Design

Contractors mitigate high prices, supply chain delays with lean construction tactics

Amid a brutal economic scenario, advancements in technology and lean construction are helping contractors stay efficient and profitable.

By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • July 26, 2021

Construction-related conferences for 2021 and beyond

From design and construction to technology and green building, industry trade shows of all types are continuing despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Matthew Thibault • July 20, 2021

Sponsored by ALLPLAN

Using BIM and VDC to defend against poor construction planning

The five important ways BIM and VDC can help contractors build a strong defense against poor construction planning.

Sponsored by DIRTT

3 things construction leaders get wrong about prefab and modular interiors

Cookie cutter, expensive, and risky? Not today's prefab. 

Sponsored by New Millennium Building Systems

Open your eyes—and mind—to new school design ideas

Achieve superior designs while meeting 5 unique performance demands of the education market.

Deep Dive

Post-pandemic: How COVID-19 will change office, hotel and mixed-use design

There are still unknowns as far as how the coronavirus pandemic will impact the look of new spaces, but flexibility in layouts will be key, design experts say.

By Kim Slowey • Jan. 25, 2021

Sponsored by Trimble ProjectSight

Bridging the gap between 2D drawings and 3D models

Overcome the shortcomings of 2D drawings by making the transition to using 3D models in the field. 

Swinerton to enter New York City office market

The San Francisco-based contractor has ambitious plans to target corporate interiors in the Big Apple, despite the uncertainty over the future of offices and urban centers post-pandemic.

By Joe Bousquin • Oct. 07, 2020

AIA paper offers guidance on the difference between delegated design and design assist

Both collaborative methods put contractors in the position of offering input that can influence the overall project.

By Kim Slowey • Sept. 16, 2020

Burger King to build mobile-focused restaurant model in 2021

The fast food chain's designs feature a drive-in, curbside pickup, mobile takeout lockers and a suspended kitchen that can deliver food to drive-thru customers using a conveyor belt. 

By Julie Littman • Sept. 10, 2020

How AECOM is riding technology to the 'workplace of the future'

Leveraging global design centers and repeatable aspects of past projects, the construction giant's new CEO sees remote work continuing long after the pandemic is over.

By Joe Bousquin • Sept. 09, 2020

How wide-ranging tech propelled Skanska's $4B LaGuardia Airport renovation

Aerial photogrammetry, a 4D scheduling model, laser scanning and 360-degree cameras were employed at the New York City jobsite, making one of the firm's most complex projects ever achievable. 

By Joe Bousquin • July 29, 2020

Sponsored by New Millennium Building Systems

3 ways to elevate your multi-story projects

Optimize multi-story projects with three long-span composite floor systems that meet your demands.

Architects report reduced demand, expected revenue loss and signs of future slowing of starts

Construction industry surveys also show project cancellations and slowdowns as the coronavirus outbreak spreads nationwide and state and local governments stop most or some construction work.

By Kim Slowey • March 30, 2020

Engineering review of $1B, FIGG-backed Houston bridge identifies design issues

FIGG, the Engineer of Record, said it will collaborate with the other project designers in addressing third-party consultant COWI's "significant concerns." 

By Kim Slowey • March 17, 2020

Collaboration trumps competition in offsite construction industry, and other takeaways from World of Modular

Identity issues, marketing myopia and a lack of standards inhibit growth, but those factors are being slowly ironed out through industrywide efforts, according to sentiment at the conference this month.

By Joe Beeton • March 12, 2020

The pros and cons of design-build

The collaborative design-build delivery method can save time and money, but experts say there are key factors contractors should consider before making the switch. 

By Kim Slowey • March 09, 2020

Column

Modular Monitor: How GCs, trades and architects view offsite construction, by the numbers

Responses from a Dodge survey show that the professions are aligned on some aspects and at odds on others. Here's what the data might mean for the future of modular construction.

By Joe Beeton • March 02, 2020

AIA pushes back on possible Trump architecture mandate

The AIA said an executive order mandating neoclassical architecture styles for federal buildings would increase construction costs and schedules and result in sub-optimal buildings.

By Kim Slowey • Feb. 25, 2020

Contractors increasingly involved in shaping blueprints through Generative Design practices

Proponents of generative design believe it can streamline the design process and allow contractors to exert influence that is beneficial to a project’s ultimate design.

By Kim Slowey • Feb. 12, 2020

Seattle's Rainier Square tower proving ground for reinforced concrete core alternative

The SpeedCore system allowed crews to top out the building in about half the scheduled time and saved the project more than $10 million.

By Kim Slowey • Jan. 29, 2020

TxDOT seeks removal of FIGG from $800M Harbor Bridge design

The agency decided that the engineering firm's role in the 2018 FIU bridge collapse is "significant enough" to warrant asking Flatiron-Dragados to have another firm design the bridge's main spans. Last week, a Texas authority halted construction on another FIGG bridge. 

By Joe Beeton • Jan. 14, 2020

Construction of Houston ship channel bridge halted to fix FIGG design

The authority behind the $962 million Sam Houston Tollway Ship Channel Bridge is giving FIGG Bridge Engineers three weeks to redesign the curved portion of the pylon legs and allow for an independent review.

By Kim Slowey • Jan. 08, 2020

Column

Modular Monitor: Getting 'heads in beds' means building hotels in factories

When it comes to heralding the advantages of offsite construction, the hospitality segment is checking in newcomers to the method like no other.

By Joe Beeton • Jan. 06, 2020

Modular building made major headway in the commercial construction market in 2019

A lot of noteworthy movement in the modular building market this year meant that the headlines really started stacking up.

By Joe Beeton • Dec. 20, 2019