U.S. labs that conduct research on bioterror germs such as anthrax are at risk for accidents because they do not have uniform design and operation standards, according to a Congressional investigative group. According to a new report by the General Accounting Office, “In the absence of some fundamental criteria, each laboratory can be designed, constructed, and maintained according to local requirements. This will make it difficult to be able to assess and guarantee safety, as we noted in our 2009 report.”
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| Aug 11, 2010
Business park grows yet again
Construction has begun on the latest addition to Miami International Commerce Center (MICC) industrial park in Doral, Fla. The 75,000-sf facility will offer businesses 3,000 and 7,000 square feet of space. When the new building is completed, MICC will offer tenants 3.2-million sf of light industrial and flex space.
| Aug 11, 2010
Wood chips to heat school district buildings
An alternative energy plant for the Hartford Central School District in Hartford, N.Y., will be a first for the state's public school systems. Designed by Albany, N.Y.-based CSArch Architecture/Construction Management, the $1.9 million plant will provide heat and hot water to the district's elementary and high school complex, as well as to an adjacent technical school.
| Aug 11, 2010
And the world's tallest building is…
At more than 2,600 feet high, the Burj Dubai (right) can still lay claim to the title of world's tallest building—although like all other super-tall buildings, its exact height will have to be recalculated now that the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced a change to its height criteria.
| Aug 11, 2010
Manhattan's Pier 57 to be transformed into $210 million cultural center
LOT-EK, Beyer Blinder Belle, and West 8 have been selected as the design team for Hudson River Park's $210 million Pier 57 redevelopment, headed by local developer Young Woo & Associates. The 375,000-sf vacant passenger ship terminal will be transformed into a cultural center, small business incubator, and public park, including a rooftop venue for the Tribeca Film Festival.
| Aug 11, 2010
Nation's first multistory green industrial facility opens in Brooklyn
The $25 million Perry Avenue Building at Brooklyn Navy Yard is the nation's first multilevel green industrial facility and the first building in New York to incorporate building-mounted wind turbines. The wind turbines, along with rooftop solar panels, will provide electricity for the building's lobby and common areas.
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction under way on LEED Platinum DOE energy lab
Centennial, Colo.-based Haselden Construction has topped out the $64 million Research Support Facilities, located on the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) campus in Golden, Colo. Designed by RNL and Stantec to achieve LEED Platinum certification and net zero energy performance, the 218,000-sf facility will feature natural ventilation through operable ...
| Aug 11, 2010
NASA plans federal government's greenest building
NASA is set to break ground on what the agency expects to be the highest-performing building in the federal government's portfolio. Named Sustainability Base, the building at Ames Research Center in Sunnyvale, Calif., will be a showplace for sustainable technologies, featuring some of the agency's most advanced recycling and intelligent controls technologies originally developed to support NASA...
| Aug 11, 2010
Stimulus funding helps get NOAA project off the ground
The award-winning design for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s new Southwest Fisheries Science Center replacement laboratory saw its first sign of movement last month with a groundbreaking ceremony held in La Jolla, Calif. The $102 million project is funded primarily by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
| Aug 11, 2010
Robotic storage facility protects exotic automobiles, fine wines, artwork
Miller Construction Company, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has completed construction on a high-tech robotic storage facility designed to store and protect valued possessions such as exotic automobiles, fine wines, artwork, and jewelry. Designed and built to resist Category 5 hurricanes, the RoboVault facility features automated storage retrieval, biometric recognition, private access with 24/7 securi...
| Aug 11, 2010
Research Facility Breaks the Mold
In the market for state-of-the-art biomedical research space in Boston's Longwood Medical Area? Good news: there are still two floors available in the Center for Life Science | Boston, a multi-tenant, speculative high-rise research building designed by Tsoi/Kobus & Associates, Boston, and developed by Lyme Properties, Hanover, N.