2019

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The University of Chicago Harris School at the Keller Center

BD+C

Extreme sustainability was the chief goal for the reconstruction of Edward Durrell Stone’s Kellogg Center for Continuing Education at the University of Chicago. Mortenson (CM) and Farr Associates (architect) put Stone’s New Formalism structure, built in 1963, on track to be the healthiest building in the Chicago area—the first LEED Platinum on the Maroons’ campus, and only the third project in the city to seek Petal certification (materials, equity, beauty) from the Living Building Challenge.

Education 119
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Don’t Let the Internet Design Your Project

Life of an Architect

Despite knowing it was coming for me, I decided to post one of my recent sketches to Instagram and Facebook … and I was murdered. For 95% of those folks doing the murdering, their intentions were honest and well intended. For the other 5%, … I won’t say what I want to say. For those of you who don’t participate follow me on Instagram or Facebook , I’ll give you a little taste of what I mean – but I’m going to use a slightly different example so that we c

Sketching 108
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Architect Marketing: 5 Building Blocks For Firm Growth

Archmark

How to make marketing work for your architecture firm. No matter how good an architect you are, or how talented your team is, you need a strategic approach to marketing in order to succeed. Recently, we asked Richard Marshall, Principal with Perkins+Will , about the importance of marketing for small firms, “The best organizations view marketing as just as important a skill set as design.

Firms 95
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41 Comforting Interiors That Are Pretty in Plywood

Dwell

There’s something soothing about a room wrapped in wood grain. Affordable, lightweight, and versatile, plywood has become a favorite choice of designers looking to bring warmth and personality to a space without breaking the budget. From cost-effective backyard office projects to elegant modern homes, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite examples of plywood interiors from around the world.

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Architectural Visualization Trends and the Rise of AI

A new industry study conducted by Architizer on behalf of Chaos Enscape surveyed 2,139 design professionals to understand the state of architectural visualization and what to expect in the near future. We asked: How are visualizations produced in your firm? What impact does real-time rendering have? What approach are you taking toward the rise of AI?

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The University of Arkansas is now home to America’s largest mass timber building

BD+C

Adohi Hall, a $79-million, 202,027-sf residence hall at the University of Arkansas, has recently become the largest mass timber building in the United States. Named for the Cherokee word for “woods,” the 708-bed facility is located on a four-acre site at the southern end of the campus and will provide a new university gateway that marks the start of the larger living learning district.

Building 116

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Culdesac Tempe will be the country’s first from-scratch, car-free neighborhood

BD+C

Culdesac, a developer that specializes in building car-free neighborhoods from scratch, operates with a key insight in mind: the way we move defines the way we live. And because how we move is changing, thanks to things like ridesharing, the way we live should change as well.

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Free Generative Design – A brief overview of tools created by the Grasshopper community

BD+C

It is no secret that we’ve been critical of the recent framing of “generative design” as a technological trend largely driven by product marketing. We’ve instigated lively Twitter debates, a full-length podcast discussion, and critical positioning papers.

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Top 10 green buildings for 2019

BD+C

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) this week named the 2019 recipients for its highest honor, the COTE Top Ten Awards. . COTE bestows the award annually on 10 design projects that have expertly integrated design excellence with cutting-edge performance in several key areas.

Building 111
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Multifamily real estate trends for 2019 and beyond

BD+C

The ways that architects, developers, and operators design projects, attract tenants, manage costs, and measure success are each flexing as cities change and generations make big shifts in living habits.

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From Plan to Reality: Unlocking the Power of Aerial Imagery for AEC

Aerial imagery has emerged as a necessary tool for architecture, engineering, and construction firms seeking to improve pre-construction site analysis, make more informed planning decisions, and ensure all stakeholders have access to an accurate visualization of the site to keep the project moving forward. Download our guide and take a deeper look at how aerial imagery can be leveraged to drive project efficiency by reducing unnecessary site visits and providing the accurate details required to

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Denmark to build nine industrial, energy-producing islands surrounded by a ‘nature belt’

BD+C

URBAN POWER, an architecture firm based in Denmark, has recently unveiled a plan to build nine islands that will be used for fossil-free energy production, act as a flood barrier, and add a publicly accessible nature area.

Nature 111
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Let there be light: Union Station Great Hall

BD+C

Originally completed in 1925, Chicago’s Union Station was designated a landmark in 2002 and listed by AIA Illinois as one of the 200 Illinois Great Places. The restoration of the station’s Great Hall sought to maximize the reuse of existing materials and infrastructure, preserve the historic integrity of prior generations, and significantly reduce its energy use.

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The epic rise of industrialized construction

BD+C

The construction industry is facing colliding forces that render our current trajectory wasteful, inefficient, and unsustainable. These include a widespread skilled labor shortage and industry productivity rates that continually fail to improve. This is the burning platform that this relatively undisrupted $8+ trillion global industry rests upon. Multiple things need to change, but there are clearly obvious wins to go after.

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Prefab factory in the sky: Mace Group built working factories on top of under-construction skyscrapers

BD+C

Mace Group is London’s largest contractor, and has been associated with some of that city’s signature projects, including its 95-story skyscraper The Shard; the 443-foot-high cantilevered observation wheel known as London Eye; and Heathrow Terminal 5, which at nearly four million sf on 640 acres is the largest freestanding structure in the United Kingdom.

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7 Ways Real-Time Visualization Can Solve Architectural Challenges

In the dynamic world of architecture, design, and construction, creative problem-solving is crucial for success. Traditional methods often fall short in effectively conveying design intent to clients. Real-time visualization empowers you with a solid decision-making tool that smooths the design process. Discover the power of real-time visualization: Effective Communication Convey your vision clearly and align with clients.

