360 Blog
Focus on ‘the 99% solution’
Our eight previous White Papers have explored the early days of LEED; the “business case” for green buildings; life cycle assessment for building products; how buildings contribute to climate change; water conservation in buildings; and “net-zero energy” buildings (free downloads at: http://www.bdcnetwork.com/blog/2800st-series-cam-action-door-closer?page=1).
Explanation of "public sector tab" in Giants 300 survey
GIANTS 300 CLARIFICATION
Important point: how to allocate revenues in the "Public Sector" tab and the "Building Type" tab. If, for example, your firm did an office building for the State of New York, you would put the revenues your firm earned for that project in "Office Buildings" Building Type Tab 4B AND you would also count that same revenue in "State Government" in Public Sector Tab 4C.
Giants 300 - "Science + Technology"
We've been getting questions about the "Science + Technology" entry in the Giants 300 survey.
Question: If we completed a university lab, do I put that revenue in "University" or "Science + Technology"? What about a research center for a pharmaceutical company?
Answer: It's up to you to decide where to place the revenue. If your firm is known more for "higher ed," you should put that revenue into "University." If you prefer to be viewed as an "S+T" firm, then put it in S+T.
BUT DON'T PUT THE SAME REVENUE IN 2 DIFFERENT BUCKETS.
Giants 300 Survey now ready!
Calling all AEC firms! It's time to get your BD+C "Giants 300" Survey in.
The Giants 300 is the ranking (by 2011 revenue) of the Top 300 AEC firms in the U.S. and Canada.
Ranking architecture, engineering, and construction firms by 2011 revenues for commercial, institutional, industrial, and multifamily buildings.
Additional rankings by building type (e.g., schools, university, healthcare) and special-interest areas: BIM, green-certified projects, international.
O'Hare retail makeover needs more
For long-suffering air travelers who come through Chicago's O'Hare International, some good news: the city is finally upgrading the retail and passenger amenities with a $26 million improvement to Terminal 5, the international terminal. See the article in today's Chicago Tribune "Grand designs in store for bustling O'Hare" by Naomi Nix.
Giants 300 Cover Shot and survey
We're going to be sending out the 2012 Giants 300 survey later this week. Look for a notice on www.BDCnetwork.com.
In the meantime, this is a call for "splendiforous" cover photos from Giants 300 firms.
'Rental Renaissance' right on target
Two good articles on rental apartments in today's 12-21-11 Wall Street Journal.
"Big Developers Dabble in Apartment Market," by A.D. Pruitt and Dawn Wotapka, tells of 25.3% bump in multifamily construction starts in November vs. October. Key point: commercial office/retail property developers like Boston Properties Inc., SL Green Realty Corp., Mack-Cali Realty Corp., and Macerich Co. see multifam as a hot market.
Boston Properties just finished a 335-unit apartment complex in D.C. and an 86-unit rental apartment building in Boston, with rents starting at $3,000/month.
No surprise that HP keeps PC business after Whitman named CEO
It came as little surprise to veteran Silicon Valley watcherss that HP announced today that it would keep its PC business, flip-flopping on an earlier statement by former CEO Leo Apotheker that the PC giant would either close or spin off the business. When Apotheker was ousted last month and replaced by former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, it was only a matter of time until HP's highly integrated PC business was taken off the block.
Gehry Technologies partners with Autodesk; BIM-integrated cloud add-on for ArchiCAD; Timberlake nominated to NIBS board
Autodesk and Gehry Technologies today announced that they will work closely together to support an expanded portfolio of BIM solutions. The agreement includes full service for multiple Autodesk-based BIM products to better meet the needs of many Gehry Technologies consultancy clients.
Trimble update adds Revit, CAD plug-ins for field points
Last week Trimble announced it will soon release new plug-ins for its Point Creator software platform to allow the creation and transfer of field points into the CAD and the Autodesk Revit BIM platforms. Existing users of Autodesk Revit 2012 (Architecture, MEP, and Structures versions) and popular CAD platforms including AutoCAD, AutoCAD MEP, Bricscad, and ZWcad can now operate natively within the Trimble Point Creator application to create 2D and 3D points.
