University of Michigan’s Central Campus residence hall, as seen looking west from Hill Street. Rendering © RAMSA

The University of Michigan addresses a decades-long student housing shortage with a new housing-dining facility

The University of Michigan has faced a decades-long shortage of on-campus student housing. In a couple of years, the situation should significantly improve with the addition of a new residential community on Central Campus in Ann Arbor, Mich. The University of Michigan has engaged American Campus Communities in a public-private partnership to lead the development of the environmentally sustainable living-learning student community.

MFPRO+ New Projects

Shipping containers converted into attractive, affordable multifamily housing in L.A.

In the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles, a new affordable multifamily housing project using shipping containers resulted in 24 micro-units for formerly unhoused residents. The containers were acquired from a nearby port and converted into housing units at a factory.

Adaptive Reuse

Empty mall to be converted to UCLA Research Park

UCLA recently acquired a former mall that it will convert into the UCLA Research Park that will house the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy at UCLA and the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering, as well as programs across other disciplines. The 700,000-sf property, formerly the Westside Pavilion shopping mall, is two miles from the university’s main Westwood campus. Google, which previously leased part of the property, helped enable and support UCLA’s acquisition.

Geothermal Technology

Rochester, Minn., plans extensive geothermal network

The city of Rochester, Minn., home of the famed Mayo Clinic, is going big on geothermal networks. The city is constructing Thermal Energy Networks (TENs) that consist of ambient pipe loops connecting multiple buildings and delivering thermal heating and cooling energy via water-source heat pumps.

Architects

Every building starts with a concept and a design. Architects are involved at every stage of the process, even after a design has been finalized, helping other building team members through the snares and missteps in the construction process. Building Design+Construction delivers news, trends, and research to the nation's largest architectural design firms.

Sep 9, 2014

Frank Lloyd Wright's Annie Pfeiffer Chapel brought back to life using 3D printing

Restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed chapel was made possible (and affordable) thanks to 3D printing.

Sep 8, 2014

First Look: Foster + Partners, Fernando Romero win competition for Mexico City's newest international airport

Designed to be the world’s most sustainable airport, the plan uses a single, compact terminal scheme in lieu of a cluster of buildings, offering shorter walking distances and fewer level changes, and eliminating the need for trains and tunnels.

The Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is one of Gehry Technologies' latest projects. Re

Sep 8, 2014

Trimble acquires Gehry Technologies, aims to create tools for linking office and job site

Trimble and Frank Gehry announced that they have entered into a strategic alliance to collaborate to transform the construction industry by further connecting the office to on-site construction technologies. As part of the alliance, Trimble has acquired Gehry Technologies.

Arizona Capitol Museum 2014. Photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikipedia

Sep 7, 2014

Ranked: Top state government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]

PCL Construction, Stantec, and AECOM head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest state government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.

Gresham Smith | Sep 7, 2014

Hybrid healthcare: Revamping inefficient inpatient units to revenue-producing outpatient care

It's happening at community hospitals all over America: leadership teams are looking for ways to maintain margins by managing underutilized and non-revenue producing space. GS&P's David Magner explores nontraditional healthcare models.

Skanska | Sep 7, 2014

USGBC + American Chemistry Council: Unlikely partners in green building

In this new partnership, LEED will benefit from the materials expertise of ACC and its member companies. We believe this has the potential to be transformational, writes Skanska USA's President and CEO Michael McNally.

Photo: Tomasz Sienicki via Wikimedia Commons

Sep 7, 2014

Behind the scenes of integrated project delivery — successful tools and applications

The underlying variables and tools used to manage collaboration between teams is ultimately the driving for success with IPD, writes CBRE Healthcare's Megan Donham.

Photo: Tanya King courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District

Sep 7, 2014

Ranked: Top military sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]

Balfour Beatty, Fluor, and HDR top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest military sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.

Renderings courtesy of Zaha hadid via Gizmag

Sep 5, 2014

First Look: Zaha Hadid's Grace on Coronation towers in Australia

Zaha Hadid's latest project in Australia is a complex of three, tapered residential high-rises that have expansive grounds to provide the surrounding community unobstructed views and access to the town's waterfront.

Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse, Long Beach, Calif. Architect: AECOM; cont

Sep 4, 2014

Ranked: Top courthouse sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]

Fentress Architects, Tutor Perini, and AECOM top BD+C's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from courthouse facilities, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.