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Proposed tariffs by the incoming Trump administration may increase the prices of many items at the store. But for architects and advocates working on more efficient and sustainable buildings, there’s fear that tariffs could impact specific materials and machines that are key to their work.
Higher costs from tariffs, some say, may slow down the pick up of these techniques of residential and commercial construction, and make such buildings more expensive and less attractive to build.
— Fast Company
Firms could be hard put to keep pace with the cost of procuring materials like mass timber and products such as heat pumps after the proposed blanket tariffs are enacted, explains FastCompany. This would add stress and uncertainty to the already lagging American building industry, which is... View full entry
Construction input prices ticked up 1.5% in August, the first increase in six months, due to a surge in energy costs, according to a new Associated Builders and Contractors’ analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data released Thursday. — Construction Dive
These readings come as a shock as the flattening of costs suggested that inflation was cooling. According to a separate analysis from the Associated General Contractors of America, a major increase in diesel fuel costs in August drove the overall increase in materials prices. The producer price... View full entry
A new analysis by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has found that overall construction input prices are 3.7% lower than a year ago. Derived from new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index, the ABC analysis also found that construction input prices fell 0.6%... View full entry
A new Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data has shown a year-to-year decline in the cost of construction input prices for the first time in 18 months. Overall construction input prices are now 0.9% lower compared to March of... View full entry
A Swiss research team from Empa's Building Energy Materials and Components Lab explores the potential for using raw, plant-based materials as insulation for buildings. Led by scientist Dr. Jannis Wernery and researchers from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, the project is... View full entry
This is the 33rd year the "Walking on Water" competition has been held at FIU as part of Professor Jaime Canaves’ Materials & Methods of Construction course. As reported by WSVN Miami , "Not many people can say they can walk on water, but these second-year architecture students at Florida... View full entry
The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture's Materials Lab and Interior Design Program have been awarded a $60,000 grant from the Angelo Donghia Foundation. The money will be used to reimagine how students learn about materials by reframing the Materials Lab’s existing collection... View full entry
A quartet of undergraduate engineering students at the American University in Cairo has developed self-luminescent concrete they say is a possible offset to the material’s poor environmental performance. Working under the stewardship of Professor Mohamed Nagib AbouZeid, the students were able to... View full entry
A new study from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has revealed important statistics that provide a clearer picture of the present state of tall mass timber construction across the globe. There are now a total of 66 completed mass timber projects worldwide totaling of... View full entry
A surprising number of new British construction projects are not in line with the country’s supposedly stringent sustainability mandates, according to a new industry poll published by the product information platform NBS. The survey revealed that just 14% of respondents worked on projects... View full entry
Two buckets. That’s all that was left at the end of the day when Nexii, a concrete alternative start-up, tore down one of its first demonstration projects. A 700-square-foot showroom and model home displaying Nexii’s building technology was constructed in 2019 near Vancouver to prove the buildability of the new material, which has far lower emissions than conventional concrete. — Fast Company
Combining their sturdy panel-based construction system with their concrete alternative, Nexiite, which produces about 35% lower carbon emissions than conventional concrete, Nexii was able to deconstruct the showroom in six days, saving almost every part of the building for future reconstruction... View full entry
The once-thriving construction industry in Ukraine has ground to a near halt as the nation shifts into battling an invasion by Russia. Before the incursion, which began Feb. 24, construction sites across the country were booming in many different sectors, according to Morgan Williams, president of the 200-member U.S.-Ukraine Business Council in Washington, D.C. — Construction Dive
Russia’s invasion has stymied Ukraine’s construction industry, which was surging under the country’s “Big Construction” program. The initiative was spearheaded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and aimed to rebuild and renovate infrastructure across the country. Construction... View full entry
Following January's look at architecture's relationship with furniture and product design, we're taking another look at alternative career paths an architecture education can provide. This week, we highlight a selection of exciting job opportunities listed on Archinect... View full entry
Architects, officials, and villagers confirm the trend: People are discarding traditional materials, mostly mud, in favor of concrete, as soon as they can afford it. As living standards increase making concrete more accessible, some of the world’s hottest, poorest landscapes are rapidly morphing from brown to cinder block grey. — National Geographic
Architects like Francis Kéré have been attempting to buck the trend of using concrete by experimenting with upgraded versions of terrestrial materials like mud bricks that simultaneously provide tools for community-building in developing countries like Burkina Faso. Facade detail of Kéré... View full entry
An international research team led by scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore has invented a new window material that controls heat transmission without blocking views, which could help reduce the energy required to cool and heat buildings. The new energy-saving... View full entry
