Stantec illustrates the benefits of prefab multi-trade racking.

Contractors expect to spend more time on prefabrication, according to FMI study

Get ready for a surge in prefabrication activity by contractors. FMI, the consulting and investment banking firm, recently polled contractors about how much time they were spending, in craft labor hours, on prefabrication for construction projects. More than 250 contractors participated in the survey, and the average response to that question was 18%. More revealing, however, was the participants’ anticipation that craft hours dedicated to prefab would essentially double, to 34%, within the next five years.

MFPRO+ New Projects

Two San Francisco multifamily high rises install onsite water recycling systems

Two high-rise apartment buildings in San Francisco have installed onsite water recycling systems that will reuse a total of 3.9 million gallons of wastewater annually. The recycled water will be used for toilet flushing, cooling towers, and landscape irrigation to significantly reduce water usage in both buildings.

HVAC

Department of Energy unveils resources for deploying heat pumps in commercial buildings

To accelerate adoption of heat pump technology in commercial buildings, the U.S. Department of Energy is offering resources and guidance for stakeholders. DOE aims to help commercial building owners and operators reduce greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs by increasing the adoption of existing and emerging heat pump technologies.

Building Tech

In a world first, load-bearing concrete walls built with a 3D printer

A Germany-based construction engineering company says it has constructed the world’s first load-bearing concrete walls built with a 3D printer. Züblin built a new warehouse from a single 3D print for Strabag Baumaschinentechnik International in Stuttgart, Germany using a Putzmeister 3D printer.

Nov 26, 2013

Construction costs rise for 22nd straight month in November

Construction costs in North America rose for the 22nd consecutive month in November as labor costs continued to increase, amid growing industry concern over the tight availability of skilled workers.

Nov 19, 2013

Top 10 green building products for 2014

Assa Abloy's power-over-ethernet access-control locks and Schüco's retrofit façade system are among the products to make BuildingGreen Inc.'s annual Top-10 Green Building Products list.

The Bridge Building on the Cumberland River in Nashville was recently transforme

Nov 15, 2013

Greenbuild 2013 Report - BD+C Exclusive

The BD+C editorial team brings you this special report on the latest green building trends across nine key market sectors.

Gene Bell | Nov 15, 2013

Metal makes its mark on interior spaces

Beyond its long-standing role as a preferred material for a building’s structure and roof, metal is making its mark on interior spaces as well.

Nov 14, 2013

Behind the build: BD+C's 'Pedia-Pod' modular pediatric patient unit at Greenbuild 2013 [slideshow]

Next week at Greenbuild, BD+C will unveil its demonstration pediatric patient unit, called Pedia-Pod. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at the construction of this unique modular structure.

Nov 13, 2013

Installed capacity of geothermal heat pumps to grow by 150% by 2020, says study

The worldwide installed capacity of GHP systems will reach 127.4 gigawatts-thermal over the next seven years, growth of nearly 150%, according to a recent report from Navigant Research.

Rob Cassidy | Nov 11, 2013

The story behind 'Pedia-Pod,' BD+C's modular pediatric patient unit at Greenbuild

In the November issue of BD+C, you'll see our report on "Pedia-Pod," the modular pediatric patient unit we've helped design, outfit, and build at Greenbuild. Here's how it was developed.

As part of its IntelliCommand building operations management service, Jones Lang

Nov 8, 2013

Can Big Data help building owners slash op-ex budgets?

Real estate services giant Jones Lang LaSalle set out to answer these questions when it partnered with Pacific Controls to develop

IntelliCommand, a 24/7 real-time remote monitoring and control service for its commercial real estate owner clients.

The 8,500-sf Jackson Sustainable Winery Building at the University of California

Nov 8, 2013

S+T buildings embrace 'no excuses' approach to green labs

Some science-design experts once believed high levels of sustainability would be possible only for low-intensity labs in temperate zones. But recent projects prove otherwise.

Nov 8, 2013

Walkable solar pavement debuts at George Washington University

George Washington University worked with supplier Onyx Solar to design and install 100 sf of walkable solar pavement at its Virginia Science and Technology Campus in Ashburn, Va.