Ecobuild America 2011: 4 Reasons to Brave DC in December

By Vicki Zambito

The Ecobuild America Conference is being held December 7-9 in Washington D.C. The widely popular event brings together AEC industry leaders from across the country to explore the latest in green building technology, products and proven strategies to improve future projects. The conference is billed as covering “the ENTIRE spectrum of strategies and technologies to build faster, smarter and more sustainably.”

I’ll be there but five other reasons to head to chilly D.C. in the middle of winter are:

1. There are many co-located events going on at the same time (so you can get more “bang for your travel buck”). Co-located events include: buildingSMART alliance conference, Building Enclosure Technology & Environment Council Symposium, FedCon ‘11, and the National Institute of Building Sciences Annual Meeting.

2. The keynote features two speakers from the Department of State and will reinforce the relationship between a Unified Building Management System and Building Information Modeling (BIM) through the use of the Construction Operations Building information exchange (COBie) standard.

3. The AEC Interoperability Center will feature kiosks clustered on the exhibit floor that visually demonstrate real-world examples of how BIM and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) systems are revolutionizing collaboration.

4. And the most important reason – free drinks! A new Happy Hour Reception with beer, wine and light snacks will happen on the expo floor Wednesday night from 4 -6 pm.

For more information on Ecobuild America, visit: http://aececobuild.com/conference-exhibits

7 Facts about the New International Green Construction Code

By Vicki Zambito

Final action hearings held this month on the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) mark a milestone in what’s been a 2-year development process. The code was finalized in Phoenix on November 6 and will be available Spring 2012. The objective of the IgCC is to raise regulatory minimums while raising high-performance possibilities. Here are seven things you should know about this new code:

1. The code applies to residential buildings over 3 stories tall and all commercial buildings.

2. Mandatory requirements make up the bulk of the code but jurisdictions which adopt it may also include their own requirements.

3. 1,500+ organizations have expressed their support of the IgCC including AECOM, CH2M Hill, and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

4. Greenfield development is not permitted (with some exceptions).

5. New buildings, renovations, and additions are required to have a zero energy performance index (zEPI) of 51.

6. Smoking shall not be allowed inside of the buildings.

7. Rhode Island was the first state to adopt the IgCC back in 2010. Other states to have already adopted the code include Florida, North Carolina and Oregon.

For more information, visit the International Code Council’s website at http://www.iccsafe.org/cs/IGCC/Pages/default.aspx

Green Projects Drive Growth for Green Design Firms: Meet the Top 5

By Vicki Zambito

Engineering News Record (ENR) just released its list of Top 100 Green Design Firms and for a fourth year in a row, revenue from green projects made a sizable leap. According to ENR, “In 2010, firms reported $3.47 billion in revenues from green projects globally, up 12.3 percent over 2009. In the United States, green project revenue increased a dramatic 17.4 percent, valued at $3.3 billion.” The top three green design firms all come out of California. Below is more information on the leading five from the ENR list.

1. URS Corp., San Francisco, California: 339 Million in revenue from green projects, 461 LEED APs

2. Gensler, San Francisco, California: 321 Million in revenue from green projects, 990 LEED APs

3. AECOM Technology Corp., Los Angeles, California: 192 Million in revenue from green projects, 904 LEED APs

4. Perkins+Will, Chicago, Illinois: 171 Million in revenue from green projects, 980 LEED APs

5. HOK, St. Louis, Missouri: 158 Million in revenue from green projects, 930 LEED APs

To see more of the list, visit: http://greensource.construction.com/features/currents/2011/images/1109-Green-Design-Firms-lg.jpg