Architectural service revenues in the United States are forecasted to rise 2.1% annually in nominal terms through 2023, according to Architectural Services: United States, a report recently released by Freedonia Focus Reports. Demand for services from domestic establishments is closely tied to US construction expenditures, which are forecast to rise 4.3% through 2023. Providers of architectural…
Architecture
US Architectural Service Revenues to Increase 2.1% Annually in Nominal Terms to 2023
Moseley Architects Announces the Promotion of 18 Individuals
President Stewart D. Roberson congratulated 10 new associates, six new senior associates, and two new vice presidents. “Moseley Architects proudly points to our highly professional team as our greatest asset,” Roberson said. “Over the course of our 50 successful years, our team has established a very strong reputation with our expansive client base.” “Across our firm, there are scores…
AIA ASPIRE Conference to Feature Sarah Susanka
Acclaimed speaker and sought-after media resource Sarah Susanka will be the AIA Southeast Region ASPIRE Conference on Monday April, 15, evening keynote speaker. Susanka is known for her book and presentations about The Not So Big Life, where she uses the same set of ideas to demonstrate that we can feel “at home” in our…
Architecture Billings Moderate in February Following Robust New Year
Architecture firm billings growth softened in February but remained positive, according to a new report from The American Institute of Architects (AIA). AIA’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score for February was 50.3, down from 55.3 in January. Indicators of work in the pipeline, including inquiries into new projects and the value of new design contracts…
Contracting
Burns & McDonnell Ranks No. 17 on Fortune’s List of Best Workplaces among Consulting and Professional Services Companies
Burns & McDonnell has once again been named by Fortune as one of the best workplaces in America among companies specializing in consulting and professional services. Burns & McDonnell learned today that it placed No. 17 on the 2019 Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services list. The ranking was conducted by Great Place to Work, a global…
March Construction Starts Surge 16 Percent
New construction starts in March advanced 16% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $809.2 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The substantial gain followed a lackluster performance during the first two months of 2019, as total construction starts in March were able to climb back to a level slightly…
Estimating Construction Labor Costs
How to estimate construction labor cost can be a daunting task with extreme pressure for the commercial estimator to get it right or face severe consequences. Working under pressure is right. The results of miscalculations producing an inaccurate quote or estimate can lead to many business outcomes all bad – lost money and new business,…
AGC Honors Carolinas AGC Members at National Convention
The AGC of America honored several Carolinas AGC members with awards and distinctions at its 100th Annual AGC Convention last week in Denver, CO. Crowder Construction received a 2019 JLT Build America Award in the new category of Utility Infrastructure for its Sustainable Water Phase 3 – Demonstration Facility Project. (See awards photos here.) Langston Construction…
Energy
USGBC Launches LEED Zero Certification for Net-Zero Buildings
USGBC’s new certification program encourages net-zero operations for carbon emissions, water and energy use, and waste management. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) launched LEED Zero, a new program that will address net zero operations and resources in buildings. “Net zero is a powerful target that will move the entire industry forward,” said Melissa Baker,…
Dominion Energy Seeks Solar and Onshore Wind Generation Proposals
Dominion Energy is seeking bids for up to 500 megawatts of solar and onshore wind generation as part of a plan to develop 3,000 megawatts of additional solar and wind power under Virginia’s new Grid Transformation & Security Act (GTSA). The GTSA, which became law on July 1, 2018, paves the way for the largest…
Kings Mountain Energy Center Begins Operations
Cleveland County officially became home to one of the cleanest and most efficient power plants in the nation today, as NTE Energy’s Kings Mountain Energy Center (KMEC) formally began operations. Officials from NTE Energy joined with city, county, and state leaders Tuesday to cut the ribbon on the $500 million facility. The 475 MW natural…
Engineering
Engineering Firm Revenues Expected to Rise
Engineering service revenues in the United States are forecast to advance 3.8% per annum in nominal terms through 2023, according to Engineering Services: United States, a report recently released by Freedonia Focus Reports. Demand for services from domestic engineering service establishments is closely tied to domestic construction expenditures, which are forecast to rise 4.3% per year…
GeoCarolinas Conference Set for Early March in Charlotte
