With growing interest in sustainability, greater numbers of people are recognizing the benefits of becoming a LEED AP certification, with 132,052 individuals having achieved the rank at the end of June, up from 77,689 at the end of 2008. Image: FXFOWLE EPSTEIN An aerial view of the green roof planned for the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. “Within the design profession, if you cannot do a LEED building, you will lose out,” says Bruce Fowle, senior partner with FXFOWLE in New York. “We get requests for proposals asking about the number of LEED accredited professionals we have.
Changes in LEED version 3 also known as LEED 2009, are focusing project teams on strategies to save energy and water, reduce CO2 emissions and address issues impacting their region. Related Links: LEED Online Professional Accreditation In prior versions, credits were all created equal. DEANE “Measurement and verification of your mechanical system was given the same weight as a bicycle rack,” says Michael Deane, vice president and chief sustainability officer at New York-based Turner Construction. Critics charged that weighing credits equally did not properly emphasize energy consumption and climate change impacts. Others complained LEED did not account for regional differences
New starts are off, but many owners ready to move forward are still seeking greener structures. “Sustainable design is more important than ever, and the recession validates it is not about initial costs; it’s about operating cost,” says Rick Bell, executive director of AIA New York. Photo credit Ramapo College of New Jersey Ramapo College of New Jersey installed a geothermal system on its new Spiritual Center. Related Links: Top Green Design Firms Bill Amann, board chairman of U.S. Green Building Council New Jersey, president of M&E Engineers in Somerville, N.J., and chairman of the Somerset County Energy Council, says
On May 29, using words like “historic” and “groundbreaking,” New York City’s Construction Industry Partnership between union labor and contractors announced a project labor agreement both sides said would breathe life into an industry that had begun to circle the drain. Photo: Michael Falco Lou Colletti (far left) and Gary LaBarbera (far right) on the site of Tower 111, one of the first jobs that began after the passage of the project labor agreement. Since September 2008, the construction industry - already nursing a hangover from the city’s six-year development boom - had been bleeding jobs. After the collapse of
A grand jury last week indicted New York City’s carpenters union chief and nine other members and contractors following a sweeping investigation that resulted in allegations of fraud, racketeering and accepting bribes.
Before You Can Say, “Let there be light,” you first have to say, “Let there be concrete and steel.” At least that is the way the process works with some of the scientific research at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., where $150 million of stimulus funding is speeding up parts of a big new research laboratory. Upton, N.Y. Photo: Brookhaven National Laboratory Ring-shaped Lab in Upton, N.Y., used stimulus money to speed contractors held back by annual funding cycles, and parts, but not all, of the project have been moved up for earlier completion. Related Links: NJ: New
New Jersey Dept. of Transportation recently leveraged $70 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to proceed with the second phase of a major replacement project on the Route 52 causeway near Atlantic City, improving a key link to the southern Jersey shore. Traffic volume tops 40,000 vehicles daily in summer, NJDOT says. Ocean City, N.J. Photo: NJDOT Causeway bridges are being replaced to handle heavy shore traffic. Related Links: NY: Brookhaven National Laboratory Gives Green Light to New Light Lab�s Contractor CT: School Uses New Solar Technology Agency spokesman Tim Greeley says the $251-million project will create 500
Glenville elementary school in Greenwich, Conn., had been living for almost 30 years with a noisy open-plan design and a lack of natural light and fresh air, problems that put it high on the school board’s list for renovation. Greenwich, Conn. Photo: Turner Construction Elementary school solar plan was brought back to life with energy retrofit funds from ARA. Related Links: NY: Brookhaven National Laboratory Gives Green Light to New Light Lab�s Contractor NJ: New Jersey Shore Road and Bridge Project Will Create 500 Stimulus Jobs Photo: Courtesy of Solyndra Cylindrical shape of solar array allows light from any direction
Construction crews on the massive One World Trade Center site Wednesday reached a milestone by placing the largest steel column to date for the $3.1 billion tower in Lower Manhattan. Photo: Tishman Construction Work on One World Trade center reached a key juncture recently as the massive tower’s perimeter columns were placed around the core. The 24 beams measure 60 ft tall and weigh 70 tons. Related Links: 10 Indicted in Carpenter’s Union Corruption Investigation Brooklyn’s Tallest Building Tops Out NYC Snags $1.5 Billion in Stimulus Funds for Transportation Buildings Dept. Announces New Development Challenge Process Auxiliary Lane to be
BellTel Lofts Gets Landmark Status at Ceremony October 2009 Also, Connecticut Building Congress holds annual awards ceremony. The New York Landmarks Preservation Commission recently held a dedication ceremony to mark BellTel Lofts located at 365 Bridge Street, as a city landmark. Pictured from left are: Ilan Bracha of Bracha Group, Prudential Douglas Elliman, David Bistricer of Clipper Equity, Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz and JJ Bistricer of Clipper Equity. (Photo courtesy of Rubenstein PR.) The Pike Company recently took home a top award for its Sports and Medical Sciences Academy Project at the 2009 Connecticut Building Congress Project Team Awards. (L-R)