Architecture Billings Index Indicates Further Contraction

  • Posted on

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For the first time since the summer of 2012, the Architecture Billings Index posted consecutive months of a decline in demand for design services. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate 9-12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects reported the September ABI score was 48.4, down from the mark of 49.7 in the previous month. This score reflects a decrease in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 59.4, down from a reading of … Read more

Filed under: Economic News, eNewsTagged with: , ,

Construction of Cincinnati Children’s/UC Health Proton Therapy Center Complete

  • Posted on

HOUSTON, Texas and CINCINNATI, Ohio – Linbeck Group and Messer Construction Co. has completed the Cincinnati Children’s/UC Health Proton Therapy Center in Ohio, the second facility of its kind in the world owned by a children’s hospital. The total cost of the project is $120 million. The two-story, 89,549-square-foot facility features a vault to house the 9 ton, super-conducting cyclotron system and three treatment bays, or gantries, with additional space for a fourth bay to be built when needed. When the Proton Therapy Center opens in August 2017 it will be the only facility in the country with a gantry … Read more

Filed under: eNews, ProjectsTagged with: , ,

IWR North America Performs Restoration Work on Trump International Hotel

  • Posted on

IWR North America, formerly IWR Building Systems, recently completed work on the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. IWR-NA was brought on as a specialty contractor to perform restoration work associated with the exterior enclosure upgrades as part of the renovation. IWR-NA’s scope of work included upgrades to entry facades and canopies with modern materials, new acoustical cladding systems at the mechanical screen walls and installation of high-end panel systems in the entrance portals. Under an expedited time frame that, at times, required 12-16 hour work days for a grand opening on Sept. 12, the pre-planning and hard work started … Read more

Filed under: eNews, ProjectsTagged with:

World’s First Operational 3-D Printed Excavator is One Step Closer to Reality

  • Posted on

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – For the past two years, a conglomerate of trade associations, industry, government and academia have been collaborating on the world’s first operational 3-D printed excavator. That project made a giant leap forward with the recent printing of a prototype that leveraged large-scale additive manufacturing technologies and further explores the feasibility of printing with metal alloys. Known affectionately as Project AME (Additive Manufactured Excavator), the excavator is being 3-D printed using various machines at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, in Tennessee, to create and assemble three components: the cab, the boom and a heat exchanger. … Read more

Filed under: eNews, TechnologyTagged with: ,

Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention Garners Growing Industry Support

  • Posted on

PRINCETON, N.J. – In the wake of a recent Centers for Disease Control report that showed construction is one of the most at-risk industries for suicide, the Construction Financial Management Association established the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention, with the goal of providing and disseminating information and resources for suicide prevention and mental health promotion in construction. As the movement to build a zero-suicide industry grows, key industry organizations have pledged their support through joining the Alliance. The first organization to join, the National Association of Surety Bond Producers, immediately recognized the importance of this initiative. The newest Alliance … Read more

Filed under: eNews, SafetyTagged with: ,