Air conditioning uses a lot of energy, which is undoubtedly why your father was always yelling about somebody messing with the thermostat when you were younger. The problem is, though, that now that we have it and expect it in every building, we can’t live without it. One 80 year old designer and engineer believes he has solved the energy consumption problem and a hotel in Amsterdam will be using his design to create the World’s first Zero-Energy hotel.
Read moreResearchers Testing How Self-Healing Concrete Holds Up to Real World Conditions
Cardiff School of Engineering
Concrete is great. It’s strong, it’s got a long life, but then, it cracks and everyone is bummed out. Cracking is not only an eyesore, but it leads to structural issues and leaks, among other issues. Back in May, we wrote about a concrete additive that would allow the concrete to “heal” its own cracks and it’s got researchers pretty excited about the possibilities.
Read moreHere’s What The Construction Industry Could Look Like 30 Years in the Future
The 30 year mark for predictions made by the movie Back to the Future has come and gone, which has sparked a lot of speculation as to what the next 30 years will look like on Earth. Though we didn’t get everything that the movie had promised, the amount of technological advances that have already been made obsolete by newer and better technology is nothing short of amazing.
Read moreNorth America’s Tallest Wood Building to Be Built in Quebec
The Origine Condominium Complex. Rendering courtesy of Nordic Structures
Buildings have been made with wood for thousands of years, but those buildings rarely make it above a couple stories high. Due to building codes and requirements, non-combustible materials like concrete and steel are required to be used in most commercial buildings. Typical timber buildings, like many North American houses will easily burn in the right conditions, but more and more projects are using cross-laminated timber (CLT) which has excellent non-combustion properties
Read moreUSGBC: Green Construction Will Account for 1/3 of All Construction by 2018
A recent study by Booz Allen Hamilton, prepared for the US Green Building Council, examined the overall impact of green building in 2015 and its projected impacts on the construction industry in future years. Its overall findings concluded that green building is growing at a pace much faster than conventional building and even predicts that it will account for one-third of all building in 2018, only a short 3 years away.
Read moreInflatable Bubble Building Hopes to Improve Air and Light Quality in Polluted Shanghai
After moving from his native Rome to Shanghai, China, architect Francesco Gatti noticed a distinct difference in the beauty of sky. The dull, gray, ultra-polluted sky of Shanghai left him hoping the sun would go down earlier, so he wouldn’t have to look at it anymore. When Gatti later realized how much better he felt when the room he was in had a frosted skylight, which accentuates the brightness of the sunlight, he decided to design a whole building around that concept.
Read moreUS Army Scientists Develop Smaller, Stronger, Cheaper Solar Cells
Photo by Mountain/ \Ash, CC BY 2.0
Solar technology has struggled since its inception to stay cost effective enough to make up for the large initial investment. Government subsidies have helped, but many fear that those will soon go away. Because of that, scientists are fighting to produce smaller, more powerful solar cells to bridge the gap between energy and cost savings and US Army scientists have made a new breakthrough in the technology.
Read moreScientists Create an Invisible Solar Cell That Transforms Windows into an Energy Source
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), solar electricity use in the United States increased by 34% in 2014 versus 2013. This solar technology could turn a standard window into a viable energy source.
Read moreThis Infographic Will Catch You Up on the Latest Construction Technological Advances
The construction industry is historically late to adopt technologies, but it seems, as of late, that there have been all kinds of amazing technological advances in the industry, making it inevitable that at least a few will stick. While some of these advances are still being tested and evolving, others are slowly starting to infiltrate job sites and make a huge impact, whether it’s labor cost savings, energy savings, time savings, or creates a more sustainable end product.
This infographic will get you up to speed on the most exciting developments in construction technology...
Read moreFirst Completely 3D Printed Office to Be Built, Furniture and All
Dubai is no stranger to doing historic things in the construction industry, especially since it houses the World’s Tallest Building, the Burj Khalifa. This time, their putting themselves back into the news with the Word’s first completely 3D printed office building.
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