Building Design & Construction articles from May 2006

Building Design & Construction archives from May 2006

Economic downturn? Fugetaboutit!(EDITORIAL)
May 1, 2006... For the rest of this year and well into the next, you're going to hear a lot of negative talk in the media about the economy. Consumer confidence on the decline. New housing construction tumbling. Mega-corporations facing General Motors-size...

Pritzker prize goes to Brazil's Mendes da Rocha.(NEWS & TRENDS)
May 1, 2006... The Pritzker Architectural Prize for 2006 has been awarded to Paulo Mendes da Rocha, a Brazilian whose six-decades-long career includes a private practice, a teaching position at the University of Sao Paulo, and a stint as president of the...

Final inspection reveals nearly 900 defects at Scottish Parliament building.
May 1, 2006... Edinburgh's much-celebrated Scottish Parliament building (it won the 10th annual RIBA Stirling prize, the U.K.'s highest architecture award), designed by the late Enric Miralles, was found riddled with design and construction errors when...

Sheet metal is shining, thanks to Gehry influence.
May 1, 2006... The sheet metal market has expanded rapidly, growing 9.7% a year, on average, from 2002 to 2005, when manufacturers chalked up $15 billion in sales to contractors and other customers. Some say the metallic vision of L.A. architect Frank Gehry...

The number of SECB-certified structural engineers reaches 960.
May 1, 2006... In less than two years since its creation, the Structural Engineers Certification Board has certified nearly 1,000 structural engineers nationwide. The SECB was farmed by members of several trade groups, including the National Council of...

Watergate's newest residents will need deep pockets.(NEWS)
May 1, 2006... The Watergate, a mixed-use complex in Washington, D.C., that's most famous for being the site of the June 17, 1972, break-in at the Democratic Party's national committee office, is adding 96 luxury condominiums, which range from 800 sf to 5,400...

BD&C online poll.(NEWS)
May 1, 2006... BD&C ONLINE POLL Here are the results from our March BDCnetwork.com poll, which asked BD&C readers: Which technology will have the greatest impact an designing and constructing buildings? 3-D modeling ...

Carter & Burgess.(PEOPLE/firms)
May 1, 2006... Laurin McCracken, AIA, MCR, joined Carter & Burgess as chief marketing officer. A member of this magazine's Editorial Advisory Board, McCracken is a registered architect, planner, and senior marketing professional who, far the past 25 years,...

HOK Planning Group.(PEOPLE/firms)
May 1, 2006... Crystal Barriscale, AIA, AICE joined the HOK Planning Group as VP and director of planning/landscape architecture in the group's San Francisco office. She most recently was senior planner for the Physical and Environmental Planning Deportment...

Corgan Associates.(PEOPLE/firms)
May 1, 2006... Dallas-based Corgan Associates named Jonathan Massey and Helen Danby vice presidents. Massey will oversee the firm's aviation group and Danby will be responsible for managing interior renovation projects for corporate and healthcare clients.

NTDStichler Architecture.(PEOPLE/firms)
May 1, 2006... NTDStichler Architecture, a San Diego-based firm specializing in healthcare and education architecture, expanded into the Tucson, Ariz., by recently opening a 15-person office. Kim Wolfarth, the firm's managing principal, will oversee the...

Magellan Development Group and NNP Residential & Development formed a new corporate partnership in Chicago, which will operate under the Magellan banner.(PEOPLE/firms)
May 1, 2006... Magellan Development Group and NNP Residential & Development formed a new corporate partnership in Chicago, which will operate under the Magellan banner. David Carlins will serve as president of the firm, which will operate as both a developer...

RTKL.(PEOPLE/firms)
May 1, 2006... RTKL hired Alec Cholok, AIA, as principal in the firm's science and technology sector. He will be based in the firm's Washington, D.C., office. For more people and firms news, visit: www.BDCnetwork.com.

