The No. 1 business issue for home builders, remodelers, and land developers continues to be access to skilled labor. According to NAHB analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, as of April of this year there were 404,000 open construction sector positions. Not only is this level of unfilled jobs in the construction industry at a post–Great Recession high, the current estimate is the highest ever reading for this data series, which runs back two decades. — Builder
According to Builder, "the intensity of the labor shortage among builders grew more intense during 2018 and 2019." The challenges of this shortage on the construction industry bring higher costs, delays, and lower output on projects. Economist, Robert Dietz, Ph.D. suggests that, "Wage growth... View full entry
The Board of Harbor Commissioners of Long Beach, California, awarded a $38.7 million, five-year engineering design services contract to architectural, engineering and consulting firm HDR to perform the final design for the $870 million Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility Program at the Port of Long Beach. The project will help streamline rail operations and reduce congestion at the port, which has the second-highest volume of container traffic in the U.S. — Construction Dive
Architecture's collaborative nature means that leaders, more than ever, need to understand how to guide their teams. We've all had that supervisor or project manager who asks us to do something, only to leave us feeling confused and unsure of what needs to be accomplished. When we finish the task... View full entry
In an industry dependent on working with others, it is inevitable that we will come in contact with people we don't like. It might be a contractor, a consultant, or even one of our colleagues in the office. Whatever the case, working with someone we don't like can make work difficult. How do we... View full entry
As we progress in our careers in architecture, we can sometimes come to a crossroads where we feel like we're pretending. Maybe it's that first time on a construction site by yourself, and the fear of looking foolish or not knowing what to say begins to creep up. Perhaps, you've just completed... View full entry
After a year's delay, construction crews Monday were installing the final glass panels in on the upper floors of the new Little Caesars headquarters on Woodward Avenue near the Fox Theatre.
Originally expected to be opened last summer, the building was delayed over an apparent problem with the unique pizza-slice wedges of glass that form the facade.
— Detroit Free Press
The SmithGroup-designed Little Caesar's headquarters in Detroit is finally continuing its construction progress, nearly a year after hiccups with the tower's pizza-shaped window installation delayed the project's completion. View full entry
The dominant approach to hiring today – in which the hiring manager convenes a huddle and goes around the room hearing opinions on each candidate is particularly prone to groupthink. That is because in free-form discussions, the person with the metaphorical “loudest voice” typically over-influences the committee’s decision. — The Harvard Business Review
CEO and author, Atta Tarki, believes the hiring process can be prone to inefficiencies, particularly in group collaboration. He offers some recommendations on "how to make a true group decision:" First, the hiring team "should not share their interview experiences with each other before the final... View full entry
Paul Lyon, director of Warwickshire, Coventry and London-based company Lyson Architecture, was fined for referring to himself as a ‘Residential Architect’ on his website. He was also fined for using the Twitter handle @LysonArchitect ’despite having no architects at the pracitce’. — Architect's Journal
In the 2014 deal, Forest City Ratner vowed to expedite affordable housing for the 17-building development, under threat of a lawsuit from neighborhood groups that alleged the firm had broken faith with a community benefits pact signed nearly a decade earlier. — The City
After years of delays and false starts, construction on Brooklyn's Pacific Park development is finally moving along. But, the number of affordable housing units that the developer—Greenland Forest City Partners—agreed to construct through the project is falling short of... View full entry
The Department of City Planning studied commercial corridors in 24 neighborhoods across the five boroughs and concluded that while shuttered storefronts plague some of the city's richest and poorest areas, the phenomenon is far from a pandemic.
"There is no single dominant trend in retail in New York City," the survey asserts. "Data did not indicate a pervasive vacancy problem across the city, but did identify a number of high-vacancy corridors."
— Crain's New York
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) are among several organizations who have helped found the Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing (ARPL)—a new coalition of technical professions focused on educating policymakers and the public about the importance of rigorous professional licensing standards. — NCARB
In a press release announcing the creation of ARPL, NCARB CEO Michael J. Armstrong said, “Complex professions are at risk of being swept up in broad calls to reduce licensing requirements for occupations and vocations. It is important for us to work with other technical professions to ensure... View full entry
Nailing the “Tell me about yourself” question starts with realizing that your interviewer already knows your job history thanks to your resume. Performing a monologue based on your LinkedIn page is pointless, yet job applicants do it all the time. Remember that interviews are more about making strong matches than proving qualifications. If you weren’t qualified, you wouldn’t be in the room. — Harvard Business Review
We've all had this question in our job hunt. And it can sometimes be a perplexing one to answer. Presentation coach, Joel Schwartzberg, identifies this feeling in a recent article. "Receiving such an open invitation invites more perils than opportunities because you’re given no framework for... View full entry
"NCARB by the Numbers", provides new insights into the makeup of candidates and metrics relating to the pursuit of architectural licensure. The 2019 edition reveals updates regarding the number of U.S. architects, the time it takes to earn a license, diversity in the profession, analysis on attrition along the path to licensure, and a look back at historical data celebrating the organization’s 100-year history. — NCARB
NCARB's latest annual data report includes several record-setting or near-record statistics: For the first time, over half of newly licensed architects started their NCARB Record while in school. Nearly 5,000 candidates completed the Architect Registration Examination (ARE) in 2018, the... View full entry
Rising high in the skies over New York City, Chicago, Hong Kong, and other great metropolises are tall towers that appear impossibly slender. Fueled mostly by market demand from wealthy clients who desire spectacular views, the design and construction of these superslim, generally residential skyscrapers also depend on engineering advances over recent decades in building materials and damping technologies as well as careful coordination by the design teams. — Civil Engineering Magazine
"Slender" towers are beginning to pop up all over the world, notably, in cities like New York, where real estate is scarce, but the desire to maximize ROI is strong. "The limited space for new buildings in places like New York City generally involves small parcels of land, which means that these... View full entry
According to author Brian Solis, digital distractions are taking a significant toll on businesses, with 36-percent of Millennials and Gen Z workers reporting to spend two hours or more each workday "looking at their phones for personal activities." And while distractions can negatively influence... View full entry