Developers change gears at Atlantic Yards after high-rise modular proves difficult

At 32 stories, the B2 residential tower at Atlantic Yards near Brooklyn has been widely lauded as a bellwether for modular construction. But since construction started about 18 months ago, only five of the floors have been built—and developer Forest City Ratner Companies now has a Chinese partner that will move forward on the next three residential buildings, using conventional construction.

According to a report in the New York Times, Forest City Ratner's development partner, Greenland Holding Group, will now have a majority stake in the 22-acre Atlantic Yards mixed-use project. The Shanghai-based firm will oversee the next three residential tower projects, while Forest City Ratner continues to move forward with B2. Completion of the 348,000-sf modular tower, comprising 930 modules and 363 apartments, had been moved to late 2015, more than a year later than planned.

MaryAnne Gilmartin, Forest City Ratner's chief executive, says technical difficulties have been substantial, both at the nearby factory that's creating the modules and on the Atlantic Yards job site. “It’s been terribly frustrating," she told the New York Times. "But I don’t think this is a referendum on modular. The best way to prove that this works is to build B2.”

The Building Team for B2 includes Skanska, FC + Skanska Modular (a collaboration between Forest City Ratner and Skanska, which is building the components), SHoP, and Arup.

Global architecture firm Goettsch Partners (GP) announces that James Zheng, AIA, LEED AP, has been named CEO, and Paul De Santis, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, joins James Goettsch, FAIA, as co-design directors for the practice. As the primary partners in the firm, the three have worked closely together for more than 17 years. Goettsch will also continue to serve as chairman while Zheng now assumes the full CEO title as well as president.

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Monthly Construction Input Prices Decreased 2% in July, Up 17% From a Year Ago, Says ABC

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Report examines supposed conflict between good design and effective cost management

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Expanding Through Diversification, with Bill Mandara of Mancini Duffy - HorizonTV

Architects | Aug 11, 2022

Mancini Duffy Bill Mandara on expanding through diversification

In this segment for HorizonTV, BD+C's John Caulfield interviews Mancini Duffy's CEO and Co-owner William Mandara about his firm's recent growth, which includes an acquisition and new HQs office.

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Commercial Energy Efficiency: Finally “In-the-Money!”

By now, many business leaders are out in front of policymakers on prioritizing the energy transition.

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Saudi Arabia unveils plans for a one-building city stretching over 100 miles long

Saudi Arabia recently announced plans for an ambitious urban project called The Line—a one-building city in the desert that will stretch 170 kilometers (106 miles) long and only 200 meters (656 feet) wide.

| Aug 10, 2022

U.S. needs more than four million new apartments by 2035

Roughly 4.3 million new apartments will be necessary by 2035 to meet rising demand, according to research from the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association.