The Esquire Group worked with Craig F. Dothe Architect LLC, an Atlantic City firm, to develop a cost-efficient solution that would not only keep the building dry, but make the apartments more energy efficient. The architect’s plans called for tearing off the façade and replacing them with REHAU System windows.
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Renovated Fire Station 5 designed by Bassetti Architects has been designated a Seattle Landmark. Originally built in 1963, the fire station was in need of significant up-grades to meet many current seismic, safety, and accessibility codes as well as provide improvements to crew, administrative, and support facilities. Bassetti provided comprehensive renovation to the building and pier structure, including seismic reinforcement, building systems renovation, and sustainability improvements.
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The Mitigation Framework Leadership Group (MitFLG), chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), released the National Mitigation Investment Strategy (NMIS), a unified national strategy on mitigation investment that reduces risks posed by natural hazards and increases the nation’s resilience to disasters. The MitFLG is composed of 14 federal agencies and departments as well as state, tribal and local officials and is charged with coordinating the strategy’s implementation. The International Code Council provided comments on draft NMIS proposals and worked closely with FEMA during its development.
Read MoreThe American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) will host a complimentary webinar entitled “ICC 500 – Tornado and Hurricane Storm Shelters” on Sept. 10. It will provide an overview of the history of storm shelter guidelines, how ICC 500 was developed and the code requirements that drive storm shelter construction. Leading the webinar is Dave Stammen, principal engineer for the Building Science Group at UL. Stammen also will address specific details regarding the testing requirements found within ICC 500-2014.
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Through a partnership between the City of Miami and Miami DDA, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) convened a panel of 10 experts from across the U.S. to study climate-related threats within the City’s urban core, formulate recommendations for hardening the neighborhood’s infrastructure and protecting its natural and manmade assets, and identify potential funding solutions for bringing resiliency projects to life.
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Ashley Eusey, PE, LEED AP, GGP, is Hoefer Wysocki’s lead professional engineer and sustainability manager. In the article “Resiliency: Future-Proof Building Design,” Eusey provides a comprehensive look at three pillars of resilient design in the built environment: integrated design, flexibility and education.
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Heather Bender, Strategic Marketing Manager, CornellCookson, discusses building guidelines and standards for storm shelters and safe rooms with which architects, designers and constructions pros should be familiar, especially during this time period of extreme weather events. “From doors to windows, building envelope systems to roofing material, the A&D community have powerful new tools in creating safe rooms and hurricane shelters. At the heart of this evolution are FEMA P-316 and ICC 500 standards, both of which were created to provide guidelines and requirements that promote life safety.”
Read MoreThe Portland Cement Association (PCA), representing America’s cement manufacturers, released a new report focused on resiliency titled The Real Value of Resilient Construction. The report demonstrates through historical data, evidence from external sources, and comparisons of building materials that resilient design and construction built with concrete leads to longer lasting buildings due to concrete’s ability to stand up to normal wear and tear and resistance to extreme weather events.
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Intended to be a visible demonstration of sustainable design, the Wentworth Institute of Technology Center for Engineering, Innovation, and Sciences incorporates enhanced metering for the Institute’s use and student demonstration. The project exceeds the City of Boston’s requirements of sustainability with a highly-efficient thermal envelope, including sun shading on the east, south and west facades, as well as mechanical equipment designed for maximum efficiency including low-flow fume hoods. As the campus is vulnerable to flooding, resilience measures included raising the ground floor two feet above current grade and minimizing systems equipment in the basement. The building is designed to be LEED Silver Certifiable under LEED v.4.
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“Disasters are only expected to increase in frequency and severity, so as an industry we need to work collaboratively on how to adapt the built environment to face even greater challenges,” said the Code Council Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims, CBO. “The findings of this report offer encouragement that our work, slow and steady as it may be, is well worth the effort. The Code Council has a long and close partnership with NIBS, and we look forward to continued engagement with the Institute on these important issues.”
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Architects design pavilion with red petal facade. Overlapping shingles are composed of Alucobond Spectra Red tiles featuring a Lumiflon FEVE fluoropolymer resin topcoat. Photo credit: Keith Panel Systems
Solarban 90 Solar Control Low-E Glass Solarban 90 glass combines industry-leading solar control performance with a true neutral-reflective clear-glass aesthetic. United with clear glass in a standard 1-inch IGU, Solarban 90 glass has a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.23, visible light transmittance of 51 percent and an LSG ratio of 2.22. Solarban 90 glass facilitates the use of smaller HVAC systems to reduce initial capital expenditures and long-term cooling costs. It also enables architects to design buildings with larger expanses of glass to promote daylighting, diminish the need for artificial lighting and connect building occupants to the outdoors. Mountain views, energy efficiency highlight new Ent Center at UC Colorado Springs. Photography by Tom Kessler
