The holy grail of integrated design still lies just out of reach. The idea of an all-in-one software package that would optimize such seemingly disparate elements as a building’s structure, energy performance, and form has yet to advance beyond the conceptual phase. The four directors of the group SmartGeometry (www.smartgeometry.org), a nonprofit educational charity interested in digital modeling, would like to change that. Started four years ago in London by a group of friends—Robert Aish, Lars Hesselgren, Hugh Whitehead, and J. Parrish—SmartGeometry organized a conference and workshop this January in New York City (the day-long conference, which followed a five-day
As sustainable design concepts increasingly infiltrate the lucrative residential design and construction market, homeowners looking for reliable information on local architects and contractors with knowledge of the field can encounter a frustrating process. That situation is the impetus behind the new Web site, www.greenbuildingblocks.com, which had a soft launch at GreenBuild 2006, held in Denver in November. Now in beta form, the website hosts a growing number of professionals on pages that provide firm information and project portfolios. The site also functions as a network for local designers and contractors to connect. Need a sustainably minded mechanical contractor in Stillwell,
Image courtesy Planon Systems Cliché or not, you’ve probably doodled the solution to a design problem on a cocktail napkin. And you’ve likely wanted to take the idea back to the office, but not necessarily the napkin. The Docupen RC800, a handheld scanner, will let you do just that the next time inspiration strikes in a bar or airplane. Because users roll the 2-ounce, 9-inch-long, cordless device over the documents they wish to scan, rather than feed individual sheets through a slot, architects may find the Docupen helpful in situations in which pass-through-type portable scanners would be impractical. For example,
As sustainable design concepts increasingly infiltrate the lucrative residential design and construction market, homeowners looking for reliable information on local architects and contractors with knowledge of the field can encounter a frustrating process.
The PDF file format continues its dominance of the portable file market with the release of an updated version of Adobe’s Acrobat, now in version 8, and the launch of a reconstituted edition of the Internet conferencing software Breeze, now called Adobe Acrobat Connect.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions trading, a market-based strategy for mitigating climate change, has been steadily growing over the past few years, and furnishing and building-product companies are among the industries adopting the practice.
Last month’s declaration by a United Nations panel that global warming is “unequivocal,” and that fossil fuel use is “very likely” to blame, should intensify discussion of the already hot topic.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions trading, a market-based strategy for mitigating climate change, has been steadily growing over the past few years, and furnishing and building-product companies are among the industries adopting the practice. Image courtesy Haworth. U.S. furniture systems manufacturer Haworth announced late last year that its Zody task chair had earned “Planet Positive” certification. The designation is the brainchild of Guy Battle, the London-based environmental and building engineer. He has been working with Haworth since before the chair’s release in 2005 to examine procurement and manufacturing processes with the aim of reducing and managing the CO2 emissions associated with
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