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.

Jul 23, 2014

Architecture Billings Index up nearly a point in June

AIA reported the June ABI score was 53.5, up from a mark of 52.6 in May.

Jul 22, 2014

L.A.'s tallest tower to get observation deck

U.S. Bank Tower, as part of a series of improvements, will be getting an observation deck and restaurant at its top.

Jul 22, 2014

Herzog & de Meuron unveil curvy concrete condo in Manhattan

Herzog & de Meuron have released renderings of their new $250 million New York building, a 12-story condominium with 88 luxury apartments.

Jul 21, 2014

Narrowing the field: Stirling Prize shortlist announced

The list includes first-time nominees Mecanoo and Renzo Piano Building Workshop, as well as previous winners Zaha Hadid Architects and Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios.

Steven Burns | Jul 21, 2014

Designing the process of leadership transition

Transition planning can be one of the more complex challenges that firms face. Effective plans begin by determining the gap between a firm’s current state and the future it envisions for itself. SPONSORED CONTENT

Allen Hurtz | Jul 21, 2014

16 utility questions to answer during your building project

We need electricity to power our building projects, along with water and gas and a faultless sanitation system. That’s what we think about when we think about utility requirements for our building project, but are we missing something? SPONSORED CONTENT Photo: courtesy Star Building Systems

According to NAIOP, Texas leads the nation in the value of new construction. Sho

Jul 21, 2014

Commercial real estate development growing at strongest pace since recovery began: NAIOP report

Industrial, warehousing, office, and retail sectors see strong gains; Texas leads the nation in construction-value stats.

Tidewater Community College/City of Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach, Calif. Photo

Jul 21, 2014

Economists ponder uneven recovery, weigh benefits of big infrastructure [2014 Giants 300 Report]

According to expert forecasters, multifamily projects, the Panama Canal expansion, and the petroleum industry’s “shale gale” could be saving graces for commercial AEC firms seeking growth opportunities in an economy that’s provided its share of recent disappointments.