Massive New Jersey development will have offices, stadium.(ON THE DRAWING BOARD)
May 1, 2006... Harrison MetroCentre, a mixed-use redevelopment that encompasses nearly 4 million sf, is under way in Harrison, N.J. The $1.8 billion project will feature office, retail, and nearly 4,000 housing units. A stadium for the N.Y./N.J. MetroStars...

Former department store to get a mixed-use makeover.(ON THE DRAWING BOARD)
May 1, 2006... Developer Millcraft Investments, of Cecil Township, Pa., is working to redevelop a shuttered 265,000-sf Lazarus store space in downtown Pittsburgh into a mix of retail, office, and 47 upscale residential units, a project estimated to cost $49...

Studio Gang plans its first high-rise tower in Chicago.(ON THE DRAWING BOARD)
May 1, 2006... Jeanne Gang, principal of Studio Gang Architects and one of Chicago s rising design stars, recently unveiled the design of her first high-rise residential development. The $300 million, 83-story tower, dubbed Aqua, is planned for a location...

Tallest building in Virginia planned for Virginia Beach.(ON THE DRAWING BOARD)
May 1, 2006... The third phase of construction has begun on the Town Center at Virginia Beach, Va. It will feature a 38-story, 512-foot-high hotel and residential tower with 36,000 sf of retail space in the building's podium. Designed by Brennan Beer Gorman...

Nation's capital will get yet another office building.(ON THE DRAWING BOARD)
May 1, 2006... 505 9th St., N.W., a 460,000-sf, Class A office building, is planned for a site between the White House and the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Designed by Hartman Cox of Washington, the project will also have an 18,000-sf theater. Clark...

Rhode Island skyscraper close to breaking ground.(ON THE DRAWING BOARD)
May 1, 2006... One Ten Westminster in Providence, R.I., will be the state's tallest building if it reaches its planned 520 feet. The 456,000-sf, 40-story, 145-unit luxury residential high-rise is scheduled to begin construction in May. The building site is...

Cesar Pelli adds a little red to his green and blue series.(ON THE DRAWING BOARD)
May 1, 2006... The final piece of architect Cesar Pelli's 4-acre Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Calif., was recently unveiled. The "Red Building," a spectacular 400,000-sf red glass-clad complex of offices and parking, will be built beside Pelli's...

Another flexible office building breaks ground in D.C.(ON THE DRAWING BOARD)
May 1, 2006... Construction is under way on a new 52,300-sf office development at 1602 L Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C. According to architect WDG Architecture of Washington, the building was designed to have floor plates of only 6,000 sf specifically for...

Rehabilitation center for wounded veterans taking shape at Fort Sam Houston.(ON THE DRAWING BOARD)
May 1, 2006... SmithGroup has, designed the Center for the Intrepid s National Armed Forces Physical Rehabilitation Center at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. The selection was made by the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a nonprofit organization...

Office vacancy rates continues to decline.(INDUSTRY DATA)
May 1, 2006... The national office vacancy rate declined 0.3% to 16.6% in the final quarter of last year, according to Property & Portfolio Research. Further declines of about 0.5-0.7% are expected in both 2006 and 2007, as the absorption of office space...

Healthcare spending grows faster in 2006-07.(INDUSTRY DATA)
May 1, 2006... Healthcare construction spending will increase 10.2% in 2006 and 13.7% in 2007 after a 7.8% gain last year. Spending has been largely unchanged for the last six months following a burst of new starts for large hospital projects last spring and...

Last call for BD&C's annual Giants 300 survey.(INDUSTRY DATA)
May 1, 2006... Does your firm rank among the largest design and construction companies in the nation? Then don't miss out on the chance of being ranked in Building Design & Construction's annual Giants 300 survey. The report ranks the top firms by volume...

Manufacturing spending growth slows to 10% in '06.(INDUSTRY DATA)
May 1, 2006... Manufacturing construction spending increased 22% last ,year but is expected to increase only about 10-11% in 2006 and 2007. The demand for manufactured goods will continue to grow faster than the economy, largely due to 7-8% annual growth in...

