Construction Informer

Every year a company called Cut&Paste promotes fast-paced, on-stage competitions among designers of all disciplines. Now, from Dec. 3-4, in Las Vegas at Autodesk University, architecture takes to the stage. The AU Design Slam will test the skill, speed and stage presence of contestant teams while they create original designs in 20 minutes.

As builders and remodelers run into resistance related to higher costs associated with energy efficiency improvements, there is a little used tool available to help assuage home owners and buyers reluctant to invest in energy saving features.
Known as a “green mortgage” or Energy Efficient Mortgages, HUD is getting the word out about their availability. These [...]

Worldwide Financial Turmoil Widens Impact on Construction: The nearly 2,000 foot tall Russia Tower has been added to the list of tall building construction stoppages. The tower was to be Europe’s tallest but the developers claim there haven’t been enough sales to maintain construction to the finish. Some Russian developers blame George Bush and Alan [...]

I recently spent some time with J.F. McCarthy’s excellent book, Choosing Project Success. If ever there was a volume that speaks to the person who loves to build this is it. McCarthy covers some very in-depth information while keeping the reading task manageable. Early parts of this book take you on a journey to discover [...]

Take a big fan and outfit it with a system that atomizes water and what do you get – a DustBoss. For demolition this may take care of the angst associated with all the dust created during those activities.
The maker of this machine claims it uses less water than sprinkler methods and saves labor because [...]

Perhaps one of the most compelling things to come out of a recent conference gathering of U.S. mayors was a call for a stimulus package aimed at infrastructure. Apparently cities have a bundle of projects ready to go and just need what of course everybody seems to need these days- some money. 
By one estimate there [...]

The age-old problem of wood decay has most often been approached by making the wood toxic to the living things, like micro-organisms and insects, that cause the decay. But an effort that has been underway for more than 75 years that changes the chemical makeup of the wood so that it is no longer digestible [...]

Dubai Construction Cools: Apartment and villa prices in Dubai have jumped by several hundred percent over the recent years, but now they are seeking an adjustment. October’s drop in value was four percent. Flippers, those nascent construction entities that have epitomized the big, easy bucks potential in real estate, are being partially blamed for this [...]

During the depression in the 1930s people discovered their green thumbs. Now that we are facing higher food costs, and undoubtedly less food in general, it might not be a bad time to put some effort into growing our own. Of course you need a space and people who live in densely populated places like [...]

To be honest I am a little dis-trustful of many things green. So it is with some trepidation that I explore this here. But I think there is some true greenness associated with this effort perhaps similar to what I have earlier discovered with efforts like the Hampton’s Green Alliance covered previously in this blog.
The [...]