Rugged Robotics, a Houston-based developer of construction technology, raised $9.4 million in Series A funding. Similar to Dusty Robotics, Rugged offers a robot to automate construction layout. Rugged’s Mark I marks architectural and engineering designs directly onto concrete floors so workers know where to build. The robot is available for commercial use, which the company delivers via layout as a service (a derivative of Robots as a Service). — The Robot Report
The funding round was led by BOLD Capital Partners and Brick & Mortar Ventures, along with Riot Ventures, Morpheus, Embark, Consigli Construction Company, and Suffolk Technologies. This latest capitalization round brings the company’s full funding to around $12 million. Rugged Robotics... View full entry
In what has been dubbed a milestone in U.S. legal history, a lake has filed a lawsuit against a developer in Orange County, Florida. Lake Mary Jane is suing property developers Beachline South Residential in Florida state court over the developer’s plans to construct a new development on the... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects released new economic data this morning, indicating a significant increase in the demand for design services in March. The latest Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score rose to 58.0, up sharply from a score of 51.3 in February. The March scores for both... View full entry
The residential housing market continued its remarkable ascension in March, according to a market report published this week by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The report indicates some more positive news for the industry in the face of several... View full entry
While speculation over what a long-term “post-pandemic workplace” may look like is often distilled into conversations about remote and hybrid working, the topic of asynchronous working garners relatively less attention. This comes despite the fact that many of the touted benefits of remote... View full entry
The number of cranes in North America's major cities increased 4.74% from Q3 2021 to Q1 2022, recovering from the identical decrease from the previous Rider Levett Bucknall crane index report. — Construction Dive
Rider Levett Bucknall’s (RLB) index measured five cities with an increase in the number of cranes, six that yielded little change, and three that saw significant decreases, dropping by more than 20%. In total, North American cities added 22 cranes in the first quarter of 2022, in which more than... View full entry
The Dodge Momentum Index moved up another 4% in March to 166.9 from the revised February reading of 160.3. Last month, commercial planning rose 7%, while institutional planning fell by less than one percent. Commercial planning in March was just slightly lower than the all-time high set in... View full entry
An office building in Harlem has become the first building in New York City, and one of the first in the country, to be listed on the stock market in its own right. Located at 286 Lenox Avenue, the 18,759-square-foot building holds four floors of office and retail, with three tenants including... View full entry
The Department for Professional Employees (DPE), a coalition of U.S.-based unions, has launched a survey seeking to understand the unionization landscape in the architectural profession. The group’s 24 affiliated unions span from artists to school administrators as well as the IAM union which... View full entry
In a new thought piece, NBBJ architect Ryan Mullenix presents the findings of NBBJ and the University of Washington’s research into how hybrid workspaces impact creativity. Coincidentally launched at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the research sought to establish the key behavioral and... View full entry
The cost of direct damage to Ukraine's infrastructure in the month since Russia invaded the country has reached $63 billion, according to an analysis from the Kyiv School of Economics. — Construction Dive
The Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) also reports that between the start of the invasion on February 24th through March 24th, at least 4,431 residential buildings, 92 factories and warehouses, 378 schools, 138 healthcare institutions, 12 airports, and seven thermal power and hydroelectric power... View full entry
Josh Niland reached out to both emerging and established firms founded by architects who are partners (in both business and life) and asked them to reflect on the benefits and practice of such a "total" partnership. Some noted an "About" page, "crafted" language and reallynotmyname felt like "This... View full entry
A Pennsylvania-based architecture firm has filed a civil lawsuit in the state’s Middle District Court against a former developer client for breach-of-contract and copyright infringement. Murray Associates Architects filed the suit against Pine Ridge Construction Management on March 28th... View full entry
The architecture and publishing worlds have lost an icon after news broke yesterday about the passing of legendary Princeton Architectural Press founder Kevin Lippert on March 29th following a long battle with cancer. Lippert founded the Press while still a student at the Princeton University... View full entry
On Friday, March 25th, a panel discussion became a lightning rod striking attention to the questionable ethics of architectural academia and professional practice. Depending on what news and social media platforms you follow, keeping track of the events that followed SCI-Arc's Basecamp... View full entry
