ArcelorMittal, U.S. Set To Raise Steel Prices by $40 per ton
For the first time since last summers slump (2018) US steel prices have increased. Good news for the steelworkers of ArcelorMittal and Nucor as increasing prices have bumped up company profits for US steel to $1.1 billion. However it’s not great news for house builders and consumers, so if you are looking at any projects with a large steel component then you may want to investigate if now is a good time to buy, or if it would be better…
Interview With RIBA International Prize-Winning Architect
UTEC (Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología) in Lima, Peru, recently won the first ever RIBA International Prize for 2016. The Royal Institute of British Architects judged the project as “setting a new global standard for architectural achievement.” In an interview with Figueras Seating, Alejandro Shell Montero of Shell Arquitectos spoke about the design and how it reflected both the surrounding natural environment and the people who would occupy it. Here are some excerpts from that interview: The shape of the building reflects…
arc Online Platform Will Drive Green Building Performance
A new online platform, arc, announced at this year’s Greenbuild conference, will allow buildings to measure their energy performance against several green building rating systems, benchmark energy use against similar buildings, and make improvements. LEED-certified buildings can use arc to improve and benchmark against other certified buildings around them. Buildings that have not certified yet will be able to use arc to make incremental sustainability improvements and eventually achieve LEED certification. “The LEED rating system revolutionized the design, construction and…
Canada Tops Out World’s Tallest Wood-Frame Building
Celebrating the tallest wood-frame building of its kind anywhere in the world, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr recently attended the “topping out” ceremony of the Brock Commons Residence. The new University of British Columbia student housing tower rises 18 stories to reach a stunning 178.8 feet (53 meters) tall. Under construction at the University of British Columbia Point Grey campus, the CA$51.5 million mass timber structure is a hybrid system comprised of cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor slabs, glulam…
SEIA Launches PV Recycling Program
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) plans on collaborating with companies like First Solar, SunPower, Flex, JinkoSolar, Panasonic, SolarCity, and Trina Solar as part of a new solar PV recycling program. As SEIA published in mid-September, it has launched a first-of-its-kind national PV recycling program. Of note, this program is designed to ensure the sustainability of the US solar market. In collaborating with major solar companies and developers, SEIA has established a state-of-the-art network of recyclers who are able to handle PV…
UL Courting Solar Market With New Acquisition
This article was originally published on Planetsave Independent global testing and certification body UL (Underwriters Laboratory) has acquired renewable energy engineering services and support firm, AWS Truepower for an unspecified sum. Underwriters Laboratory (UL) announced its AWS Truepower acquisition will strengthen its full lifecycle solutions. “There is strong alignment between the two brands,” said Jeffrey Smidt, vice president & general manager for UL Energy & Power Technologies. “UL and AWS Truepower have a shared mission and complementary businesses. As the market for renewable…
$20,000 Tiny House Is Upending The Construction, Banking Industries
Rural Studio in Alabama has spent a decade perfecting the design of a tiny house that will cost less than $20,000 to build, including labor. Their first prototype was completed in January.
Pig Manure Bioadhesive Produces Alternative To Asphalt Paving
A newly discovered pig manure bioadhesive has been developed by civil engineer Ellie Fini and a team at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Turns out the oils in swine manure are similar to petroleum, but are too low-grade for gasoline and perfect for asphalt. First, just to be clear, the asphalt created with this pig manure bioadhesive does not create an offensive odor. The odor-causing parts of the manure are removed during processing. “It is different from petroleum refinery,…
Vienna Will Be Home To World’s Tallest Wooden Building
The tallest wooden building in the world is under construction in Vienna. It will be 276 feet tall and save 2,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide compared to a concrete building.
