Construction
Rob McManamy
DEWALT shifts to solve jobsite WiFi woes

Yesterday, DEWALT, accompanied by Procore, announced their new WiFi Mesh, which promises to increase wireless connectivity on the jobsite. We talked to two DEWALT executives about the new product — here's what they had to say.

DEWALT shifts to solve jobsite WiFi woes
Architecture + Design
Rob McManamy
Data-driven design propelling collaboration

"Data-driven design" suggests an impersonal, robotic process that replaces human creativity with cold numbers. But at our latest BuildIdeas Breakfast, we learned from IBM Watson and Detroit Mercy Hospital that it can mean greater customer satisfaction.

Data-driven design propelling collaboration
Business
Rob McManamy
Hawaii, Vermont, RI see clean energy surge

Despite wavering venture investment, the clean energy market is still growing from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Here, the annual Clean Energy Trust Challenge gives us a welcome opportunity to check in on multiple, vibrant efforts to implement power innovation.

Hawaii, Vermont, RI see clean energy surge
Cities
Rob McManamy
Cities, data drive BW Summit conversations

If cities will yield the richest data upon which tomorrow's most consequential decisions will be based, then it is no surprise they were a recurring topic at last week's BuiltWorlds Summit. To see some of the actionable insights that were shared, read on.

Cities, data drive BW Summit conversations
Architecture + Design
Rob McManamy
Obamas unveil Presidential Center design

Just days after the former First Lady urged architects not to neglect inner cities, she and her husband came home to Chicago this week to reveal their vision for a $500-million community hub that they hope will reinvigorate a long-struggling community.   

Obamas unveil Presidential Center design

Dig smarter: Tech would map underground infrastructure

Dig smarter: Tech would map underground infrastructure

Broad digital shoulders. Chicago's public-private innovation accelerator, UI LABS, has unveiled a new tech platform via its City Digital partners that may change how urban infrastructure everywhere is built and maintained more efficiently and cost-effectively.

Aaand... Action! 5 Takes on Greenbuild L.A.

Aaand... Action! 5 Takes on Greenbuild L.A.

Lights! Camera! Take action! This week, as 20,000 sustainable AEC professionals from all over the world flock to L.A., the birthplace of smog is proudly showing off its award-winning green bona fides. Here's what Greenbuild 2016 attendees should know.

3D-printing Dubai: First an office, now a lab

3D-printing Dubai: First an office, now a lab

Boundless ambition. Already home to the world's tallest tower, Dubai now intends to become the global capital of 3D-printed construction. In June, it 3D-printed an office building offsite. Now, it aims to create a new lab on site. Who dares to doubt Dubai? 

SF's sinking tower poses myriad challenges

SF's sinking tower poses myriad challenges

Earthshaking. Grabbing unwanted headlines, San Francisco's plush, 58-story Millennium Tower, the West's largest reinforced concrete structure, is sinking. Soil tests began this week and results may alter high-rise engineering in seismic zones everywhere. 

'Well' buildings: Beyond bricks and mortar

'Well' buildings: Beyond bricks and mortar

Well, well, well. Those headed to LA for Greenbuild 2016 would do 'well' to review the 7 criteria offered by the new WELL Building Standard, which puts health and wellness at the heart of commercial design. Here, one sustainability director discusses what that means.

Smart Cities: AT&T pushes holistic approach

Smart Cities: AT&T pushes holistic approach

As Smart Cities Week takes center stage in Washington DC, AT&T Smart Cities guru Michael Zeto here opines on the promise and progress of Big Data to help municipalities develop comprehensive strategies for maintaining and improving their infrastructure.

Zurich, Singapore top sustainability index

Zurich, Singapore top sustainability index

Americans love competition; everybody knows that. It's in our DNA. Well, then how do we feel about being shut out of the Top 25 on Dutch design giant Arcadis's Sustainable Cities Index 2016? Read on to see where the sustainability is strongest around the globe.

5 Best Practices of Top-Performing Owners

5 Best Practices of Top-Performing Owners

What makes certain construction owners perform better than others in managing complex projects on a tight timeframe. In this report, Dodge Data & Analytics and e-Builder talked to 174 owners nationwide to reverse engineer their winning formulas. 

Bio-build: DoD seeks self-healing materials

Bio-build: DoD seeks self-healing materials

Science fiction once again is poised to invade the AEC, but unlike drones and robots, this advance comes straight out nature. The Dept. of Defense now wants to 'grow' better bricks that can heal themselves, so get set for 'Engineered Living Materials'. 

Green LA maps road to 100% renewables

Green LA maps road to 100% renewables

Just weeks before it hosts USGBC's Greenbuild 2016, the City of Los Angeles has set its sites on an epic Hollywood makeover. The birthplace of smog now is aiming to clean up its act and switch from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy sources ASAP.

Gang: Design-build dorm 'supreme success'

Gang: Design-build dorm 'supreme success'

Hogwarts in Hyde Park? The University of Chicago last week unveiled a new $150-million, 400,000-sq-ft dormitory designed by renowned architect Jeanne Gang, and built by Mortenson Construction. Read about their design-build success story here.

Virginia to build $500M 'smart city in-a-box'

Virginia to build $500M 'smart city in-a-box'

Get Smart: Some 30 miles NW of DC, a high-powered team of designers, developers, builders and technologists is forming to create a $500-million, 2.5-million-sq-ft, 'Smart City In-a-Box' platform they expect will be transferrable all over the world.

Tall wood structures rising above doubts

Tall wood structures rising above doubts

Timber! Long-held reservations are falling for building tall with wood. This week, the National Building Museum examines "the only building material that can both reduce carbon emissions and remove carbon from the atmosphere." BuiltWorlds joins the discussion.

15 years on, Ground Zero shows final card

15 years on, Ground Zero shows final card

Two announcements in two days last week showed how the page is turning on 9/11. In Chicago, crews broke ground on a Chinese-funded, $1-billion, 98-story tower, while NYC unveiled the final piece to the World Trade Center master plan.

Canstruction: AEC Rallies to Feed Hungry

Canstruction: AEC Rallies to Feed Hungry

How do companies like Gensler, Arup, and McShane Construction help fight hunger? By designing and building structures out of cans -- duh! While Canstruction is an international organization, BuiltWorlds reporter Alexis Chastain attended one of the regional events to find out more. 

AoT: Chicago first in U.S. with urban sensors

AoT: Chicago first in U.S. with urban sensors

Knowledge is power. How well does any city really work nowadays? How do we review that performance, and where do we gather the data? Those questions and more are on the table this fall as the nation's first Array of Things sensors are deployed throughout Chicago.

U.S., China ratify, amplify Paris Climate Pact

U.S., China ratify, amplify Paris Climate Pact

Last week in China, on the eve of the G20 Summit, the world's two biggest economies and top polluters took concrete steps to reduce carbon emissions. Their action all but ensures the Paris Agreement will take effect next year.

IoT: Connected world faces benefits, threats

IoT: Connected world faces benefits, threats

The 'Internet of Things'. By now, it's a term we have all heard, but what does it really mean? And what does it mean for business? Technologist Burcin Kaplanoglu takes a deep dive into the mind-boggling promise and personal privacy concerns of Big Data.

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