Building Design & Construction articles from December 2007

Building Design & Construction archives from December 2007

Concrete That Fears Water No More.
December 1, 2007... By Dave Barista, Managing Editor A special admixture makes concrete virtually waterproof, saving thousands in moisture-proofing materials and labor costs. Concrete is one of most durable manmade materials, but it has one fundamental...

HOK Sport unveils 2012 Olympic Stadium in London.(HOK Sports Facilities Group)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Kansas City-based HOK Sport has unveiled the design for the flagship venue for the 2012 Olympics Games in London. Olympic Stadium will accommodate 80,000 spectators, and after the Games will be transformed into a multipurpose venue....

Loft lifestyle hotel brand coming to Colorado.(NYLO Hotels LLC )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Set to break ground in the second quarter of 2008 and open in mid-2009, NYLO Hotels LLC will bring its first loft lifestyle hotel to Colorado, to be located in the Interlocken Technology Park in Broomfield. Loft lifestyle hotels...

Portland condominiums going for gold.(Holst Architecture )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff With amenities like an eco garden, externally vented kitchens, highly efficient floor plans, and a 4,000-sf vegetated roof, the 937 Condominiums development in Portland, Ore.'s Pearl District is on pace to achieve LEED Gold...

Former site of Bethlehem Steel to get a performing arts complex.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Set to break ground in January 2009 on the former site of Bethlehem Steel Corp. in Bethlehem, Pa., the SteelStax Community Project will include a 90,000-sf performing arts center, which will incorporate major iconic elements from the...

Fort Lauderdale mall to be transformed into a mixed-use office/retail center.(Argent Ventures)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff A struggling 1970s shopping mall will get new life as an upscale mixed-use complex just north of downtown Miami, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Developer Argent Ventures, New York, is renovating the former Omni International Mall in two...

Immigration Services to get four green facilities in Florida.(United States. Citizenship and Immigration Services' contract with JMWA Architects)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Construction work has commenced on the first three of four new energy-efficient facilities for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in South Florida. Designed by JMWA Architects, Boca Raton, Fla., to meet LEED Silver...

Green building should not add to first costs.
December 1, 2007... Robert Cassidy, Editor-in-Chief Recently, an A/E firm asked me to come in and talk to their project managers about how to overcome client fears of additional cost associated with green or LEED-rated buildings. This concern did not surprise...

'Green' structural flooring system.(Vulcraft )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Floor system uses 99% recycled material in the joists and 70% recycled material in the decking, providing a 'green' solution for structural floors. The Ecospan Composite Floor System is designed for the multifamily residential,...

Corrugated panels.(ATAS International Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Metal corrugated panel features 2¾-inch-wide corrugations and a concealed fastening system, providing wide, uninterrupted lines. Corra-Lok panels are available in 0.032 and 0.050 aluminum, 24 gauge metallic coated steel, and...

Tie-down multistory structures.(Simpson Strong-Tie Company Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Tie-down system for light-frame multistory structures in earthquake and high-wind regions has been redesigned with fewer parts, higher loads, and a rod-coupling device to restrain (or tie off) each floor. Simpson Strong-Tie's Anchor...

Resilient flooring line gets into shape.(Tarkett Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Resilient flooring line has been expanded to include four creatively shaped tiles: Tide features a curvilinear design resembling the movement of water; Hive is a hexagon shape that evokes the honeycomb of a beehive; Node is an...

Hotel Design's Big Three.
December 1, 2007... By Jay W. Schneider, Senior Editor In exclusive interviews with Building Design+Construction , experts at the top three hospitality design firms (combined 2006 hotel billings: $164.81 million) offer their perspectives on the booming global...

Focus on Market Reinvention.(green hotels)
December 1, 2007... By Jay W. Schneider, Senior Editor 'The hotel industry is reinventing itself,' says Nunzio De Santis, AIA, EVP and director of hospitality at HKS Hill Glazier Studio, Dallas. 'It's not about copycat design.' Hotel design philosophies...

Focus on Creating a Sense of Escape.(hotel design trends)
December 1, 2007... By Jay W. Schneider, Senior Editor 'People are looking for a hotel experience that plays on the idea of escapism ,' says Monica Cuervo, senior associate and project manager/project architect at Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo, headquartered in...

Focus on the Guest Experience.
December 1, 2007... By Jay W. Schneider, Senior Editor 'Hotel guests are looking for an experience , and that's driving what the hospitality market needs to respond to,' says Thomas Ito, AIA, LEED AP, principal and leader of Gensler's global hospitality...

Hotel Notorious.(Charles Street Jail )
December 1, 2007... By Jay W. Schneider, Senior Editor Boston's 156-year-old Charles Street Jail closed in 1990. Now, after a massive renovation and expansion, the gothic compound has been turned into a luxury hotel. What do Albert 'The Boston Strangler'...

Hotel construction to remain steady in 2008.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... By Jim Haughey, BD+C Economist The completion of new hotel rooms caught up with demand in 2007, bringing an end to a five-year rise in occupancy rates of about 60-67%, slowing room rate increases from 6-8% to about 3-4%, and reducing...

Office boom past its peak, but still up.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... By Jim Haughey, BD+C Economist The surge in office development is ebbing, but office construction spending will expand 12% in both 2008 and 2009, on top of 19% gains experienced in the previous two years. While the value of office...

RSMeans costs comparisons.
December 1, 2007... By Jim Haughey, BD+C Economist [TABLE OMITTED]

BlackBerry makes inroads into construction.(e-Builder )
December 1, 2007... By Matthew Phair, Contributing Editor The handheld computing industry has been battling valiantly for years, trying to gain a foothold into the daily operations of most businesses. And while niche markets have emerged and the PalmPilot did...