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Construction spending is projected to increase by more than 11% through 2022

BD+C

The office, education, amusement and recreation, manufacturing, and transportation sectors are expected to be the impetus behind a projected 3% increase in spending on engineering and construction in the United States, according to the recently released 2019 FMI Overview , which features the management consulting and investment banking firm’s predictions, through 2022, for residential and nonresidential building and nonbuilding structure construction put in place, both nationally and across nine

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Smart buildings take hold: 8 ways smart tech is transforming commercial buildings

BD+C

Buoyed by a surge of high-tech innovations and several years of robust U.S. construction markets, AEC teams are working on ideas for “smart buildings.” Since the mid-1980s, a new generation of products, technologies, and analytical tools has transformed the building landscape. The benefits of “smart” technologies and operations for design, construction, and ownership/operations are now inescapable.

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BI(m): BIM data without models

BD+C

Over the last several years, owners have begun to grasp that BIM can deliver more than just 3D models and better trade coordination. As a result, many organizations now require BIM data deliverables intended for downstream operations, and have developed transfer standards for embedding data in models during design. The vision is that owners can then use these data-rich models to retrieve that information at a future date for day-to-day tasks, like work order management and equipment maintenance.

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AIA awards six projects with the 2019 AIA/ALA Library Building Award

BD+C

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Library Association will award six libraries with the 2019 AIA/ALA Library Building Awards for excellence in architectural design. You will find each project and a brief description from the AIA below. For more information, click the project name or image. .

Project 108
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Concrete Waterproofing: The Next Step to a More Resilient Design

Don’t let water wash away all your hard work. When specifying concrete waterproofing, you need a solution that’s reliable and permanent. Without it, your concrete waterproofing is at risk of failing and letting water erode and corrode the concrete that it was supposed to protect. Reduce the risk of waterproofing failure by reading through our latest free specification e-book, which will take you through the four key components to better concrete waterproofing specification.

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Paris will soon be home to the world’s largest rooftop farm

BD+C

Located on the roof of Pavillion 6 of the Parc des Expositions Viparis porte de Versailles, an exposition center currently under reconstruction, the farm will use aeroponics to grow over 30 different fruit and vegetable species. This technique that requires no soil and arranges the plants vertically above ground in columns that are fed by rain water and biological nutrients.

Technique 108
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A new museum debuts inside the Empire State Building

BD+C

This morning, a $165 million, 10,000-sf museum opened on the second floor of the Empire State Building in New York City, completing the second of a four-phase “reimagining” of that building’s Observatory experience, which draws four million visitors annually.

Building 108
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2019 Sports Facilities Sector Giants Report: These ain’t your grandpa’s sports stadiums

BD+C

Once upon a time, going to a sporting event meant heading to the stadium and taking a seat on a hard wooden or metal bench to enjoy nine innings, four quarters, or 48 minutes of action.

Events 101
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Tall mass timber code changes receive final approval

BD+C

The International Code Council (ICC) has approved all 14 of the tall mass timber code change proposals. The proposals create three new types of construction (Types IV-A, IV-B and IV-C), which set fire safety requirements, and allowable heights, areas, and number of stories for tall mass timber buildings. The new provisions will be included in the 2021 International Building Code (IBC).

Safety 108
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Sustainable Architecture: Design Green with the Client in Mind

Speaker: Pedro Clarke – Principal Architect at A+ Architecture, In Loco Program Director

Sustainability begins with a conversation, and acquiring customer buy-in is entirely dependent on how the conversation is framed. Clients may not see sustainability as a priority out of fear of operational costs and quality. While these are legitimate concerns, it is our responsibility as architects to listen and foster a collaborative culture that answers client issues while also reducing our carbon footprint.

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5 ways designers and builders can use business intelligence with data they already have

BD+C

Business intelligence (BI) – technologies used for data analysis and reporting – has been a trending topic in our recent work. Nearly all areas of our consulting service make use of one form of BI or another and Nate’s previous blog post highlights a few of these uses. Organizations are seeking insight about what they’re good at – or not so good at – in order to make improvements to their own processes.

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Small-venue theaters play starring cultural and economic roles in New York City’s economy

BD+C

There are 748 small theater organizations in New York City that generated $1.3 billion in economic output and supported 8,400 jobs that paid $512 million in annual wages in 2017.

Cities 98
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Working to reduce HAIs: How design can support infection control and prevention

BD+C

Each year, approximately 90,000 Americans die as a result of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs)—new bacterial, fungal, and viral infections contracted while receiving treatment. HAIs can occur in any care setting, but the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 722,000 hospital admissions result in HAIs, costing the health industry $28–$33 billion annually.

Contract 106
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Multifamily construction market remains strong heading into 2020

BD+C

Multifamily housing will remain a robust market for A/E/C companies heading into 2020, according to the most recent results of PSMJ’s Quarterly Market Forecast (QMF) survey. For the third quarter of 2019, the survey found that less than 9% of the nearly 100 respondents doing multifamily work reported a decrease in proposal activity compared with the prior quarter, while more than 54% saw an increase.

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Report: Optimism for Construction Growth in the Next Year Remains High

Research reveals 96% of respondents are very or fairly optimistic about their organization’s growth prospects for the next year. The InEight Global Capital Projects Outlook also finds over half see digital technology as the greatest growth opportunity. But these are only some of the findings. Don't be kept in the dark when it comes to the future. Read the report today!