry leaders agree that, if anyone can provide the mortar between disparate constituencies in Sandy-affected areas, it is Donovan."An effective and charismatic convener such as Secretary Donovan knows how to get people to the table," says Rick Bell, executive director of AIA New York (AIANY). "Too often, New York
Related Links: HUD's Rebuild by Design Competition Buoyant Foundation Project Rebuild By Design The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development's Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force recently announced the 10 finalists in a regional design competition aimed at promoting innovation in resilient buildings after Hurricane Sandy. The winners represent some big names in design, including the Office of Metropolitan Architecture and Sasaki Associates.Among the more than 130 hopefuls cut is Team Phase US, which was pushing amphibious new buildings and retrofits. "This is a big disappointment," says team leader Elizabeth C. English, founder-director of the nonprofit Buoyant Foundation Project.English has
Structural fire engineering is heating up in the U.S. and Europe, thanks in large part to the "traveling fires" observed on Sept. 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center.
Mike Current says he almost had a nervous breakdown in anticipation of the first lift of the site-preassembled, glass-enclosed pedestrian bridges that link CityCenterDC's 11-story office buildings across a 24-ft-wide alley.