The Carolinas Chapter of the Geo-Institute is pleased to announce the second GeoCarolinas Conference. The event will take place March 4 and 5, 2019 at the UNC Charlotte Center City in Charlotte, N.C., and will include state-of-the art technical presentations by leaders in the field of geotechnical engineering, interaction with 24 industry leading exhibitors, as…
Jacobs to Sell Energy, Chemicals and Resources Business to WorleyParsons for $3.3 Billion
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Energy, Chemicals and Resources (ECR) segment to WorleyParsons Limited (ASX: WOR) for $3.3 billion, consisting of $2.6 billion in cash and $700 million in WorleyParsons ordinary shares. The transaction value represents a multiple of more than 11.5…
New ASCE Manual of Practice Focuses on Infrastructure Resilience in a Changing Climate
ASCE’s new book, Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: Adaptive Design and Risk Management, MOP 140, provides guidance for and contributes to the developing or enhancing of methods for infrastructure analysis and design in a world in which risk profiles are changing and can be projected with varying degrees of uncertainty requiring a new design philosophy to meet this…
Equipment
Williams Scotsman to Acquire Acton Mobile
WillScot Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC) (“Williams Scotsman”) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement whereby Williams Scotsman International, Inc. will acquire the entity that owns Acton Mobile (ActonMobile.com) from Prophet Equity for a cash purchase price of $235 million, subject to customary adjustments. Brad Soultz, president and chief executive officer of Williams Scotsman, commented,…
EquipmentWatch Establishes New Standard for Standby and Idling Cost Calculation
EquipmentWatch, a leader in data, software, and insights for the heavy equipment industry, has expanded its Cost Recovery product to include hourly cost rates for standby and idling equipment. These new rates are a welcome addition to the standard Rental Rate Blue Book active use rates specified by the Federal Highway Administration, most state DOTs,…
Ritchie Bros. to Close Raleigh-Durham Location as Buyers Move Online
Construction and industrial equipment sales group Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE:RBA) will be closing five locations across North America in a move to focus on online sales and larger locations. In an email to employees, Ritchie Bros. CEO Ravi Saligram said the closure of small sites comes as more people are taking part in auctions…
EquipmentWatch Announces Lowest Cost of Ownership Awards Winners
Today, EquipmentWatch named the winners of the 2017-2018 Lowest Cost of Ownership Awards. The announcement was made during the awards ceremony held during EquipmentWatch’s 1st annual customer conference, Traction. The winners represent the models, within their respective equipment types, with the lowest five year total cost of ownership and were identified using proprietary EquipmentWatch Ownership…
Facilities
8 Reasons Why You Need to Have Annual Plumbing Checks
Running a business can be a daunting feat. New problems will catch you off-guard and sometimes all you can really do is take the bull by the horns, and hope that everything will return to normal. Even a short business interruption can mean losing thousands of dollars! A business owner keeps an eye on the…
Survey Reveals Majority of Facilities Teams Are Unprepared for Catastrophes
Survey statistics in the just released eBook, “Information Management for Facilities and Operations” show that building managers and their facilities teams aren’t as prepared for the next catastrophe as they’d like to be. Released by AIIM Market Research and ARC Document Solutions, the eBook highlights trends in facilities management on preparedness and recovery, including cloud…
BOMA Releases New Office Measurement Standard
Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International has released the latest update to its floor measurement standard for office buildings, BOMA 2017 for Office Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.1—2017). This updated publication is designed to reflect changes within the commercial real estate industry since the release of the prior edition of the standard…
Benchmarking of Integrated Facilities Management Best Practices
Global procurement market intelligence firm, SpendEdge is hosting a webinar titled ‘Benchmarking of Integrated Facilities Management Best Practices’ on April 5th and 6th. The 45-minute webinar will also include a Q&A session, allowing attendees to put questions to their panel of procurement experts. Having existed for a very long time, facilities management (FM) became a…
Maintenance
Culvert Rehabilitation Project Features InfraSteel
The InfraSteel culvert rehabilitation solution is chosen by the Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina for its Booker Creek Culvert at Elliot Road Rehabilitation Project. The InfraSteel slip-liner will preserve the existing failing bridge structure and avoid a road closure. According to InfraSteel executive Cullom Walker, “Elliot Road is busy and intersects heavily traveled US…
Products
Clemson’s Wood Utilization + Design Institute Celebrates Five Years Promoting “Wood is Good”