A commitment to communicate pays off for Skanska.(INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY)
May 1, 2006... All the hardware and software in the world won't make a company more effective if the implementation falls short. That was the case at Skanska USA Building in early 2002. The Parsippany, N.J.-based construction giant had the latest...

The inn thing: seven radical new trends in hotel design: hoteliers and hotel design experts are questioning some ancient tenets of the hotel industry. For starters, they're asking" Do guests really need a bathtub?(HOSPITALITY FACILITIES)(Cover story)
May 1, 2006... The typical hotel business guest has a laptop, a BlackBerry, a cell phone, an iPod, and a disdain for boring hotels designed for the way people traveled 40 years ago. They expect hotels to reflect the way the), live now--and, even better, the...

MIPIM Awards honor six international projects.(AWARDS PROGRAM)
May 1, 2006... Last month, 21,415 developers and real estate executives from 74 countries met in Cannes, France, for MIPIM (Marche Internationale des Professionnels d'Immobilier), the international property market show. Attendees chose winners of the MIPIM...

Let there be light, not heat: why are Whole Foods, McDonald's, Macy's, and Hyatt Hotels using fiberoptic lighting systems? Because they save energy and don't transmit heat.(INTERIOR SOLUTIONS)
May 1, 2006... Fiber-optic lighting systems can deliver light comparable to conventional halogen or incandescent bulbs while saving up to 80% of energy costs. They can illuminate perishable foods and materials without heating them. That's why a growing number...

Concrete innovation: novel research and a high-strength admixture reduce the need for beams and supports in a new L.A. condo tower.(CORE & SHELL SOLUTIONS)
May 1, 2006... The Californian, a 23-story, $200 million condominium tower that opened last September in Los Angeles, is located in the heart of a seismic zone. Yet with 327,034 sf of residential space, its luxury units (ranging in size from 2,700 sf to as...

Weathering the storm: in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, Building Teams are turning to advanced flood-mitigation techniques to protect structures from water damage.(HURRICAN-ZONE CONSTRUCTION)(Company overview)
May 1, 2006... Two-thousand five will go down in the record books as one of the costliest hurricane seasons in modern U.S. history. Twenty-seven named storms and 15 hurricanes were recorded in the Atlantic region alone, shattering records that date back...

Vision technology's VT-480/16 digital video recorder.(The Professional's Choice)
May 1, 2006... The VT-480/16 is a 16-port digital video recorder that records up to 480 images per second spread across 16 cameras. The DVR is equipped with an on-board hard drive that provides weeks, and even months, of recording time, depending on hard...

Steel panels outfit Texas Cabela's.(PRODUCTS AT WORK)
May 1, 2006... More than 60,000 sf of Petersen's Pac-Clad 22-gauge, 18-inch panels were used on a new Cabela's store outside of Austin, Texas. The Building Team needed a roof system that could be installed quickly to meet a tight schedule. "I had my doubts...

Denver police station gets a futuristic look.(PRODUCTS AT WORK)
May 1, 2006... Symbolizing the high-tech future of police work, architects for the 21,000-sf Denver District 2 police station clad portions of the exterior with aluminum wall panels finished in Champagne Metallic. The exterior design consists of a two...

Low-e glass saves on cooling costs.(PRODUCTS AT WORK)
May 1, 2006... PPG Architectural Glass has introduced SolarBan 70XL low-e architectural glass, which achieves a 2.23 light-to-solar-gain ratio. Boulder, Colo.-based AEC tested SolarBan 70XL against other low-e glazings and found that it could reduce initial...

Leds brighten casino in Vancouver, B.C.(PRODUCTS AT WORK)
May 1, 2006... Vancouver, B.C.'s new Edgewater Casino was to assume the historic Expo86 Pavilion building, a centerpiece of the city's downtown skyline. City officials challenged the design team to develop a scheme that would illuminate the building's glass...

