Sustainability expert: Smart building technology can have quick payback

Smart building technology investments typically pay for themselves within one or two years by delivering energy savings and maintenance efficiencies, says Dan Probst, the chairman of energy and sustainability services at Jones Lang LaSalle.

“In large buildings with centralized building automation systems, relatively inexpensive devices can be connected to the building control panel to enable a smart building management system to extract and analyze real-time equipment and system performance data and use it to fine-tune building performance," he says.

In smaller buildings that do not have centralized automation systems, the availability of affordable wireless sensors combined with this new smart building technology makes it possible to deploy a building automation system without the expense of hard-wiring, adds Probst.

(http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/the-business-case-for-smart-building-technology)

The majority of fire rated glazing applications occur inside a building to allow occupants to exit the building safely or provide an area of refuge during a fire. But what happens when the threat of fire comes from the outside? This was the case for The Kensington, a mixed-use residential building in Boston.

All renderings, plans: courtesy Payette and Northeastern University

| Apr 8, 2014

Science, engineering find common ground on the Northeastern University campus [slideshow]

The new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building is designed to maximize potential of serendipitous meetings between researchers.

| Apr 8, 2014

40 Under 40 winners: Meet the contractors

Of the up-and-coming AEC professionals to be named to the class of 2014, nine make their living as contractors.

Wyatt Frantom, Associate and Senior Architectural Designer, Gensler, Los Angeles

| Apr 7, 2014

40 Under 40 winners: Meet the architects

Of the up-and-coming AEC professionals to be named 40 Under 40 winners by the editors of Building Design+Construction, 21 make their living in the architecture profession.

| Apr 3, 2014

Security, accountability, and cloud access: Can you really have it all?

I’ve heard countless stories of conversations between project engineers and IT professionals who can’t come to an agreement on the level of security needed to protect their data while making it more accessible—not only externally, but also internally.

| Apr 2, 2014

The new model of healthcare facility management

A growing number of healthcare organizations are moving to an integrated real estate model in an effort to better manage costs, respond to regulatory requirements, and support changes in patient care delivery.