Building Design & Construction articles from March 2005

Building Design & Construction archives from March 2005

Filling Feiner's boots at the GSA.(Editorial)
March 1, 2005... Let's start with the premise that whoever the next Chief Architect of the GSA is, that person will forever be compared to Ed Feiner. No single architect of the last two decades has made more of an imprint on the American landscape than Feiner,...

Wind power beats PVs for contractor.(News & Trends)
March 1, 2005... In a move unusual for its scope, a private owner has installed a 65kW wind turbine to reduce its dependence on utility-supplied electricity. The turbine is mounted atop a 125-foot-tall pole beside the new headquarters of general contractor...

New York factory gets an energy windfall.(News & Trends)
March 1, 2005... A 250 kW wind turbine installed in late 2002 at Harbec Plastics Inc. in Ontario, N.Y., is providing 2025% of the 40,000-sf building's energy needs, for the operation of both the building and the process equipment it houses. Company owner...

Patient-focused care at heart of children's hospital.(News & Trends)
March 1, 2005... The $69 million University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital opened its doors last month using design and technology to deliver patient-focused care. All of the patient rooms in the 155-bed hospital are sized and equipped for overnight...

Heifer International Center.(projects awarded)
March 1, 2005... Sustainable and symbolic features keynote the design of the Heifer International Center in Little Rock, Ark., by local architect Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter Architects, Ltd. Heifer is a development organization that assists poor people...

Clinical lab.(projects awarded)
March 1, 2005... BSA LifeStructures, in association with Blackburn Architects, is architect for a $67.5 million, 320,000-sf Clarian Health Partners clinical lab near downtown Indianapolis. A joint venture of Wurster Construction and Smoot Construction is the...

442,000-sf General Motors engine plant.(projects awarded)
March 1, 2005... A joint venture of Detroit-based firms Barton Malow Co. and Ideal Contracting is designing and constructing a new 442,000-sf General Motors engine plant in Flint, Mich. The project is slated for completion in October.

ADD Inc.(People/firms)
March 1, 2005... Frederick Kramer has been named president of architect ADD Inc., Cambridge, Mass.

Swanke Hayden Connell Architects.(People/firms)
March 1, 2005... David Hughes is the new CEO of Swanke Hayden Connell Architects, New York City.

Canada-based consulting engineering firm UMA Group has merged with AECOM Technology Corp.(People/firms)
March 1, 2005... Canada-based consulting engineering firm UMA Group has merged with AECOM Technology Corp., Los Angeles.

Snyder Langston.(People/firms)
March 1, 2005... John Rochford has been named president of general contractor Snyder Langston, Irvine, Calif.

A/E Leo A Daly.(People/firms)
March 1, 2005... Brian Kite has joined the Los Angeles office of A/E Leo A Daly as VP and managing principal.

Cost comparisons per square foot in select metro markets.(Industry Data)
March 1, 2005... Cost comparisons per square foot in select metro markets Jail Courthouse, 2-3 story '05 '04 % chg. '05 '04 % chg. Atlanta 181.93 170.70...

Retail express: a historic rail hub in Madrid becomes a runaway hit with commuters and shoppers when retail and entertainment components are integrated.(Madrid, Spain)(Cover Story)
March 1, 2005... In the heart of Madrid's historic area, where the Principe Pio transit station has been in operation for 125 years, finding land suitable for redevelopment is virtually impossible. Located in a residential neighborhood only 100 meters from the...

Double up: a building team overcomes financial crisis and political upheaval to remake a 1950s tower into a modern home for Argentina's national newspaper.(Buenos Aires, Argentina)
March 1, 2005... A multinational Building Team responsible for remaking the dilapidated headquarters of Argentina's premier daily newspaper into a Class A office tower had to execute the $30 million expansion in the heat of a charged political and economic...

Ready for take off: Israel's new international gateway brings striking architecture and new amenities to travelers to and from the Holy Land.(Tel Aviv, Israel)
March 1, 2005... Late last year, as an El Al airliner taxied out from Ben Gurion Airport Terminal 3 en route to New York, Harold Kia could not help but see the event--the first such departure from Tel Aviv's new $1 billion terminal in Tel Aviv--as symbolic of a...

Moore on recycling.
March 1, 2005... CHANGES What you have to keep in mind is that getting rid of waste material is a big expense. The demolition industry is a lot more sophisticated than it used to be. There's new equipment. Government regulations are tighter... and harder to...

The correct orientation: ancient Vedic philosophy becomes the guiding principle in the design of a new headquarters for India's largest private corporation.(New Mumbai, India)
March 1, 2005... For David A. Hansen, AIA, taking on a major project in Asia is nothing new. As a design principal at Chicago's Perkins+Will since 1986, the University of Illinois-trained architect has been bouncing around the Orient for years, juggling major...

Strategic asset: a 16-story signature building that recalls the Arc de Triomphe is the focus of an emerging Middle Eastern financial center on the Persian Gulf.(Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
March 1, 2005... As its name implies, The Gate is the symbolic entryway to a rapidly developing, 100-acre financial district in Dubai, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Located at the entrance to the Dubai International Financial Centre, the...

Music in bloom: Shanghai's Oriental Arts Center, shaped like a butterfly orchid, becomes the city's first truly concert-specific performance venue.(Shanghai, China)
March 1, 2005... Shanghai, an ancient city of more than 16 million people, is abundantly rich in heritage and culture. But until recently the closest thing the city, known as the Pearl of the Orient, had to a music-specific concert venue was the Shanghai...