CLEMSON – Trees have provided a viable building material for centuries, and although steel and concrete have taken center stage in contemporary construction, lumber is making a comeback. Building with wood has a number of advantages. For the past five years, Clemson University’s Wood Utilization + Design Institute (WU+D) has been educating individuals in the Southeast about…
NC State Researchers Develop Technique to Characterize Strength and Failure of Cement
Researchers from North Carolina State University have, for the first time, used a “micropillar compression” technique to characterize the micro-scale strength of cement, allowing for the development of cement with desirable strength properties for civil engineering applications. “The information collected using this technique can be used to better understand the behavior of concrete when it…
Lumber Tariff to Impact Construction Costs
As construction material price are rising, the US Commerce Department took action that will contribute to an additional rise in the prices of a key building material. Wilber Ross, US Commerce Secretary has announced a new 20% tariff on imports of Canadian softwood lumber. The US currently imports about $5.66 billion worth of softwood lumber…
Culvert Rehabilitation Project Features InfraSteel
The InfraSteel culvert rehabilitation solution is chosen by the Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina for its Booker Creek Culvert at Elliot Road Rehabilitation Project. The InfraSteel slip-liner will preserve the existing failing bridge structure and avoid a road closure. According to InfraSteel executive Cullom Walker, “Elliot Road is busy and intersects heavily traveled US…
Suppliers
Metromont Corporation to Acquire Shockey Precast Group
Metromont Corporation, a manufacturer of precast concrete materials, announces its plan to acquire Shockey Precast Group of Winchester, Va. “The Shockey Precast Group has an outstanding reputation. Don Shockey has built a quality operation and organization. Our culture and business models are very similar which will make for a smooth transition that’s beneficial to both…
Carolina Comfort Air Recognized as the #3 Top Volume Trane Dealer in the Nation
With a 4000% growth since 2007, Carolina Comfort Air was recently recognized among Trane’s top volume performers in the country. The award is based on purchase volume of Trane equipment in residential, light commercial, and new construction. Winners are selected based on their ability to implement Trane’s technical and business acumen, and they are required…
Acton Mobile Completes Asset Acquisition of Mobile Office Units from Mobile Mini
Acton Mobile (ActonMobile.com), America’s mobile facilities company, announced today the acquisition of Mobile Mini’s mobile office fleet in Tennessee. This is the second asset acquisition from Mobile Mini within the last two years. “In addition to Acton Mobile’s remarkable organic growth during 2016, this transaction will further accelerate our market penetration throughout Tennessee, North Carolina…
Culvert Rehabilitation Project Features InfraSteel
The InfraSteel culvert rehabilitation solution is chosen by the Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina for its Booker Creek Culvert at Elliot Road Rehabilitation Project. The InfraSteel slip-liner will preserve the existing failing bridge structure and avoid a road closure. According to InfraSteel executive Cullom Walker, “Elliot Road is busy and intersects heavily traveled US…
Sustainability
Duke Energy Renewables completes acquisition of 150-MW North Rosamond solar project from Clearway Energy Group
Duke Energy Renewables, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, announced it has acquired the 150-megawatt (MW) North Rosamond solar project in Kern County, California from Clearway Energy Group. The North Rosamond solar project is Duke Energy Renewables’ sixth solar generation facility in Kern County. “North Rosamond is a great addition to our growing solar portfolio,” said…
Competitive Process Yields Carolinas’ Biggest One-day Collection of Solar Projects
Bringing more cost-effective solar energy to the Carolinas, 14 utility-scale projects have been selected during an independently judged bidding process – part of a 2017 comprehensive renewable energy law. Based on an independent evaluation process, Duke Energy will produce or purchase a total of 602 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy from projects under the North Carolina’s Competitive…
Moseley Architects Honored as Community Change Agent in the Carolinas
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Carolinas Chapter has honored Moseley Architects as the Community Change Agent for Professional Services in the 2018 Sustainable Business Awards. This award recognizes any leader, organization, company or governmental entity that has demonstrated leadership in sustainability at exceptional scale. With a diverse portfolio of Leadership in Energy and Environmental…
USGBC Launches LEED Zero Certification for Net-Zero Buildings
USGBC’s new certification program encourages net-zero operations for carbon emissions, water and energy use, and waste management. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) launched LEED Zero, a new program that will address net zero operations and resources in buildings. “Net zero is a powerful target that will move the entire industry forward,” said Melissa Baker,…
