Stricter requirements for removing nutrients are driving advances in technology and new projects to refit older wastewater plants. Work crews place rebar for North Las Vegas plant that will be fitted with MBR system. Blue Plains Treatment Plant, outside Washington, D.C., is designing a $935-million upgrade. Related Links: Green Building Innovations Building Smarter: BIM and Beyond Heavy BIM Special Report Building Foundations for Future Organizational Development Sacramento Market Report Construction Firms Need to Prepare for New Mechanic�s Lien Procedures Many municipal wastewater systems built in the 1970s and 1980s are nearing the end of their useful lives, forcing municipalities and

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

It may not appear so from the outside, but inside the five-story concrete shell of the old B.F. Sisk Courthouse in Fresno, a new $70-million ($56 million in construction costs) Superior Courthouse is taking shape. One of the B.F. Sisk courtrooms, as envisioned by SmithGroup. Related Links: Top Design Firms “We are completely transforming the interior of this 1960s federal court building into a modern courthouse,” says David Moore, lead architect for the San Francisco office of SmithGroup Architecture. “It’s a complete gut and renovation.” The 192,000-sq-ft make-over broke ground in July 2008 and is scheduled for completion in late

Lowe Enterprises leads massive, $500-million project that will consolidate, upgrade existing facilities The three-phase project will create nearly 1 million sq ft of office space for San Diego County. The first phase of the project includes a central plant to serve the complex. Related Links: Top Design Firms Central Valley Market Report “We’re looking for something that will be timeless,” says RJC Architects principal James Robbins of the $500-million San Diego County Operations Center, a massive development under way in the county’s Kearny Mesa district. “The center’s existing buildings have been there for close to 50 years. We’re expecting these

Although the number of new projects has declined due to tight financial markets and the recession, several Texas Top Design Firms finished 2008 in good shape and continue working on projects. Photo: AkerZvonkovic Photography Turner Partners designed an addition to the Village High School in Houston. The three-story project consists of 21 classrooms totaling 45,000 sq ft of new facilities. Related Links: Top Design Firms - Wrapup Feature Top Design Firms - Ranking/Chart Top Design Firms - Ranking by Industry Sector Photo: John Lindy Photography Turner Partners performed the site master planning and designed a 1,100-seat sanctuary addition to the