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 22, 2011

Saskatchewan's $1.24 billion carbon-capture project

The government of Saskatchewan has approved construction of the Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration Project.

Centre for Interactive Research LEED Platinum CIRS

Nov 18, 2011

Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability opens

Designed to exceed LEED Platinum, the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) is one of the most innovative and high performance buildings in North America today, demonstrating leading-edge green building design products, technologies, and systems.

The Victor, Boston, 12-story, 377,000 sf residential tower

Nov 15, 2011

Suffolk Construction breaks ground on the Victor housing development in Boston

Project team to manage construction of $92 million, 377,000 square-foot residential tower.

Nov 14, 2011

303 East 33rd Street building achieves LEED-NC

The 165,000 sf 12-story residential building is the first green development to be LEED certified in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan.

Nov 11, 2011

Streamline Design-build with BIM

How construction manager Barton Malow utilized BIM and design-build to deliver a quick turnaround for Georgia Tech’s new practice facility.

Nov 10, 2011

Grousbeck Center for Students & Technology opens doors

New Perkins School for the Blind Building is dedicated to innovation, interaction, and independence for students.

Nov 10, 2011

Thornton Tomasetti’s Joseph and Choi to co-chair the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’s Outrigger Design Working Group

Design guide will describe in detail the application of outriggers within the lateral load resisting systems of tall buildings, effects on building behavior and recommendations for design.

Nov 9, 2011

Lincoln Center Pavilion wins national architecture and engineering award

The project team members include owner Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York; design architect and interior designer of the restaurant, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, New York; executive architect, FXFOWLE, New York; and architect and interior designer of the film center, Rockwell Group, New York; structural engineer Arup (AISC Member), New York; and general contractor Turner Construction Company (AISC Member), New York.

Oct 27, 2011

ASSA Abloy, MAXXESS Systems announce U.S. Aperio integration

Aperio will integrate with MAXXESS's eAXxess and Efusion Event Management Software packages.

Oct 25, 2011

Ritner Steel CEO elected to AISC Board

Freund will begin serving on the AISC board of directors, assisting with the organization's planning and leadership in the steel construction industry.