China plans new car-free city

A new urban development near Chengdu, China, will provide housing for ~80,000 people, surrounded by green space. The vertical, high-density Great City project will be planned so a 10-minute walk takes residents from the city center to the outlying green spaces. Cars will not be allowed in the development; rather, nearby urban centers will be accessible via mass transit.

Chicago firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is designing the project, which will use 48% less energy and 58% less water than a conventional city of the same size. The project "is attempting to address some of the most pressing urban issues of our time," says Gill.

http://weburbanist.com/2013/02/11/car-free-city-china-builds-dense-metropolis-from-scratch/

The editors of Building Design+Construction present 10 “Great Solutions” that highlight innovative technology and products that can be used to address some of the many problems Building Teams face in their day-to-day work. Readers are encouraged to submit entries for Great Solutions; if we use yours, you’ll receive a $25 gift certificate. Look for more Great Solutions in 2012 at: www.bdcnetwork.com/greatsolutions/2012.

Rainscreen system installed at the west building envelope expansion of the University of Arizona’s Meinel Optical Sciences Center in Tucson, with its folded glass wall and copper-paneled, breathable cladding over precast concrete.

| Dec 10, 2011

Energy performance starts at the building envelope

Rainscreen system installed at the west building expansion of the University of Arizona’s Meinel Optical Sciences Center in Tucson, with its folded glass wall and copper-paneled, breathable cladding over precast concrete.

| Dec 10, 2011

Turning Balconies Outside In

Operable glass balcony glazing systems provide solution to increase usable space in residential and commercial structures.

| Dec 10, 2011

BIM tools to make your project easier to manage

Two innovations—program manager Gafcon’s SharePoint360 project management platform and a new BIM “wall creator” add-on developed by ClarkDietrich Building Systems for use with the Revit BIM platform and construction consultant—show how fabricators and owner’s reps are stepping in to fill the gaps between construction and design that can typically be exposed by working with a 3D model.