Openly secure: Rem Koolhaas's daring plan for the Netherlands Embassy in Berlin places the mostly glass-clad structure on a prominent riverside site.(Berlin, Germany)
March 1, 2005... In contrast to many embassies in Berlin, which screen themselves off from the public, the glazed legation building of the Netherlands (from Rem Koolhaas's Office for Metropolitan Architecture) radiates a sense of openness--a symbol of the good...

Back to nature: in Japan, government officials are infusing schools with wood in hopes of creating better learning environments.(Ota, Japan)
March 1, 2005... Can the use of wood in school construction create healthier, safer, more productive learning environments? In Japan, there's an ongoing effort by government officials to construct school buildings with wood materials and...

Culinary classic.(Products at work)
March 1, 2005... After more than 100 years' exposure to harsh winds whipping off the Hudson River, the wood-framed, single-pane windows that clad the Culinary Institute of America's Roth Hall in Hyde Park, N.Y., performed like Swiss cheese, allowing air and...

Clearly low-e.(Glass)
March 1, 2005... Architectural glazing combines the clarity of uncoated glass with energy performance of low-e systems. Solarban 60 Starphire allows architects to specify ultra-clear glass for vision glass, skylights, storefronts, entries, and spandrels without...

Glass with impact.(Glass)
March 1, 2005... Wired glass meets the latest version of the International Building Code requiring all glass in hazardous locations to satisfy standards for both impact safety and fire protection. Composed of a laminate interlayer sandwiched between wire-mesh...

Hot stuff.(Glass)
March 1, 2005... Ceramic glazing line features four products fire rated from 20 minutes to three hours. SuperLite-C is available in sizes up to 44x79 inches and can fit into any fire-rated frame, including steel, wood, and aluminum systems. The line includes...

Air-tight light.(Lightning)
March 1, 2005... Light fixtures are fully gasketted to seal against moisture and exposure to the elements, including dust, fumes, and insects. Vanguard series is ideal for interiors and exterior settings requiring extra protection, such as parking lots,...

True colors.(Lightning)
March 1, 2005... Bright-white metal-halide lighting system replicates the color of natural sunlight, providing exceptional color rendering for applications such as retail, atria, warehouses, and parking structures. Blues are true blue, whites are whiter, and...

Dimming ballast.(Lightning)
March 1, 2005... Fluorescent light ballast connects directly to photocells, infrared receivers, occupant sensors, and wallstations, without interfaces, power packs, or controllers. EcoSystem ballasts interpret data collected by the sensors and wallstations,...

Healthy light.(Lightning)
March 1, 2005... Linear fluorescent T-8 lamps combine low mercury levels with long life and energy efficiency to offer a sustainable lighting solution. Rated for an average operating life 36,000 hours, Alto lamps use 70% less mercury and 25% less energy than...

Single-source security.(Products)
March 1, 2005... PC-based graphical workstation integrates fire alarm, security, card access, and CCTV systems, acting as a single point of control for life safety and security systems located throughout a building or a series of buildings. OnyxWorks is an...

Hospital flooring.(Products)
March 1, 2005... Brochure addresses the variety of demands healthcare facilities place on floor coverings, including hygiene requirements, ease of maintenance, sound absorption, comfort underfoot, and wear and slip resistance. Nora rubber flooring offers...

Sunny side up.(Products)
March 1, 2005... Brochure highlights line of custom-designed, extruded aluminum sun controls, including louvers and grilles. Cantilevered, horizontal, vertical, and inclined sun controls can filter up to 80% of sunlight. Airolite Co. Reader Service No....

Two new ways to go waterless.(Products)
March 1, 2005... Waterless urinal line has been expanded with two new designs. The European styling of the new vitreous China models offers new design options and the smaller size is ideal for installations with limited space. Each waterfree urinal saves an...

Color bond.(Products)
March 1, 2005... Using a permanent bonding process, virtually any glass surface can be coated with opaque colors for interior architectural applications. Berman Glass coatings are scratch resistant and can Be applied to tempered, annealed, bent, laminated,...

Seamless roofing.(Products)
March 1, 2005... Thermoplastic polyolefin roofing system features a patented installation technique that eliminates more than 95% of field seam preparation. Laborers simply align the five- or 10-foot-wide membrane, remove the release liner, and roll the...

Easy underlayment.(Products)
March 1, 2005... Surface coating designed for application over floor underlayment features a built-in identifier that confirms uniform product application: The floor surface will glow under a black light where the material has been applied. SE-100 Surface...

Green on the back.(Products)
March 1, 2005... Polyurethane carpet backing for green building applications is composed of the EPA-endorsed mineral Celceram and rapidly renewable resources made from soy bean oil. BioCel contains an average of 50-55% post industrial content, 7-15% post...

Power of motion.(Products)
March 1, 2005... Sensor-operated flush valve for toilets and urinals utilizes hydropower created with each flush to power the system's electronic sensor eye, microprocessor, and solenoid. A small internal turbine generates the power, which is stored in a series...

Bye bye birdie.(Products)
March 1, 2005... Electronic bird-control system features distress and predator bird sounds of more than 22 species, including pigeons, crows, starlings, swallows, gulls, woodpeckers, sparrows, grackles, and cormorants. Bird Chase Super Sonic has a range from...