Can BIM Enable Successful Green Retrofits of Existing Buildings?
A graphic shows the “digital glue” toward net-zero. By Shivani S. Soni and Geoffrey A. Tears BIM! Sustainability! Net-zero! Lifecycle Carbon! Green Retrofit! All previously thought to just be buzzwords, these terms are gaining more traction in the AECO industry as it starts to update older buildings and build more-efficient ones. In 2008, the UK passed “The Climate Change Act” establishing emission-reduction goals that now are law. The UK is the first nation to set a binding mit...
Change Leader: Better Designs Improve Inspections; Better Inspections Improve Designs
This particular interview was recorded by Todd Danielson, the editorial director of Informed Infrastructure. You can watch a video of the full interview above or by visiting bit.ly/3N77jmG. Nagesh Goel is the president and co-founder of Atlas Evaluation & Inspection Services (AEIS). It’s commonly understood that infrastructure elements are regularly inspected by experts—failed inspections lead to unwanted costs and notoriety. Less understood is who performs such inspect...
Infrastructure Outlook: Mind the Gap, Your Drinking Water Depends on It
Fifty years after the Clean Water Act passed, the U.S. government has invested more than $1 trillion to try and combat water pollution. Now, nearly one year after passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, improvements in U.S. water systems are as needed as ever. Approximately 95 million people still aren’t connected to a centralized treatment system, and 2.2 million people live without running water and indoor plumbing in their homes. These homes typically are clustered in rural or disadvant...
Transportation Troubleshooting: Mobility Marketplace Will Improve How We Use Transportation Systems
Transportation technology is changing so fast that it’s easy to forget how our choices have multiplied in the last 15 years. As recently as the mid-2000s, many of the services we take for granted today did not exist. These include ride-hailing services; city bike-share programs; dockless e-scooters; and smartphone apps to book, pay for and obtain real-time status updates for buses and light rail. In that time frame, advanced technology in passenger vehicles has evolved from primitive GPS navi...
Thoughts From Engineers: Where the Water Will Go
The local waterfront pub you’ve been in the habit of visiting for burgers and fries on Friday night is very likely to be flooded several times a year by the year 2050. Moreover, if past development patterns are anything to go by, this historic eatery probably will be in the same risky spot 10 years from now, albeit flood-weary and on shaky financial ground. Part of a long-lived and much-loved community—complete with housing, school and commercial districts—it has hung on for years despite a floo...
Executive Corner: Where Are A/E Values Heading?
With so much turmoil in the economy and stock market, many A/E business owners are probably wondering what this may mean for their own firm’s value. Interestingly, while the stock and debt markets are going through turmoil, many firms in the A/E industry—both publicly traded and privately held—continue making acquisitions, demonstrating revenue and backlog growth, and seeking to hire more employees. Furthermore, the future pipeline of projects from federal, state and local government agencies...
ReEngineering the Engineer: At Some Point, You Could Be the One Asking For Forgiveness
Every now and then, I run across a project that seems “snake-bit.” No matter how complete our drawings were or how well we understood existing conditions, there seems to be this never-ending parade of issues for the life of the structural work. Some are unknown conditions that become known, some are contractor inflicted, and sometimes they’re design-team inflicted. It can make for a long construction admin phase. This fall, a three-story tilt-up school has been my problem project. The trouble...
From the Editor: When the Going Gets Tough, the Engineers Get To Work
I was having a difficult time narrowing down a topic for my column this issue; there seem to be so many things happening at the same time. So rather than struggle with one topic (and adding words to fill the page), I decided to mention of few of the “many things” that have crossed my mind, perhaps sparking some discussions. Climate and Student Concerns Looking through the last few issues of Informed Infrastructure, there were at least a dozen articles or columns that mentioned climate chan...
Michigan DOT To Develop Electrified Road
An electric bus and truck are being charged on an electrified road in Sweden as part of the Smartroad Gotland Project, which aims to build knowledge and create possibilities for a large-scale development of electric roads throughout the country. A consortium of companies has been selected to build the first wireless in-road charging system in the United States. The transportation sector generates the largest share of carbon dioxide emissions in the United State...
Under Pressure: As Water Main Breaks Cause Havoc, A New Approach Is Welcome
In New England, winter is followed by “mud season.” In California, the drier months are “wildfire season.” For water utilities, the coming of fall means it’s “water main break season.” Unfortunately, this season often seems to last all year. According to the American Water Works Association (AWWA), there are about 240,000 water main breaks in the United States every year. On the whole, the nation’s 1 million miles of water mains are successful in delivering a safe, reliable water supply to ho...
Video: Crashes Drop Measurably After Rural Road Safety Improvement Project on US 521 in Lancaster County
AdventHealth Weaverville Hospital
June Issue 2026
.jpg?width=225)