AWC Releases New 2021 Fire Design Specification
The American Wood Council (AWC) has released a new publication for fire design of wood members, assemblies, and connections to meet code requirements. The 2021 Fire Design Specification for Wood Construction (FDS) is available for free download on the AWC website: awc.org/codes-standards/publications/fds-2021. Since 2001, the National Design Specification® for…
SoftBank-Backed Katerra to Shut Down
Construction startup Katerra Inc. is shutting down, according to a person familiar with the matter, a dramatic collapse for a company that raised about $2 billion from investors including SoftBank Group Corp. Katerra, founded in 2015, had promised to shake up the construction industry with…
Spotlighting Sustainable Development with Green Building Day
Complementing National Environment Week, today, Built Green Canada issues its seventh annual challenge to municipalities, to raise awareness of the importance of sustainable building practices, to challenge municipalities to encourage green building, and to highlight those leading the way. In years previous,…
Online Indigenous Cultural Awareness Training for the Architecture Community
In honour of National Indigenous History Month, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is proud to announce a collaboration with NVision Insight Group to offer an Indigenous cultural awareness training program for the architecture community. The RAIC is committed to engaging in sustainable actions…
Modular Construction: “Not there yet”
Watch enough construction and it may occur to you that things have scarcely changed since Ramses II’s building spree. Yes, we have cranes, forklifts, and electric saws, but so much of building still comes down to backbreaking labor: guys digging ditches,…
London high rise proposal has heritage advocates feeling low
A London, Ont., property management company’s vision for a high rise at the edge of downtown isn’t getting approval from local heritage advocates. Farhi Holdings Corporation has proposed a 40-storey building at 435, 441 and 451 Ridout Street North, which is the…
Colombian coffee is now used to build houses
A startup based in Colombia, the world’s largest arabica coffee bean exporter, is utilizing coffee husks, a byproduct from the coffee roasting process that would otherwise go to waste, to build affordable housing, a report from FastCompany explains. The Bogotá-based company, called Woodpecker WPC,…
Bid on COMMAND Center at Concrete Industry Management Program Auction
The Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program awards students with a four-year degree in Concrete Industry Management and the annual auction is its primary funding source. Contractors interested in getting started with concrete temperature and maturity monitoring can bid on COMMAND Center…