NEW YORK, N.Y. — The Dodge Momentum Index made a small gain in August, increasing to 118.8 (2000=100) for the month, up 0.2 percent from the July reading. The improvement in August is on the heels of a 5.7 percent decline in July, according to McGraw Hill Construction, a division of McGraw Hill Financial. The Momentum Index is a monthly measure of the first (or initial) report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year. The Momentum Index is now 13.9 percent higher than one year ago, … Read more

CONCORD, N.H. — William A. (Bill) Turner, PE, LEED AP, senior vice president of The H L Turner Group Inc. and president/CEO of Turner Building Science & Design, LLC predicts the pace of growth in zero-energy building construction will grow even faster than recent estimates done by Navigant Research, who indicates the market growing to $1.4 trillion in 2035. Turner says, “What we are experiencing on the ground level is rapid acceleration in the number of owners and builders going towards a zero net-energy platform. We are now able to demonstrate cost-effective strategies on a wide variety of building types … Read more

McCarthy recently finalized construction on the new University of California, Merced Science and Engineering Building 2. A ribbon-cutting event commemorating its completion and a grand opening was held on Aug. 27, which was attended by employees of UC Merced, McCarthy, project architect SmithGroupJJR and visiting dignitaries. The four-story, 101,900-square-foot facility will provide UC Merced with advanced educational and research capabilities and completes the academic core around the Carol Tomlinson-Keasey Quad. S&E2 houses mechanical engineering, material science, computer science, environmental and bio-engineering studies and will include classrooms, research spaces and laboratories, faculty offices, administrative areas and a wind tunnel lab. “Our … Read more