There is no doubt that the construction industry has been turned upside down during this economic debacle. Bodies have flown out the door in droves. The employee cuts were sometimes made in a coherent manner and at other times the cuts were emotional, reactive decisions to rapidly declining revenues and profits. Related Links: Green Building Innovations Building Smarter: BIM and Beyond Heavy BIM Special Report Sacramento Market Report Construction Firms Need to Prepare for New Mechanic’s Lien Procedures Breathing New Life Into Old Facilities As the smoke clears, some owners and management are sifting through the remains of their organizational
Today’s contractors have become “smart builders” who are using highly sophisticated computer modeling tools to tackle complex projects at biotech and computer labs and other high-tech manufacturing facilities. BIM models allow a design-build team to visualize synergies and conflicts in the various systems. Related Links: Green Building Innovations Heavy BIM Special Report Building Foundations for Future Organizational Development Sacramento Market Report Construction Firms Need to Prepare for New Mechanic’s Lien Procedures Breathing New Life Into Old Facilities Today’s contractors have become “smart builders” who are using highly sophisticated computer modeling tools to tackle complex projects at biotech and computer labs
Green building is here to stay. And despite the recession – and maybe even because of it – the construction industry is focused on improving sustainable design and building and continued innovation when it comes to being green.
A common misperception about BIM is that it�s just for designing and constructing buildings. �People shouldn�t look at the word �building� in BIM as an actual building, but as the verb �to build,�� says Jay Mezher, design visualization manager for Parsons Brinckerhoff in Seattle. �It�s not limited to vertical structures. You can model and analyze as many issues in horizontal projects as you can in buildings.� Interior bay with animated equipment models that simulate operation. Structural model of Meadowlands Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey. Related Links: Green Building Innovations Building Smarter: BIM and Beyond Building Foundations for Future Organizational Development
In its newest report, Transportation Infrastructure: Gearing Up for Change, McGraw-Hill Construction’s Research and Analytics takes a look at the current state of the nation’s transportation infrastructure and its prospects for the future—particularly given the recent investment made with the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Unfortunately, much more needs to be done to build and maintain the transportation infrastructure that is so critical to national competitiveness and American way of life, the report states. However, the substantial allocation for transportation in the ARRA, combined with the rapid obligation of ARRA transportation funding, will yield a strong market in the
Caltrans delayed opening of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge until federal inspectors sign off on the second bridge repair in as many months. Traffic was allowed to cross the span at around 9 a.m. Monday morning. Donec at augue a enim venenatis fringilla. Sed sollicitudin velit nec sapien. Duis libero nulla, sagittis placerat, hendrerit sit amet, mollis non, metus. Praesent mauris ipsum, placerat ut, commodo a, mollis sed, nisl. Aliquam fermentum sem. Ut venenatis purus vitae ante. Donec pellentesque ultricies eros. Quisque quis libero eget nisl dignissim semper. Phasellus sapien lectus, malesuada eget, blandit vel, fermentum quis, turpis. Phasellus facilisis
�Bay Area Burden,� a new report released last week by the Urban Land Institute Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing, finds that the average Bay Area household spends more than $41,000 a year � nearly 60% of their income � on transportation and housing costs alone. These costs vary among the nine Bay Area counties examined, ranging from 54% in Santa Clara to 66% in Sonoma. But the study finds that one-fourth of all households in the Bay Area live in neighborhoods where housing and transportation costs account for 65% or more of income – a level defined as an extreme
The ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing has selected Casa del Maestro in Santa Clara, The Kalahari, Miller Ranch, and South City Lights as winners of this year�s Jack Kemp Workforce Housing Models of Excellence Awards. Casa del Maestro in Santa Clara The awards are given to workforce housing developments that represent outstanding achievements in several areas, including innovative financing, unique construction methodologies, strong public/private partnerships, and replicability to achieve workforce housing affordability. The award winners were announced at the ULI Fall Meeting in San Francisco last week. The Models of Excellence Awards recognize exemplary developments that meet workforce housing
Five outstanding developments � including the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco -- have been selected as winners of the 2009 Urban Land Institute�s Global Awards for Excellence competition, widely recognized as the land use industry�s most prestigious recognition program. San Francisco�s California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park The award winners, representing the world’s best cross-regional models in land use practices, were announced last week in conjunction with the ULI fall meeting in San Francisco. The competition is part of the Institute’s Awards for Excellence program, established in 1979, which is based on ULI’s guiding principle that
Related Links: Construction starts on NOAA laboratory in La Jolla Page & Turnbull, Plant build Walt Disney Family Museum URS to provide planning for Port of Long Beach RJC, Straub to renovate Naval Post Graduate School halls Blach, Hodgetts + Fund Architects complete performing arts center in Menlo Park The U.S. General Services Administration has awarded Clark Construction an $11.6-million contract to construct a new east/west pedestrian bridge at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego County. The contract was awarded to Clark Construction Group-California, LP of Costa Mesa. The project is part of a three-phase project to
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