Form over function gone too far? Ticket-holders in some seats in The London 2012 Aquatic Center will get a refund because “the angle and curve of the aquatic centre roof” obscures the views of divers. The building was designed by Zaha Hadid, who denies that the design is the reason…
Throughout the world, the popularity of “green roofs” is on the rise. ENR.com reports that green roofs are being used to mitigate various environmental problems facing urban areas, most notably, storm water management. According to the EPA, green roofs also help combat a problem known as “Heat Island Effect” by…
Time to revise the game plan. New Jersey officials re-evaluate planned infrastructure projects in light of Super Bowl 2014. Bottom line: be prepared for some gridlock. Oh, and bundle up since this will be the first ever outdoor Super Bowl in a cold-weather city. There’s an app for that! Bluebeam…
Under the Texas code, the workers’ compensation exclusive remedy bar applies up and down: barring injured employees of subcontractors from bringing common law tort suits against a general contractor which provided workers compensation insurance, and also in reverse, barring injured employees of the general contractor from bringing suit against a…
Effective July 1, 2012, all of the existing statutes governing mechanics liens, stop notices and payment bonds in California will be repealed and replaced by updated statutes. The law will also result in new statutes governing stop notices (on both public and private works), payment bonds and related claims. The…
On March 30, 2012, New Jersey’s Appellate Division issued a ruling in the case of New Jersey v Perini Corp. which explains how New Jersey’s 10 year statute of repose applies to projects using phased construction. New Jersey’s statute of repose essentially provides that no action may be brought to…
After three years of development, on March 28, 2012, the International Code Council (“ICC”) announced the release of its 2012 International Green Construction Code (“IgCC”). The IgCC, a milestone for bringing sustainability into the mainstream, will enable state and local governments to codify green building practice. The IgCC was developed…
Could LEED certification of new buildings cause increased injury rates for construction workers? Matthew Hallowell, an assistant professor in the Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering Department at the University of Colorado at Boulder, thinks so. A recent set of articles authored by Hallowell and several co-authors published or in review…
Colorado’s Regional Transportation District (RTD), the public transit provider for the Denver Metro area, is hopeful that public-private partnerships, including unsolicited P3 bids, will accelerate the completion of the FasTracks program. FasTracks, a voter-approved transit expansion program aimed at better connecting the Denver Metro area, includes 122 miles of commuter…
According to this article by Ben Nuckols, a team of surveyors is in town. They are here to figure out if the Washington Monument shifted or sunk during the 5.8-magnitude earthquake that hit our Nation’s capital in August of last year. Although the monument is structurally sound, it will remain…