Just prior to the annual Greenbuild conference in Chicago last week, the U.S. Green Building Council reports that this month the total footprint of commercial projects certified via the LEED green building rating system surpassed 1 billion sq ft. The USGBC says another 6 billion sq ft of projects are registered and currently working toward LEED certification around the world. �This traction demonstrates the transformation of the way we design, build and operate buildings,� says Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. �Not only does green building contribute to saving energy, water and money, it also creates green jobs
AGC recently held its annual Fall Conference and Division and State Boards of Directors Meetings in Indian Wells earlier this month, which drew many of the state�s top construction industry leaders who elected the association�s leadership for 2011 and focused on the future goals and direction of AGC. Top leadership of the AGC of California for 2010, elected by the State Board of Directors will include (left to right) AGC of California CEO Tom Holsman; Treasurer Curt Weltz, Flatiron West, Inc., Benicia; Senior Vice President John Nunan, Unger Construction Co., Sacramento; President Gerry DiIoli, Herzog Contracting Corp., Oceanside; Vice President
California Construction Magazine�s Best of California awards ceremonies next month will feature two high-profile design professionals as keynote speakers. Paul Danna, design principal for AECOM�s Western U.S. region and China studios and current president of the American Institute of Architects� Los Angeles chapter, will headline the Long Beach breakfast event on Dec. 1 at the Renaissance Hotel. And John King, the San Francisco Chronicle�s urban design critic, will keynote at the San Francisco breakfast event Dec. 2 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. The statewide competition annually recognizes construction and design excellence in Northern and Southern California. An independent jury of
BCCI reports that its client, The Energy Foundation, received award recognition from the U.S. Green Building Council�s Northern California Chapter won the Outstanding Existing Building Project: Green Team of the Year award. The Energy Foundation is the first project in California to achieve LEED-CI platinum certification. The organization, a partnership of philanthropic investors that promotes clean-energy technologies, sought a newly designed space that reflected its mission, which is to advance energy efficiency and renewable energy with innovative technologies. BCCI teamed with the Foundation and TannerHecht Architecture to complete construction of the Foundation�s headquarters, located at the Bently Reserve building in
Amid construction crews hoisting structural steel beams and a couple of classes of grade-school children anxious to take part in the morning festivities, officials from the Los Angeles Unified School District, general contractor Taisei Construction Corp., architect Dougherty + Dougherty Architects and construction manager Cumming recently held a ceremonial groundbreaking on the construction site of a K-5 elementary school on the city�s densely populated south side. South Region Elementary School No. 10 is one of 131 news schools in a decade-long, multi-billion-dollar capital improvement program that LAUSD is deploying to end involuntary busing and return all schools to a two-semester
A new 1-MW rooftop solar installation on the World Cruise Center at the Port of Los Angeles relied on a self-ballasted racking system to protect aging structures while offsetting increased electrical demands from an Alternative Maritime Power system that lights up docked cruise ships. Of the five bidders vying for the $8.5 million contract in March of 2009, Los Angeles-based Martifer Solar was the apparent low bidder, but didn�t provide a bond in time, so the contract went to the next-lowest bidder, Cupertino Electric, Inc. The port included two requirements in the design-build contract: It had to be a non-penetrating
Rosendin Electric has started work on the new San Bruno Grade Separation project. The $4 million electrical contract is part of a $77.7 million construction contract awarded to Granite Construction to elevate the Caltrain rail tracks at key intersections in San Bruno. Rosendin Electric has been subcontracted to install all the electrical work. The first phase of the project includes supporting �shoofly� temporary tracks to re-route trains during construction, which will require building a temporary station platform during construction and modifying traffic signals in the area, and ultimately installing permanent signal lights. Over the next 12 months Rosendin will be
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and California Prison Health Care Services (CPHCS) recently broke ground on a $906 million, 1,722-bed inmate medical facility in Stockton. The 1.2 million-sq-ft facility will include a central kitchen area, diagnostic and treatment center, warehouse and support areas. Security will include a 13-ft-high lethal electrified fence surrounding the facility and 11, 45-ft-tall guard towers. Sacramento-based URS-Bovis Lend Lease Joint Venture was awarded the construction management consultant contract as part of its ongoing work with CPHCS. Sacramento-based Kitchell CEM was the criteria architect. The RFQ for the $140-million bid package #1, which includes
With Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and local officials in attendance, the YWCA Greater Los Angeles held a topping out last week for its new downtown Job Corps Urban Campus. The seven-story, 154,000-sq-ft, mixed-use Urban Campus will feature a state-of-the-art library, residential units, modernized health facilities, indoor lounges, computer and study rooms, campus-wide green spaces, kitchen, serving and dining facilities, classrooms, amphitheatre and executive offices for the YWCA GLA. PCL Construction Services is the general contractor on the $73 million project while Jenkins/Gales & Martinez is the architect. Redstone Project Management is serving as construction manager. The YWCA GLA Job Corps Urban
While voters in California passed Proposition 25, which allows for a simple majority vote to pass the state budget rather than the two-thirds requirement that has caused lengthy delays in the past (and delayed payments to contractors on public projects), other results from last Tuesday will also have an impact on A/E/C businesses. Voters in San Diego County overwhelmingly approved a ban on project labor agreements at the county government level. Close to 76% of the voters approved Measure A, the Fair-Open Competition amendment to the county's charter. It�s the third win in a row for the local chapter of
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