The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in support of President Obama's jobs proposal, during a media event in Washington, D.C. with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood: “As the president made clear last night, too many Americans are out of work or underemployed. Nowhere do we see that problem more severely than within the construction industry. Although construction represents only 4.5 percent of the U.S. workforce, construction workers have accounted for over 20 percent of the jobs lost. Today the industry's unemployment rate is 13.5 percent — significantly higher than … Read more
ASHRAE Makes Guidance on Green Buildings Easily Accessible in eBook Format
ATLANTA, Ga. — ASHRAE has published its first ever eBook for use on the Apple iPad. The third and latest edition of “ASHRAE GreenGuide: The Design, Construction and Operation of Sustainable Buildings” is now available in an eBook format to allow iPad users convenient access to the book's guidance, which covers each stage of the building process, from planning to operation and maintenance of a facility, with emphasis on teamwork and close coordination among interested parties. The eBook follows ASHRAE's latest mobile apps on duct fitting databases and Standard 62.1, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality. The GreenGuide eBook includes … Read more
ASHRAE Seeks to Reduce Heat Island Effect
ATLANTA— Requirements to reduce heat and subsequent energy use on building sites are proposed for the green building standard developed by ASHRAE, IES and USGBC. Five proposed addenda to Standard 189.1-2009, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, are open for public comment. To learn more or to comment, visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews. Developed by ASHRAE in conjunction with the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America and the U.S. Green Building Council, the standard provides a long-needed green building foundation for those who strive to design, build and operate green buildings. > Addendum k updates portions of … Read more
ASHRAE Seeks Public Comment on Standard for Existing Buildings
ATLANTA, Ga. — To ensure a sustainable future, the greatest opportunity lies in modifying existing buildings. Only 2 percent of construction projects are for new buildings, while 86 percent of construction dollars go into renovation of our existing building stock. The standard is open for an advisory public review until May 25, 2011. Visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews for more information. ASHRAE and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) are revising ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 100-2006, Energy Conservation in Existing Buildings, to provide greater guidance and a more comprehensive approach to the retrofit of existing buildings for increased energy efficiency. The standard was first published … Read more
Michael D. Bellaman Named President and CEO of ABC
Associated Builders and Contractors recently announced the appointment of Michael D. Bellaman as president and CEO, effective Feb. 1. In a career spanning 23 years with Lend Lease Corporation, he served as CEO of Americas for Bovis Lend Lease from 2008 to June 2010, having started with the company as a project engineer. Most recently, he has been involved in a number of entrepreneurial initiatives, including serving as managing director of Grow the Pie Ventures, LLC. Previously, as CEO of Lend Lease Retail and Communities from 2005 to 2008, Bellaman was responsible for the management and … Read more