Buildings & Design: Page 3

  • A person wearing a tee shirt, sneakers and shorts walks out of a public toilet.
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    Stephen Chernin/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Finding public bathrooms in New York City just got easier

    The city this week unveiled a Google Maps layer showing the locations of its public restrooms. 

    By • June 7, 2024
  • A person in a blue shirt and black pants and shoes wears a surgical face mask and walks past a window. In the window, a sign reads "Retail for Lease."
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    Justin Sullivan/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    5 US cities prime for office-to-residential conversions

    An Urban Institute analysis names the cities that could benefit most from adaptive reuse projects based on office real estate markets and housing supply needs.

    By • June 6, 2024
  • smart city, smart cities Explore the Trendline➔
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    jamesteohart via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Smart Cities Dive

    From worsening climate change to a shifting transportation landscape and the housing affordability crisis, cities have their work cut out for them.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
  • A worker in a hard hat and yellow vest lays a large pipe in the ground. On the side of the pipe, the word "geothermal" is written three times.
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    Permission granted by Ania Camargo
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    Geothermal system is a US first

    A networked, utility-owned system in a Massachusetts community's pilot could replace fossil fuel for heating and cooling across entire neighborhoods.

    By • June 5, 2024
  • Three people in dark suits sit at a table with a black curtain in the background and people in chairs in front of them.
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    Julie Strupp/Smart Cities Dive
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    Code compliance not enough to protect builders from lawsuits amid climate change

    Contractors and engineers must keep up with more frequent, severe extreme weather despite outdated building codes, said legal experts at a recent building innovation conference.

    By Julie Strupp • June 3, 2024
  • Fermata Energy has partnered with the City of Boulder on a vehicle-to-grid charging project
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    Permission granted by Fermata Energy
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    EVs will power buildings in Colorado city’s ‘transformative’ pilot

    The pilot will inform how vehicle-to-everything charging technology can be used in areas at high risk of prolonged outages due to natural disaster or emergency events, a utility partner said.

    By Robert Walton • May 31, 2024
  • Looking up at skyscrapers against a blue sky
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    aiisha5 via Getty Images
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    Top cities for certified energy-efficient buildings announced by EPA

    Los Angeles has dominated the rankings for Energy Star-certified buildings year after year. The U.S. EPA has some ideas on why. 

    By • May 24, 2024
  • A person sits on the ground outside painting a colorful bench, while another lays behind the bench. Buckets of paint sit next to them.
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    Permission granted by Chattanooga Urbanist Society
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    Guerrilla urbanists are ‘doing it our damn selves’

    Some people decide to install bus stop benches, crosswalks and bike lanes without official approval. Experts say it’s an opportunity for cities to engage with the community.

    By Adina Solomon • May 23, 2024
  • Overhead view of brick, multistory buildings along a one-way street.
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    deberarr via Getty Images
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    Legal battle over NYC’s building emissions law resurfaces in appellate court

    A panel of New York State Supreme Court judges said the defendants, including New York City, have failed to show that the state’s existing climate legislation does not preempt Local Law 97. 

    By Nish Amarnath • May 20, 2024
  • Two workers in yellow vests and hard hats ride on the back of a truck spraying gray liquid onto a city street
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    Retrieved from City of San Antonio on YouTube on May 20, 2024
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    How cool pavement, heat risk data are helping a Texas city prep for summer

    With heat-related illness on the rise in San Antonio, “it’s critical that we direct resources to those most in need of relief,” said the city’s chief sustainability officer.

    By • May 20, 2024
  • The hallway of a home with white walls, with a thermostat that reads "70" on the wall. Above it is a panel that reads "Year-Round Comfort & Savings."
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    Dylan Slagle, BGE

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    EPA launches new Energy Star residential standard

    Requirements for certification include heat pumps, resident electric vehicle charging stations, electric cooking appliances and highly energy-efficient construction.

    By Mary Salmonsen • May 17, 2024
  • Ground view of high rise buildings
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    Zhou Yilou via Adobe Stock

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    Sponsored by Dow

    Structural integrity and safety begins with the right materials

    By selecting only high-quality materials that help infrastructure meet—or exceed—minimum building codes and standards, we can ensure our community’s structures are safe, durable and cost-effective.

    May 13, 2024
  • Apartment building with three cars parked in front
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    Retrieved from Bauer House on Facebook on May 09, 2024
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    HUD’s $4.8B green retrofit program announces first construction project deal

    A new heat pump system will replace the existing gas-powered system at an apartment community housing low-income older adults.