Prayin' for relief.(PRODUCTS AT WORK)
May 1, 2006... As part of a $6.4 million renovation of their 41,000-sf church, officials at the Twin Cities Church in Grass Valley, Calif., were searching for a roof that would expand and contract with the natural heating and cooling cycles of its Northern...

Eco-friendly floor makes it in New York.(PRODUCTS AT WORK)
May 1, 2006... The City Hall Academy at the Tweed Courthouse in New York was created to provide inner-city school children with an interdisciplinary learning experience centered on the history and culture of the city. Environmental awareness is also part of...

Chicago high-rise accented by panels.(PRODUCTS AT WORK)
May 1, 2006... RiverView II, a luxury condominium tower in Chicago, recently had 48,000 sf of aluminum composite Alucobond Pius panels installed on its exterior. The material was specified to contrast the tower's brick exterior with aluminum and glass....

Integrated HVAC system reduces energy consumption at Ohio School District.(PRODUCTS AT WORK)
May 1, 2006... Officials at the Marysville (Ohio) School District want to practice what they preach by teaching their 5,000 students what it means to be energy efficient. Starting this year, the district will upgrade its existing HVAC systems in their...

Protective spray stops fires in buildings.(PRODUCTS AT WORK)
May 1, 2006... Kathy Petty, property manager of Community Living Opportunities in Overland Park, Kan., used No-Burn's nontoxic, noncorrosive spray to bring three of her nonprofit organization's homes for children with disabilities up to current fire...

Sun-block calculator.(EDITOR'S PICKS)
May 1, 2006... Software allows designers to calculate the hours of direct sunlight and daylighting control provided by different window coverings. Eggcalc software works by modeling the geometry of direct sunlight for most window orientations, at any...

Eco-friendly floor.(EDITORS' PICKS)
May 1, 2006... Hardwood floor finish is the first of its kind to achieve GreenGuard certification, according to the maker. Manufactured with water-based finishes and dust-containment sanding equipment, the Environmental Choice System contains no toxic fumes...

Green on top.(EDITORS' PICKS)
May 1, 2006... Green roof system helps reduce energy costs and stormwater run-off, and can contribute to LEED credits. GreenGrid is delivered to the building site pre-planted and ready to install. In addition to reducing urban heat island effect, the system...

Healthy backup.(EDITORS' PICKS)
May 1, 2006... Modular carpet collections come with tufted polyurethane carpet backing that is made with 35% recycled content and contributes to allowable points for LEED certification. The Theory, Way, and Simply collections are 100% recyclable through the...

New colors for low-VOC paint line.(EDITORS' PICKS)
May 1, 2006... The Lifemaster line of low- and no-VOC paint is now available in several bright colors. The paint features increased washability, fast cure times, and low odor during painting. Lifemaster adheres well to glossy, painted surfaces. ICI...

Hold on there.(EDITORS' PICKS)
May 1, 2006... Collection of handrails and wall guards is composed of recycled high-density polyethylene and other rapidly renewable materials. The Bamboo line of hand and chair rails is made of grass. NuTree wall and corner guards are manufactured from...

Replacement ballast.(EDITORS' PICKS)
May 1, 2006... Ballast for 750-watt pulse-start systems can achieve a power savings of up to 270 waits per fixture when replacing 1,000-walt metal-halide systems. The Multi-5 ballast incorporates five voltage taps to cover all lighting applications. The unit...

Metal roof stays cool in the hot sun.(EDITORS' PICKS)
May 1, 2006... Met-Tile panel roofing system meets Energy Star requirements for solar reflectivity and emissivity. Cool Roof panels feature a coating that provides solar reflectivity values ranging from 26% to 67%. The systems also resist wind gusts of up to...

Dennis Thompson: 'we want to be easy to work with'.(THOUGHT LEADERS)(Interview)
May 1, 2006... Dennis Thompson is P executive VP and COO of Kansas City, Mo.-based general contractor Walton Construction Co., where he oversees the company's construction operations support, finance and accounting, human resources, marketing, risk...