Related Links: Green Building Information Gateway Energy Star Sustainability leaders are praising a new search engine for green-building data, calling it a crucial tool for making informed design decisions and crafting government policy. The Green Building Information Gateway (gbig.org) aggregates and assesses design and performance data for thousands of buildings worldwide, collected under the popular green-building rating system called LEED. The site is free to users."GBIG organizes and enhances transparency of building-sustainability efforts," says Barry Hooper, green-building program coordinator, San Francisco Dept. of the Environment. "As a transparency tool, GBIG supports effective decisions and competition among real estate owners, enhances
Courtesy of the Living Building Challenge Reporting of building product contents and their impact on health is gaining traction. Related Links: U.S. Green Building Council Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute Thanks to a $3-million grant from Google Inc., the U.S. Green Building Council plans to build a body of scientific evidence around the content of green building products and materials. USGBC says the research will make it easier to have discussions with interested parties, including opponents of the expanded eco-friendly product credits in the proposed update of
Related Links: Forest City Ratner Cos. Skanska USA After nearly a year of negotiations with the union locals and two months of prototyping in the factory, the developer of the $4.9-billion Atlantic Yards sports village in Brooklyn, N.Y., has given the green light for what is planned as the world's tallest modular building, the 322-ft B2 residential tower.The project is also the catalyst for the formation of a modular division within the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, which represents local unions. In a major departure from the norm, the trade council's new division will allow crews
Photo by AP Wideworld Workers deliver new equipment for flooded building systems in lower Manhattan. Downtown New York City went dark during Superstorm Sandy because of a utility substation failure. Related Links: Urban Green Council While debate intensifies over long-term solutions to deal with storm surges in coastal New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the real estate sector is brainstorming for near-term solutions that would make the individual building the last line of defense."It's time to consider stricter requirements for flood-proofing boilers, generators and electrical equipment or [to require] water systems that use sensor-based technology that can work during a
Photo by AP Wideworld Many houses in this Queens, N.Y., neighborhood on the Atlantic Ocean shoreline are built up four feet off the ground. That height didn't protect them from the 8-ft storm surge or the winds. Photo Courtesy of USACE In New Jersey shore communities, structural damage assessments are under way, but few details about the condition of the houses were available at ENR press time. Related Links: Post-Sandy Mobilization Shifts into High Gear Prices for Windstorm Coverage May Not Be Changed New York Ponders Plan For Next Storm With NYC Tower Crane Secure, Plan Shifts To Recovery NJ
Related Links: McLaren Engineering Group Langan Engineering and Environmental Services Engineers and contractors deployed all over the metropolitan New York City area in Sandy-related tasks.McLaren Engineering has 25 engineers working with the New York City Dept. of Buildings assessing damage to the thousands of structures on Staten Island, the New York City borough where 14 deaths were attributed to hurricane Sandy.“We are applying Applied Technology Council ATC 45 procedures for assessment, providing red, yellow or green cards on each building inspected,” says Malcolm G. McLaren, CEO of the West Nyack, N.Y.-based engineer.Red means a building is unsafe to re-occupy; yellow
Related Links: Sidebar: At 49ers Stadium, Buckling-Restrained Braces Are a Big Plus Cities Stuggle with Sports Villages, But Keep Building Sports Construction Vets Cry Foul on Owners' Reps New Santa Clara Stadium http://pm-alliance.com For five uneasy years, the team responsible for building the San Francisco 49ers' $1-billion new home had hung together through three work hiatuses, a recession and a regrouping caused by a site relocation 45 miles to the south—from San Francisco's Candlestick Point to Silicon Valley's Santa Clara. Then, early last fall, things changed. Suddenly, the snail's pace became a race.Based on an early opportunity to secure financing,
Photo Courtesy of Turner/Devcon, Joint Venture. A BRB lateral system weighs significantly less than an equivalent concrete shear-wall system. Related Links: 49ers Use Collaborative Delivery 'Special Teams' To Speed Stadium Construction Cities Stuggle with Sports Villages, But Keep Building Sports Construction Vets Cry Foul on Owners' Reps MCEER Report on Buckling Restrained Braces During both the conceptual and schematic design phases for the San Francisco 49ers' stadium, the structural engineer developed a matrix of 66 structural-system scenarios. Then, the design and construction team evaluated each for schedule and cost. The team ultimately selected a steel frame, with composite metal decking
Related Links: N.Y.C. Greener Greater Building Plan Green-building boosters are lauding the disclosure last month of private-sector building energy-use data for nearly 1.8 billion sq ft of space in New York City. The data, collected as part of the city's "Greener, Greater Buildings Plan," is seen as a positive step toward energy conservation.The report is an eye-opener, especially for small and midsize building owners, says Kevin Hamilton, CEO of NuEnergen, a White Plains, N.Y., energy consultant. "They can see in black and white what they are consuming and … they can start to think about what to do to conserve,"