    By • May 9, 2024
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    Courtesy of Brookfield Properties, photo credit Nick Fochtman
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    Q&A

    ‘The death of the mall was a myth’: Brookfield Properties CEO on the evolution of an aging retail concept

    The right mix of retailers depends on the local community, Kevin McCrain said.

    By Daphne Howland • May 8, 2024
  • A person walks through knee-high floodwaters in front of a house.
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    Andrew Burton/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    HUD tightens flood-protection rules for new and rebuilt homes

    One floodplain manager predicts similar state and local standards may pop up nationwide, but those in real estate finance decried the rule.

    By • May 1, 2024
  • Landscape shot with trees in the foreground and a downtown skyline in the background
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    graphiknation via Getty Images
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    Atlanta office conversion goes to foreclosure

    Atlanta, like many cities, has plenty of office conversion candidates. However, those projects come with challenges. 

    By Leslie Shaver • April 30, 2024
  • An outside view of a courthouse of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
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    "Tyler May 2016 45 (William M. Steger Federal Building and United States Courthouse)" by Michael Barera is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    Energy Department finalizes rule to phase out fossil fuels in federal buildings

    The elimination of on-site fossil fuel use in new projects after 2030 is part of the Biden administration’s push for net-zero emissions from federal facilities by 2045.

    By Nish Amarnath • April 29, 2024
  • Aerial shot of red and blue stripes painted on a street
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    Permission granted by GAF
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    Results are in for a Los Angeles cool pavement experiment

    The covered neighborhood saw cooling benefits, a new study finds. But some researchers contend shade is king when it comes to protecting people from heat.

    By • April 26, 2024
  • A suburban office building, with a highway and more buildings behind.
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    Hal Bergman via Getty Images
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    Suburban office markets show better rent growth, lower vacancy rates than urban ones: Moody’s

    Top-performing properties had less access to local amenities, a Moody’s analysis found, challenging the common belief that high-performing properties must be in growing parts of metropolitan areas.

    By Joe Burns • April 18, 2024
  • Energy Department Secretary Jennifer Granholm behind a podium speaking.
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Rooftop heat pump technologies can save US businesses $5B annually: DOE

    A new U.S. Department of Energy program aims to bring higher-efficiency rooftop heat pump technologies to market as soon as 2027.

    By Nish Amarnath • April 9, 2024
  • A crane demolishing a house
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    temmuzcan via Getty Images
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    This city wants to deconstruct buildings to balance climate goals with growth

    Tacoma, Washington’s city council recently directed the city manager to propose ways to boost deconstruction and salvage in the community. It may be challenging given that demolition is often cheaper and easier.

    By • April 9, 2024
  • The outside of Rochester, Minnesota's City Hall and Government Center.
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    "Government Center Building" by Jonathunder is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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    Inside the rise of groundwater-based geothermal heat pumps

    The technology, which is cost-effective across 75% of the U.S. landmass and ideal for space-constrained users, could eventually displace utility gas service, proponents say.

    By Brian Martucci • April 5, 2024
  • Two people on a residential rooftop drilling solar panels in
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    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    These 8 nonprofits got $20B from the Biden administration for local clean energy financing. Now what?

    The “green bank” funds must be obligated by September 2024 amid efforts by Republican lawmakers to repeal the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

    By • April 5, 2024
  • Aerial shot of buildings in dense urban setting
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    AerialPerspective Works via Getty Images
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    High-priority local actions in Biden’s new plan to slash building GHG emissions

    The Department of Energy blueprint lays out specific goals to lower U.S. building emissions 90% by 2050 compared with 2005 levels.

    By • April 3, 2024
  • A person in a crowded room
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    Drew Angerer/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    DC mayor brokers $515M deal to keep two pro sports teams downtown

    The city’s new downtown revival plan is among the factors that reportedly convinced the owner of the Wizards and Capitals to keep them in downtown D.C. instead of proceeding with plans to move them to the Virginia suburbs.

    By • March 28, 2024
  • Silhouette of power line infrastructure at sunset
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    Sanghwan Kim via Getty Images
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    To chart its path away from gas, Massachusetts launches energy transformation office

    Headed by a former utility executive, the office will convene a task force with representatives from utilities, municipalities, business, labor and the supply chain industry.

    By • March 25, 2024