The International Code Council (ICC), American Institute of Architects (AIA) and ASTM-International co-introduced the ICC's International Green Construction Code (IGCC) "Safe and Sustainable By the Book" initiative yesterday. The program's goal will be to reduce the carbon footprint of commercial buildings by developing and maintaining a model code focused upon new and existing commercial building construction.
According to the ICC, buildings consume roughly 40 percent of energy used and contribute about the same percentage of carbon emissions in the United States.
We believe the time has come for us to develop a code that will stand as a useful and credible regulatory framework for creating a greener commercial building stock,” said Code Council Chief Executive Officer Richard P. Weiland. “We applaud and plan to utilize the good work of those who have developed systems, guidelines and standards to address green buildings.”
The ICC's development schedule calls for a public comment period on the Committee’s initial draft, and a final draft that will be made available as a resource document in 2010 before it moves through the development and final action hearing stages. The AIA and ASTM will each share in the code development process. For the full press release, click here.
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Have you seen Architectural Digest's recent feature on great ceilings? Beautiful! I especially like the second and eleventh ones. Check them all out here..
Architectural Digest's Great Ceilings Slideshow
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Have you heard about the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City? It's still under construction, but I heard about it as the result of a newsletter I receive.
When completed, the center will house a 1,600-seat concert hall and an 1,800-seat proscenium theater in the 280,000+ square foot, state-of-the-art facility. According to the Kaufmann Center website, the future home of the Kansas City Symphony, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and the Kansas City Ballet is certain to become "the singular architectural icon for Kansas City, and be counted among the finest performing arts centers in the world".
The internationally recognized design team includes Moshe Safdie & Associates, Theatre Projects Consultants, and Nagata Acoustics. The designers are claiming that both performance halls will boast virtually perfect acoustics and optimal sightlines.
You can check out more about the Kauffman Center, its design team and the late Muriel McBrien Kauffman and her Foundation after which the center is named here.
Kaufmann Center for the Performing Arts - Kansas City, MO
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Building Design + Construction has named its top architecture, engineering and construction firms for 2009.
According to the survey, the selected AEC companies place strong emphasis upon employee career development, training and education, display extraordinary involvement in the communities they serve, and have a passion for business leadership and excellence.
The top eleven companies are:
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The Beck Group - Dallas, Texas
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BLDD Architects - Decatur, Illinois
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Commodore Builders - Newton, Massachusetts
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DES Architects + Engineers - Redwood City, California
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HKS, Inc. - Dallas, Texas
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KCI Technologies - Sparks, Maryland
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Manasc Isaac Architects Ltd. - Edmonton, Alberta
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Robins & Morton Group - Birmingham, Alabama
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Roy Anderson Corporation - Gulfport, Mississippi
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Rumsey Engineers, Inc. - Oakland, CA
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Suffolk Construction Company, Inc. - Boston, MA
Read about each of the BD+C's selections here.
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Last week, the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum announced this year's National Design Award winners.
First established in 2000, the annual awards have sought to "increase national awareness of design by educating the public and promoting excellence, innovation, and lasting achievement." The 2009 edition honors outstanding contributions from the following design categories, among others: architecture design, interior design, landscape design and lifetime achievement, with a focus upon the responsible use of resources.
Some of the 2009 National Design Awards recipients include:
Lifetime Achievement: Bill Moggridge
Architecture Design: SHoP Architects
Finalists: Architecture Research Office and Michael Maltzan
Fashion Design: Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein Collection
Finalists: Thom Browne and Rodarte
Interior Design: TsAO & McKOWN Architects
Finalists: Ali Tayar and Work AC
Landscape Design: Hood Design
Finalists: Andrea Cochran and Rios Clementi Hale Studios
A project that TsAO & McKOWN Architects is currently working on involves 2.3 million square feet of residential, retail, office and civic spaces in Qingdao, China, overlooking the Yellow Sea along the east coast of China. The project includes a giant media wall in a five-story retail atrium.
IMC Centre in Qingdao, China
For a complete list of the 2009 National Design Awards winners, click here.
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Have you checked out Architectural Digest's "Spotlight on Gem-like Structures that Defy the Traditional Sense of Space" slide show feature? Check it out here. It features 12 innovative designs with glass everywhere..
I hope the homeowners have professional cleaning companies to keep all of those windows clean!
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Building Design + Construction magazine is still accepting survey submissions for its Giants 300 report. Survey submissions are due by May 29, 2009. Each year, BD+C tracks the business activity of the top 300 commercial architecture, engineering and construction firms in the United States.
This year's report will introduce ranking of firms that have the most LEED Accredited Professionals (APs) as of the survey cut-off date.
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Tomorrow, the American Bar Association is holding its Construction Forum in New Orleans. The three-day conference, entitled "Talking Green Blues", focuses upon potential legal challenges facing the construction industry as the result of the Green Building boom.
Attorneys from across the country will convene to discuss legal issues associated with green and sustainable building projects, especially in light of rapidly evolving federal and state government regulatory mandates and related green litigation.
While several of the forum workshops are dedicated to litigation issues surrounding nuclear power plant, wind and solar farm, and other 'green' building construction projects, many of the workshops will focus upon more general liability and litigation issues associated with green building design and construction. The fact that the ABA is devoting three days to these matters illustrates the extent of the legal issues expected in this area, especially given the growing pains one would expect from such a new and evolving business sector.
Going forward, it will be important for building design and construction professionals to be very careful when making promises to existing and prospective clients about potential energy savings, prospects for certification, and related claims. Clients may pursue litigation against the architect, interior designer, builder or even the product manufacturer if promised energy savings or LEED or other ratings or certifications are not ultimately realized.
A lawsuit from 2008 ( Shaw Development v. Southern Builders ) illustrates the types of issues that can arise. The case involved a Maryland condominium project that included numerous green design features which were intended to bring the project at least a LEED Silver rating and corresponding failure to earn an 8% tax credit (worth $635,000) when the project became delayed and missed the cut-off date for achieving the tax credit.
There haven't been too many other 'green' litigation cases to date, but it's only a matter of time before the floodgates open. This is a topic that we will no doubt be hearing a lot more about in coming months and years, so stay tuned.
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The third annual "Earth Hour" took place this year on March 29th. The first Earth Hour took place in Sydney, Australia in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned off their lights for one hour to raise awareness of climate change and greenhouse emissions. In 2008, the numbers rose as 50 million people turned off their lights worldwide, and in 2009 hundreds of millions of people "turned out the lights" for one hour starting at 8:30 PM. One thousand cities in over eighty countries participated in the World Wildlife Fund-sponsored 2009 Earth Hour by dimming nonessential lights between 8:30 and 9:30 PM in each respective time zone.
Click on the images in this very cool Boston.com Earth Hour article to see photographs of buildings and landmarks from major cities around the world before and then during Earth Hour.
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In case you missed it, there are a couple of interesting articles in yesterday's and today's editions of The Guardian about the ten architects that were selected last year by French president Nicolas Sarkozy to present their visions for reshaping Paris, the most visited city in the world, and its neglected and isolated outskirts into a more well connected and much greener metropolis for the 21st century.
Earlier this week, the ten chosen architects previewed their visions for the future of "Le Grand Paris" in 30-minute presentations. Images from each of the presentations are available on the French daily's Le Figaro.
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