Trending Headlines
First this, from 8/23/12: Green regulations may mean ruinous higher fines against surety bonds for contractors Then this, from 8/27/12: Viewpoint: Keep Your Guard Up Against Green Project Risks
View ArticleStanding Dead
In the western US and Canada there are billions of standing dead pine trees as a result of the mountain pine beetle epidemic. Industrialists have thus far not found too many uses for beetle kill pine...
View ArticleEmerging Trend?
When the Durst Organization built the country’s first green skyscraper at 4 Times Square, it kicked off more than a decade of trendy green building in the city. Now the developer is abandoning a...
View ArticleGlad It’s Not My Money
In Pittsburgh: The goal for the Tower at PNC Plaza was to design “a building that would breathe,” says Hao Ko, design director for Gensler. The high-rise’s steel structure is wrapped in a glazed double...
View ArticleGoing in the Wrong Direction
Gotta love performance disclosures: According to the data, most newer buildings use more energy than older ones. This follows and is timely given my previous post: Russell Unger, executive director of...
View ArticleThe Case for Simplicity
I was impressed by Henry Gifford’s presentation at the BSC Summer Camp this past summer (yes, the Henry Gifford who sued the USGBC). In it he lays out simple strategies for ensuring happy occupants...
View ArticleSupply Side Update
Forecast: The United States will overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s leading oil producer by about 2017 and will become a net oil exporter by 2030, the International Energy Agency said Monday. Of...
View ArticleRehabilitation: Residential Towers
Good work being done in Toronto: When complete, Prof. Kesik estimates the combined annual $330,000 natural gas bill will decrease by 40 to 50 per cent. Better yet, the 40-year-old buildings’ lives will...
View ArticleOnly in Texas
This really shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it did: MainStreet America, a multi-million dollar home shopping venue set on a 14-acre site, will open Nov. 24 in Houston.
View ArticleUpdate from the Crazy Headline “Rapid Building” Dept.
I posted a while back on this rapid building project. Here is another: In just 48 hours, workers assembled the prefabricated structural-steel subassemblies and other components—without any interior...
View ArticleNYC Disclosure Update
From the NYT: In courting tenants over the last six years, 7 World Trade Center has trumpeted its gold LEED rating, an emblem of sound environmental citizenship. But when it comes to energy efficiency,...
View ArticleBig Questions
Hypotheses that Matthew Kahn is working: Idea #1: Building quality and energy consumption are complements and new buildings are consuming more energy over time. This contrasts with the case of...
View ArticleFalling Down As Things are Picking Up
From ENR: During much of the recovery margins will remain low because aggressive bidding continues until the appetite of construction organizations has been satisfied. The research also confirms that...
View ArticleSystemic Impacts of High Performance Homes
I hear a lot people saying things like, “banks should offer lower rates on higher performance homes because they are reduce credit risk due to higher value and lower operating cost” or “high...
View ArticleWow.
From Free Exchange: JUST inland of Macau and Hong Kong, the Pearl River delta explodes into a sprawling mass of urbanity that includes some of China’s largest and most productive cities. The Chinese...
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