Images Courtesy of BIG Related Links: Manhattan's Storm-Protection Plan Intended as Global Urban Model No need for intrusive barriers and floodgates in the middle of New York Harbor. If a $335-million pilot project, funded by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, is successful, instead of massive hard infrastructure to defend Lower Manhattan against the next Superstorm Sandy, the Big Apple eventually will have a 10-mile surge defense camouflaged as parkland, landscape and public art.One of the architects for the project called BIG U—the most ambitious of six schemes that recently won HUD's "Rebuild by Design" competition—is so excited
Unemployment Still Shrinking The construction industry's jobless rate continues to decline, dipping to 8.6% in May from April's 9.4%, as the industry added 6,000 jobs. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest employment report, released on June 6, also showed that construction's jobless rate last month improved from its May 2013 level of 10.8%. Moreover, last month's rate was the best May since 2008, when it also was 8.6%. The industry's jobs results were mixed among its various sectors. The strongest segments were heavy-civil engineering construction and residential specialty-trade contractors, which each picked up 3,200 positions. The weakest were non-residential
Construction Recovery Picks Up Total construction starts in April rose 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $533.7 billion, according to McGraw Hill Construction Dodge. The April numbers were lifted by a 14%rise in non-residential work and a 4% hike in home building, which were both muted by a 14% decline in non-building work. On a year-to-date basis, total construction through the first four months of 2014 shows no gain over last year's level (see chart). Winners of Rebuild By Design Competition Announced On June 2, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan named six winners of a
ENR FutureTech is a growing event that showcases some of the most cutting edge thinking and practices regarding technology in construction practices. Now, the event is opening up to more ideas from you.The technology editors of ENR are issuing a call for presentations for the next ENR FutureTech event, slated for Dec. 11 at the Georgia Tech Conference Center in Atlanta.The entry form is here.Past year's presentations can be viewed here.If you have any questions, please send an email to: enr_web_editors@mcgraw-hill.com.
Related Links: Project Delivery Spat Puts Hospital Job on Critical List Emerging Senate VA Bill to Have Panel on Construction Issues Orlando Sentinel on Delayed Completion of VA Hospital In addition to improving its responsiveness to veterans' medical problems, the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs needs to revamp its construction strategies and practices on big hospital projects and possibly hand off construction to public-private partnership concessionaires. Two hospital projects, in Aurora, Colo., and Orlando, Fla., show how the VA comes up short on large, complex new hospitals.The Orlando project, on which the prime contractor is Brasfield & Gorrie, is over
Photo Courtesy 9/11 Memorial Communications 9/11 Museum Opens After a Bumpy Road to Completion Fought over, stalled, reconceived and finally built, the 180,000-sq-ft National September 11 Memorial Museum has followed a tortuous path since it was first proposed in architect Daniel Libeskind's 2003 master plan for Ground Zero. While nearly every part of the redevelopment effort at the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan has generated debate, the mostly subgrade museum, which opened to the public 20 months late on May 21, has been a lightning rod for a flood of criticism and controversy. Superstorm Sandy inundated the entire
Photo courtesy of Aedas Related Links: 2014 Global Best Projects Winners Aedas' The Star Website American visitors might have difficulty deciding whether to go shopping or take in a show, but at the The Star they can do both. Singapore's award-winning entry in the Retail/Mixed-Use category creatively offers a nod to art and commerce in a fanciful structure designed to serve both. The dynamic design houses a performance space comprising two levels and stalls with high-quality sound and lighting systems for an audience of 5,000 people. Outside the hall but within the iconic structure is an upscale shopping mall, accessible
FCC crews labored through 8-meter fluctuations in river levels, 70° fluctuations in temperature and marine traffic carrying 13 million tons of cargo annually to build the $375.7-million, 2-kilometer-long New Europe Bridge.
Rodrigo Guerrero Completed in May 2013, the $241-million project was built to receive and treat sewage from Panama City's metropolitan area, where the population exceeds one million people. Miguel Weng Related Links: 2014 Global Best Projects Winners Odebrecht information on project Since Panama City was founded in the 1500s by Spanish conquistadors, sewage has been dumped in the local rivers and the Bay of Panama. To address this health and environmental hazard, the Panamanian government broke ground on the Panama City Wastewater Treatment Plant project in 2009.The 2.2-cu-meter-per-day wastewater treatment plant is the largest biological nutrient removal (BNR) plant of
First Quarter Construction Starts Down 2% From a Year Ago The dollar value of total construction starts during 2014's first quarter was $107.4 billion, or 2% less than a year ago, according to McGraw Hill Construction Dodge. After making double-digit gains last year, the residential construction market is up just 3% over 2013's first quarter. That increase was offset by a 4% decline in nonresidential building starts and an 8% drop in the value of non-building construction. "The slow start for construction activity in early 2014 can be attributed to tough winter weather ... and the hesitant upturn over the
