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.

Engineers

Engineering goes hand-in-hand with design, putting a practical lens on the architect’s vision and finding the best way to make it happen. Without a talented engineer, the project will never reach completion, and certainly will not reach the standards of functionality and sustainability that the architect and client are seeking.

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.

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.

Sep 4, 2014

Strong industry growth could be slowed by skilled labor shortage, says Gilbane report

While construction spending for 2014 will finish the year 5.5% higher than 2013 and the unemployment rate in construction is down to 7.5%, the industry has been losing workers for more than five years, according to a new Gilbane report.

City of Galveston (Texas) Fire Station #4. Photo: courtesy HDR

Sep 3, 2014

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

STV, HOK, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest local government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.

The consolidation would strengthen WSP's position in the U.S. transportation seg

Sep 3, 2014

WSP to acquire Parsons Brinckerhoff in $1.35 billion deal

The deal, which has been approved by the boards of WSP and Balfour Beatty, has an enterprise value of $1.243 billion, plus another $110 million in cash retained by PB.

Rob Cassidy | Sep 3, 2014

The coming architect/engineer brain drain, or 'Curse of the Baby Boomers'

Architecture, engineering, and (presumably) construction firms will face difficulties with management succession, as tens of thousands of Baby Boomers leave the AEC industry. Who will fill the knowledge gap?