A Cool-Looking Chiller: New Core Infrastructure at UMass Amherst Is Sustainable, Educational and Beautiful
The northwest corner of the chiller plant shows rhythmical façade patterns in channel glass and metal panels above ground level. Oxford’s “dreaming spires” (subject of the famous poem), Harvard’s Widener Library (home to one of the world’s few perfect Gutenberg Bibles), the University of Michigan’s 102-year-old Michigan Union, and Bard College’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts (a $62 million, acoustically tuned and geothermally heated Frank Gehry masterpiece); for several centu...
How Steel Deck Is Shaking Up Cold-Formed Steel Framing Design
All too often, we get stuck in the mindset that the way we currently do things is the way we must continue to do them. An example that hits close to home is the way steel deck is underutilized by designers in the low- and mid-rise construction market. Current practice favors the use of plywood or oriented strand board (OSB) sheathing on cold-formed steel (CFS) floor and roof trusses, because that’s how things have been done for years. But why not shake things up and consider using steel dec...
Engineered Solutions: Sustainability in Practice
Sponsored by: What the United States Can Learn From the Dutch In many countries worldwide, infrastructure is a critical topic, and the United States is no exception. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) scrutinizes U.S. infrastructure every two years, and we’ve consistently been given an almost-failing grade. Most recently, the 2017 report card gave the overall condition of the nation’s infrastructure a “D+.” Based on data reported by the ASCE, more than 200,000 bridge...
Global Spending in Construction to Reach $17.5 Trillion by 2030, Finds Frost & Sullivan
Santa Clara, Calif. – December 9, 2019 – The construction industry is in the middle of a transition toward new business models that are technology- and data-driven, better collaboration between stakeholders, and higher productivity. The increasingly aging workforce and digitization are prompting greater investments in workforce management and digital solutions. By 2030, global spending in construction is expected to touch $17.5 trillion, with China, the US, and India leading the way and accounti...
Rice University Launches Bold Climate Change Initiative with Shell
Rice University has launched Carbon Hub, a climate change research initiative to fundamentally change how the world uses hydrocarbons. Carbon Hub's goal is a zero-emissions future in which hydrocarbons are not burned. Instead, they are split to make clean hydrogen energy and valuable carbon materials. (Photo by Tommy LaVergne/Rice University) HOUSTON – (Dec. 9, 2019) – Rice University has launched Carbon Hub, a major research initiative to create a zero-emissions future in which oil and n...
AASHTO Applauds Congress for Saving Billions for Transportation
WASHINGTON – The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials thanked Congress and the President for their bipartisan support for eliminating the $7.6 billion rescission of Highway Trust Fund contract authority, originally set to occur July 1, 2020. “On behalf of the 50 state departments of transportation, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, that unanimously supported rolling back this rescission, I extend our thanks to the leadership in the House and Se...
Brick Sewer Rehabilitation in the Nation’s Capital
The Washington, D.C., sewer system (managed by DC Water) is a mix of pipe systems that includes large-diameter brick structures. Following an alert from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), DC Water’s engineering group carried out a pipe entry inspection to verify the integrity of a 72-inch-diameter brick sewer on the F Street NW block between 12th and 11th streets. A 72-inch brick sewer required rehabilitation in downtown Washington, D.C. Repair of the brick sewer wa...
Autodesk Ushers in New Era of Connected Construction with Autodesk Construction Cloud
Las Vegas, Autodesk University – November 18, 2019 – Today at Connect & Construct Summit, Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) unveiled Autodesk Construction Cloud™, which combines advanced technology, a unique builders network and predictive insights to connect people and data across the entire building lifecycle, from design through operations. At the center of Autodesk Construction Cloud are best-of-breed construction solutions Assemble, BuildingConnected, BIM 360 and PlanGrid. Autodesk Construct...
Thornton Tomasetti Shares Results of Comprehensive Embodied Carbon Measurement Study
Co-Initiator of 2050 Structural Engineers Challenge Urges Peers to Contribute Data, Commit to Creating More Efficient Structures to Mitigate Climate Change (New York) - Thornton Tomasetti, the international engineering firm, has released results from its multi-year, project-based embodied carbon measurement study, identifying the type of structures, materials and components with the highest carbon emissions. The findings provide insight into how structural engineers can drive innovation...
LEED Reaches New Milestone, Surpasses 100,000 Commercial Green Building Projects
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is celebrating a new LEED milestone, announcing it has surpassed 100,000 registered and certified LEED commercial projects. “In 1998, we created LEED to measure and define what green building meant, and to provide a roadmap for developing sustainable buildings,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, USGBC. “Today millions of us are living, working and learning in LEED-certified buildings around the world. These spaces are using le...
Video: New Roundabout Under Construction at McIver and Old Florence Roads in Darlington County
Promenade at The Point
June Issue 2026
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