How AI Can Help the Construction Industry Meet the Need for Housing
By Jim Campbell
January 25, 2024
According to research from the National Association of Realtors, the United States is facing a shortage of 5.5 million homes. The gap continues to grow despite widespread efforts to meet rising demand, like a multi-family housing boom in 2023. While construction companies are fig...
Building Sophia's Dream House
By Ken Budd
January 25, 2024
On a sunny May morning in 2023, 10-year-old Sophia dug a ceremonial shovel into the backyard soil of her Kaukauna, Wisconsin, home. The groundbreaking event was organized by Consolidated Construction Co., which was building a playhouse for Sophia, free of charge, for a simple rea...
From the Ashes: Reconstructing After the Maui Wildfire
By Grace Calengor
November 1, 2023
On Tuesday, Aug. 8, a wildfire on the Hawaiian island of Maui ravaged the town of Lahaina, killing nearly 100 people and stranding thousands of survivors, many of whom remain displaced today. The loss of life makes this the deadliest American wildfire on record, while the materia...
Let the Sunshine In: Architectural Design Optimally Harvests Natural Light
By Del Williams
June 14, 2023
When architects, engineers, designers and building owners consider new construction or operational upgrades, effectively using natural daylight to reduce the need for artificial lighting can improve building aesthetics and function while reducing energy costs. For architects, let...
How Retro-Commissioning Can Extend the Life of a Building—and the Planet
By Matthew Zweibruck
May 23, 2023
Sustainability initiatives in the built environment need not be limited to new construction or other large expenditures. Aging facilities have the potential to extend their years of service while also combating greenhouse gas emissions. But what is the best course of action? From...
What's Old Is New
By Christopher Durso
April 7, 2023
The 1970s were not a golden age of energy efficiency. While public awareness of environmental issues grew throughout the decade—Earth Day and the Environmental Protection Agency debuted in 1970, Woodsy “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute” Owl in 1971, the United Nations Environment Progr...
Tile and Trouble
By Christopher Durso
October 1, 2022
After the clampdown on China, David Allen Company thought it had the global supply chain essentially figured out.
The tile, terrazzo and marble contractor sourced much of its product from China until 2019, when the U.S. Department of Commerce determined that the country had dump...
Everything Is Rent
By Rachel E. Pelovitz
September 29, 2022
RentCafe has ranked the most competitive apartment markets of 2022 so far (per Yardi proprietary data), and it turns out that today’s rental market is just as hot as the housing market was in summer 2020.
As of June, an average of 14 renters compete for an available apartment. R...
Scaling Up: Megaprojects Are a Big Deal
By Christopher Durso
September 27, 2022
In an industry of big jobs, megaprojects have always been the titans, so grand and soaring they seem to belong to another era. Think the Hoover Dam, or the Panama Canal, or the Transcontinental Railroad—captured in shadowy black-and-white photographs or grainy newsreel showing th...
How to Pitch Metal Roofing to Appeal to Your Customers' Green Sensibilities
By Brian Haraf
July 20, 2022
The metal roofing industry provides a recyclable, energy-efficient alternative to traditional roofing materials. That’s money that your customers can put back in their pockets as they line up to invest in more sustainable building methods. Sustainability is more than just a growi...
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