Guide on electrifying space heating for large commercial buildings with boilers released

The U.S. Department of Energy has released a guide on electrifying space heating for large commercial buildings with boilers. The guide summarizes key considerations for people seeking to retrofit existing large commercial and multifamily buildings, particularly those that currently heat spaces using fossil fuel-fired boilers.

Codes and Standards

Specification for field testing newly installed storefronts, curtain walls, sloped glazing systems updated

The Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) updated a specification establishing requirements for field testing newly installed storefronts, curtain walls, and sloped glazing systems.

Mass Timber

Portland's Timberview VIII mass timber multifamily development will offer more than 100 affordable units

An eight-story, 72,000-sf mass timber apartment building in Portland, Ore., topped out this winter and will soon offer over 100 affordable units. The structure is the tallest affordable housing mass timber building and the first Type IV-C affordable housing building in the city.

Products and Materials

Top building products for April 2024

BD+C Editors break down April's top 15 building products, from CLiC On-demand Privacy Glass to NovaCore Thermal Insulated Sheathing.

Aug 11, 2010

Average annual pay increases at A/E/P firms continue to rise in 2010

Despite the economic challenges that many architecture, engineering, planning(A/E/P) & environmental consulting firms have faced in recent years, a large majority of firms continue to include pay increases for their staff in their annual budgets, according to a new report released by ZweigWhite. According to ZweigWhite's 2010 Policies, Procedures, and Benefits Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning & Environmental Consulting Firms, the average pay increase that A/E/P firms project that they will provide in 2010 has increased from 2009. ZweigWhite, March 2

Aug 11, 2010

Georgia Tech requires LEED Gold for all new buildings and renovations

The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta is currently updating its facilities design standards to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold as set by the U.S. Green Building Council. Energy Ace, Inc., an Atlanta-based sustainability consulting firm is assisting Georgia Tech in preparing the Standards upgrade.

Aug 11, 2010

ASHRAE Receives NIST Grant to Study IAQ in Retail Stores

The American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has been awarded $1.5 million dollars in grant money from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to conduct a three-year research project on ventilation and indoor air quality in retail stores.

Aug 11, 2010

UC Merced researchers receive $568,000 grant to develop solar sensing, tracking system 

Alberto Cerpa, an engineering professor at the University of California Merced, has received a $568,202 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a system that will measure and track the amount of sunlight that reaches ground level where photovoltaic panels and solar concentrators used in solar energy systems collect light and heat to turn into electricity.

Aug 11, 2010

Only four out of 337 cities added construction jobs in 2009

Construction employment grew in only four out of 337 metropolitan areas in 2009 as spending on construction projects dropped by $100 billion in December to a six-year low of $903 billion, according to a new analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of federal figures released recently.

Aug 11, 2010

Mark McCracken named chair-elect of USGBC Board of Directors

Mark MacCracken, CEO of CALMAC, Inc., a producer of cold storage energy solutions, has been selected as Chair-elect of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Board of Directors for the 2010 calendar year. The USGBC Board of Directors is responsible for articulating and upholding the vision, values and mission of USGBC. In 2009, MacCracken was elected to serve a second 3-year term as Director in the Energy Services Seat.

Aug 11, 2010

ULI: 'Old Normal' will not be a part of the housing recovery

As the U.S. economy recovers, emerging trends in demographics and consumer behavior will become major drivers of new housing opportunities, resulting in a residential market vastly different from the one that existed prior to the recession, according to Housing in America: The Next Decade, a new research paper authored by John K. McIlwain, senior resident fellow, Urban Land Institute/J. Ronald Terwilliger Chair for Housing.

Aug 11, 2010

Blue ribbon panel unveils recommendations for NYC's green building codes

In response to City's request, the task force unveils more than 100 recommendations for greening NYC buildings, in most sophisticated analysis ever conducted by a municipality

Aug 11, 2010

Zero Energy Buildings + Homes' Call for Editorial Contributions & Contributors

BD+C will publish its 8th Annual White Paper on Green Buildings, "Zero Energy Buildings + Homes," in November-and you can contribute to it. We're looking for highly qualified experts (or teams of experts) to write individual chapters (about 2,000-3,000 words). We've started the outline here, but we'd like your suggestions about additional chapters. What did we miss? Help us shape this important report.

Aug 11, 2010

Billings increase less than a point in December, still in negative territory

The American Institute of Architects reported the December Architecture Billings Index rating was 43.4, up slightly from 42.8 in November. The score indicates a continued decline in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker said the inability to get financing is still the main roadblock to recovery.