Viñoly-designed nanotechnology laboratory opens at UCLA.(University of California )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff The University of California, Los Angeles, officially opened its California NanoSystems Institute this month. Designed by Rafael Viñoly, the seven-story building houses state-of-the-art laboratories for nanotechnology...

Nation's largest privately funded student housing complex opens.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Home to some 2,000 students, the 750,000-sf University Commons housing development at Georgia State University in Atlanta is the largest privately funded student housing complex in the U.S. Developed by Ambling University Development...

Golden Gophers get a new rowing facility.(University of Minnesota)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Set on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi, the new 17,500-sf training facility for the University of Minnesota varsity women's rowing team features state-of-the-art indoor training facilities, three boat storage bays, a boat repair...

Elementary school pays homage to community's strong agricultural roots.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Given Lincoln, Calif.'s long history as a farming community, it was only fitting that the design of its new elementary school evoke the community's historic agricultural structures, including fruit sheds and farm buildings. Set on...

Modern wing connects old and new at N.J.'s Morris Museum.(Morris Museum of Arts and Sciences' contract with RMJM )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff The Morris Museum in Morristown, N.J., opened the doors to its new, modern wing last month. Designed by RMJM Hillier, New York, the new wing-with more than 20,000 sf of renovation and new construction-brings old and new together,...

Big changes in store for LEED as USGBC convenes largest Greenbuild ever.(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)(U.S. Green Building Council)
December 1, 2007... Jeff Yoders, Associate Editor A record 22,835 AEC professionals and environmental activists-up from 13,300 in 2006-attended the U.S. Green Building Council's Greenbuild Conference and Expo, at Chicago's McCormick Place West November 7-9....

News Briefs.(Google Inc. is investing in renewable energy)(spire on Freedom Tower )(ranking of Power plants on the basis of carbon emissions)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff * Google to invest in alternative energy, cut cost of PVs. Search technology giant Google says it will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to develop renewable energy as part of an ambitious plan to clean up the environment and...

USGBC launches education program.(U.S. Green Building Council)
December 1, 2007... Robert Cassidy, Editor-in-Chief The U.S. Green Building Council has launched an ambitious continuing education program to provide a clearinghouse for in-person and online learning programs related to green building. The USGBC Education...

People+Firms.
December 1, 2007... Staff * The architecture unit of engineering company Stantec Inc. recently acquired Toronto's Murphy Hilgers Architects , a 55-person firm specializing in healthcare, justice, and retail/commercial facilities, and purchased the assets of...

What's New in Paint and Coatings.(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Green coatings for commercial applications Dulux has expanded its line of low-VOC paints with two green coatings. Pro Premium is an interior wall and ceiling paint for commercial applications where performance, coverage,...

Rooftop railing system is the right prescription for pharmaceutical firm.(Scientific Protein Laboratories' contract with Kee Industrial Products Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Rooftop safety was high on the list of concerns when Scientific Protein Laboratories recently expanded its 96,500-sf manufacturing facility in Waunakee, Wis. Looking to provide roof access and fall protection for maintenance workers,...

Metal panels spruce up manufacturing plant.(Metl-Span's contract with Takao America Corp.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff More than 36,000 sf of Metl-Span CF Architectural wall panels were installed in a horizontal configuration to provide a modern look for Takao America Corp.'s new manufacturing facility in Canton, Mich. The panels were finished in two...

Concrete floor finish system enables freeform design.(Reasor's Inc's contract with L and M Construction Chemicals )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff When planning an upscale, 77,000-sf store, Reasor's, a full-service independent supermarket chain in northeastern Oklahoma, aimed for a colorful and attention-grabbing, high-performance finish for its concrete flooring. The chain...

Beachfront property gets long-overdue restoration.(SRI Consulting Engineers to repair Playa del Mar condo building)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Built in 1973 on the beach on Ft. Lauderdale's internationally famous Galt Ocean Mile, the popular 370-unit Playa del Mar condo building had fallen prey to years of water intrusion and neglect. The structure had not been painted in...

'Fiery' metal panels evoke Hawaii's molten lava at Honolulu Design Center.(RIM Architects and architect Matthew Gilbertson designs Honolulu Design Center)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Staff Looking to create a façade for the Honolulu Design Center that is contemporary for Hawaii, yet fits into the naturally dramatic island backdrop, architect Matthew Gilbertson, principal with RIM Architects, Honolulu, designed a...

Zurn AquaVantage Dual Flush Handle.
December 1, 2007... Staff The Zurn AquaVantage Dual Flush Handle can be installed on virtually any flush valve for toilets in commercial and institutional building applications. The handle allows users to flush at 1.6 gallons per flush for evacuation of solid...

New Roofing Productsand Technologies.(Georgia-Pacific Corp. met Factory Mutual standards)(LiveRoof LLC's roofing systems)(Sika Sarnafil's enhanced roofing system)
December 1, 2007... Staff Roof board meets stiffened FM standards In 2006, Factory Mutual made significant changes to its testing standards for wind uplift resistance in adhered membrane roofing systems. The changes require higher standards for wind...

Steel Shows Its Strength.(Niles Bolton Associates Inc. is building transportation center)
December 1, 2007... By Jeff Yoders, Associate Editor Steel trusses and supports give an open feel to an award-winning transit center in Athens, Ga. As the home of the University of Georgia and several other colleges and universities, the city of Athens,...

'Owners are concerned about costs and scheduling'.(Simpson Gumpertz and Heger Inc's Glenn R. Bell )(Interview)
December 1, 2007... Staff Glenn R. Bell joined Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, a national consulting engineering firm based in Waltham, Mass., in 1974 and has been CEO since 1995. He served on the SGH team that investigated the progressive collapse of the World...