66
The total number of skyscrapers China is expected to add in the next six years, DOUBLING ITS COLLECTION FROM 75 TO 141. India, the world’s second most populous nation, currently has two skyscrapers but will ADD 14 MORE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
1.4 billion
An Irish artist built an apartment made of bricks that include the SHREDDED REMAINS OF €1.4 BILLION he borrowed from Ireland’s national mint. Frank Buckley built the apartment in the lobby of a Dublin office building, which has remained vacant since its completion four years ago. “People were pouring billions into buildings now worth nothing,” says Buckley. “I WANTED TO CREATE SOMETHING FROM NOTHING.”
3,654
In feet, the proposed height of a NEW BUSINESS TOWER ON THE KHAZAR ISLANDS, a chain of 41 artificial islands in the Caspian Sea that also will include hotels and apartment buildings. The tower would be 27% TALLER than the current skyscraper champ, the BURJ KHALIFA IN DUBAI. Construction on the islands is set to begin at the end of 2013.
21,000
Number of NEW CONSTRUCTION JOBS created in January 2012, according to the Labor Department.
12
In years, the PEAK-TO-PEAK RECOVERY period for the cement industry. BY 2017, CEMENT CONSUMPTION IS EXPECTED TO REACH LEVELS LAST RECORDED IN 2005, according to the Portland Cement Association. A number of factors, including a reduction in office vacancy rates and high unemployment, contribute to the lengthy recovery period.
5
Total number of TEMPORARY LOADING BAYS being constructed at ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey revealed that the loading dock under the trade center will not be accessible for tenants to move their equipment into the 104-story tower when it opens. A TEMPORARY TRAIN STATION for the Port Authority is blocking access to the underground loading area.
0
Amount being charged by FRANK GEHRY for his work on the Culver City, Calif., home for the Jazz Bakery. Plans call for a two-story building with the main 250-seat concert room upstairs and a small black-box theater on the ground floor. THE FOOTPRINT OF THE BUILDING MEASURES ONE-SEVENTH OF AN ACRE.
1.3
In trillions, the GLOBAL REVENUE predicted from the CONSTRUCTION OF ZERO-ENERGY BUILDINGS over the next 23 years. The figure will reach almost $690 MILLION BY 2020 and $1.3 TRILLION BY 2035, according to a report published by Pike Research.
2,000
Total number of PV panels to be installed on the FIRST NET-ZERO SCHOOL in the northeast U.S. Located in the Rossville neighborhood in Staten Island, N.Y., PS 62 is slated to cost between $55-58 million, and will open in September 2015.
35
Current percentage of CONTRACTORS THAT ARE CURRENTLY USING BIM, up 8% from 2011, according the 2012 Construction Industry Hiring and Business Outlook conducted by the Associated General Contractors. 47% of survey respondents expect BIM usage to increase in 2012, depending on the market segment. +
Related Stories
| Jan 4, 2011
New Years resolutions for architects, urban planners, and real estate developers
Roger K. Lewis, an architect and a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Maryland, writes in the Washington Post about New Years resolutions he proposes for anyone involved in influencing buildings and cities. Among his proposals: recycle and reuse aging or obsolete buildings instead of demolishing them; amend or eliminate out-of-date, obstructive, and overly complex zoning ordinances; and make all city and suburban streets safe for cyclists and pedestrians.
| Jan 4, 2011
An official bargain, White House loses $79 million in property value
One of the most famous office buildings in the world—and the official the residence of the President of the United States—is now worth only $251.6 million. At the top of the housing boom, the 132-room complex was valued at $331.5 million (still sounds like a bargain), according to Zillow, the online real estate marketplace. That reflects a decline in property value of about 24%.
| Jan 4, 2011
Luxury hotel planned for Palace of Versailles
Want to spend the night at the Palace of Versailles? The Hotel du Grand Controle, a 1680s mansion built on palace grounds for the king's treasurer and vacant since the French Revolution, will soon be turned into a luxury hotel. Versailles is partnering with Belgian hotel company Ivy International to restore the dilapidated estate into a 23-room luxury hotel. Guests can live like a king or queen for a while—and keep their heads.
| Jan 4, 2011
Grubb & Ellis predicts commercial real estate recovery
Grubb & Ellis Company, a leading real estate services and investment firm, released its 2011 Real Estate Forecast, which foresees the start of a slow recovery in the leasing market for all property types in the coming year.
| Jan 4, 2011
Furniture Sustainability Standard - Approved by ANSI and Released for Distribution
BIFMA International recently announced formal American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approval and release of the ANSI/BIFMA e3-2010 Furniture Sustainability Standard. The e3 standard represents a structured methodology to evaluate the "sustainable" attributes of furniture products and constitutes the technical criteria of the level product certification program.
| Jan 3, 2011
Chicago Architectural Foundation’s media expert takes all 85 tours in one year
Jennifer Lucente, the social media expert at the Chicago Architecture Foundation has completed her year of taking tours—taking all 85 tours in 2010. The challenge that began last January with a tour of the Board of Trade building has ended today with the architecture foundation’s newest tour: Razzle Dazzle – featuring the Loop theater district followed by a celebration at the Chicago Theatre.
| Dec 28, 2010
Project of the Week: Community college for next-gen Homeland Security personnel
The College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Ill., began work on the Homeland Security Education Center, which will prepare future emergency personnel to tackle terrorist attacks and disasters. The $25 million, 61,100-sf building’s centerpiece will be an immersive interior street lab for urban response simulations.
| Dec 20, 2010
Architect Adrian D. Smith on zero-energy cities, new technologies, and high density.
Adrian D. Smith, FAIA, RIBA, is co-founder (with Gordon Gill) of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Chicago. Previously, he was a design partner in the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (1980-2003) and a consulting design partner from 2004 to 2006. His landmark structures include the Jin Mao Tower (Shanghai), Rowes Wharf (Boston), and Burj Khalifa (Dubai, U.A.E.), the world’s tallest structure. He recently collaborated with Gordon Gill to design the world’s first net-zero-energy skyscraper, Pearl River Tower, now nearing completion in Guangzhou, China. This account is based on his recent remarks at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
| Dec 17, 2010
BIM Tools Enhance Project Value
The Building Team for a renovation project at Georgia Tech uses BIM and 3D design tools to solve a complex millwork problem.
