8 ways to cool a factory

A broad array of new and improved ceiling products offers designers everything from superior acoustics and closed-loop, recycled content to eased integration with lighting systems, HVAC diffusers, fire sprinkler heads, and other overhead problems. This course describes how Building Teams are exploring ways to go beyond the treatment of ceilings as white, monolithic planes.

Less than a year after opening its ultra-green, hydropowered data center facility in Luleå, Sweden, Facebook is back at it in Mother Svea with yet another novel approach to data center design.

After operating the first biomass boiler in the Ketchikan, Alaska, Federal Building, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has concluded that biomass boilers are a viable alternative for hot-water-heated buildings where natural gas is unavailable. 

A memorandum of understanding creating the Indoor Environment Quality Global Alliance was signed on June 29; the Alliance was formed to explore ways in which industry groups could work together to address all aspects of indoor environmental quality and health.

Here’s where AEC firms and owners are getting the most bang for the buck when using BIM/VDC to coordinate data center projects.

The $85 million, 10-story vertical campus takes the shape of a massive, shimmering aircraft hangar, housing a sculptural, glass-and-aluminum base building.

From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.