Berry Makes the Who’s Green 2008 Directory Berry is pleased to announce that we have been accepted to the Who’s Green 2008 directory, a resource for locating firms, organizations and institutions that actively participate in the growth of the green building industry. More than just a listing of those who say they are green building professionals, Who’s Green pre-screens all applicants to help ensure the listing contains only those who are genuinely qualified in delivering high performance building design and construction. The first of its kind in the industry, the directory provides profiles and contact information for the best talent and knowledge in the sustainable design and construction field in North America. Berry has made the list of those experts. In addition to Green Builders, the categories represented in Who’s Green 2008 are as follows: • Architecture Firms • MEP Engineering Firms • Green Consulting Firms • Green Building Organizations and Non-Profits • Schools of Architecture with a green focus • Interior Design Firms • Landscape Architectural Firms • Civil Engineering Firms • Green Building Support Services (Law Firms, Financial Institutions, PR Firms) • Developers of Green Properties. Special content includes an interview with USGBC President, Rick Fedrizzi, information on The Carbon Calculator and materials selection plus several features on Living Buildings. Who’s Green is published by Ecotone Publishing, the first book publisher to focus solely on green architecture and design. The company is dedicated to meeting the growing demand for authoritative books on sustainable design, materials selection and building techniques. The first American publishing company to fully adopt carbon neutrality to its triple bottom line, Ecotone institutes its own green strategies, including printing its books on recycled content paper, using recyclable packaging and supporting their employees in telecommuting. Ecotone also donates ten percent of its profits to environmental and social organizations. A copy of Who’s Green 2008 will be available in the Learning Center. To purchase your own copy of the directory, please visit http://www.ecotonedesign.com/ecotone/bookstore/bookdetail.asp?ID=36 Genzyme Project is Among First in MA to Earn LEED CI at the Silver Level From the outside, 675 West Kendall Street in Cambridge looks like a typical office building. But take the elevator to Genzyme’s space on floors five and six, and you will see this is not the case inside. With increased natural light, lush indoor gardens, energy efficiency, low emitting paint and recycled content ceiling materials, it's anything but typical. For these features and more, the space was recognized in early December, 2007 with a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification for commercial interiors (CI). The interior is one of only six in New England that has earned LEED certification in the CI category, which focuses on construction in already existing structures. “How we feel in the place we work is important. This certification is not just about being environmentally conscious,” said CEO Henri Termeer. “This is about all of us recognizing that we need to have an environment that reflects who we are, and that makes us feel good about what we do and how we do it.” Nearly 200 Genzyme employees moved into 675 West Kendall Street in July 2006. Berry oversaw fit-out of the space, which was retrofitted to mirror the interior and the environmental principles of Genzyme Center. By leveraging some of the resources that earned the Genzyme Center a LEED Platinum rating, such as transportation, water and energy use, and indoor air quality, Genzyme received 28 out of 50 credits for Commercial Interiors, earning a Silver rating. The 50,000 SF project took six months to complete and totaled approximately seven million dollars in construction costs. Berry and Genzyme collaborated on this project with Walsh Cochis Associates (architect) and AHA Design Engineers (MEP), among others. Commercial and Institutional Construction on the Rise Despite poor economic forecasts, the commercial construction industry is predicted to increase through 2007. Jim Haughey, director of research and analytics for Reed Construction Data, stated in his presentation at the recent Construction Specifications Institute Convention, "A slow economy is not going to be a bad thing for the [nonresidential] construction market…the best periods of growth are still ahead." Haughey sees a 7.4% gain in total construction spending for 2006 and a 5.7% growth in 2007. Healthcare and education markets in particular will be up approximately 13% over the next two years. Haughey cites four factors that point to this upturn: • America needs more capacity • Public budgets are healthy • Credit rates remain relatively low • Materials price increases from 2004 and 2005 will level out To view the whole article by Building Design and Construction’s Editor-in-Chief, Robert Cassidy, visit: http://www.bdcnetwork.com/article/CA6323265.html?industryid=42786 To view Jim Haughey's "2006–07 Construction Outlook" presentation, go to: www.bdcnetwork.com/contents/pdfs/bdc0604csishow2006.pdf.   The Next Generation of Sustainability Whether pursuing LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification or concentrating on energy efficient design criteria, the A/E/C industry is becoming increasingly aware of the pronounced need to provide more environmentally considerate buildings. One of the most important criteria is the need to reduce energy consumption in our built environment. Leading the way is the educational section and the western region of the United States. This is in part to the high cost of fuel and the bond funding for schools that often requires energy efficient design. In comparison to the nearly 80% of owners pursuing energy efficient design in the west, less than half of Northeast were said to implement energy efficient designs1. Of the energy efficient tactics most often implemented are new HVAC equipment (68%) and energy efficient lighting or lighting controls (42%). Central plant co-generation upgrades were used in 10 percent of the designs2. Taking energy efficiency to a new level, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Board of Directors introduced in late December 2005 a new goal of reducing fossil fuel consumption of buildings by 50% in four years, with additional 10% reductions every five years thereafter. Speaking about the pledge, Bruce S. Fowle, FAIA, senior principal of FXFOWLE ARCHITECTS and designer of Conde Nast's New York headquarters, the country’s first green skyscraper, stated, "It is essential that we begin taking a leadership role in changing the consumptive culture of our country and demonstrate to the global community that we are serious about this. Only then can we expect to influence others." With input from the US Green Building Council and the Green Building Initiative (GBI), this policy was developed by a special task force consisting of members of the AIA’s Board and its Committee on the Environment (COTE). A new task force will convene early this year to work out the details of implementing this new policy. Prevent Moisture from Effecting Construction Evolving everyday, the construction industry constantly searches for new methods of building, new materials and equipment, and new technology to further advance the construction process. Understanding the most advanced information is imperative to constructing state of the art facilities and expedites the building process. more... Hurricane Katrina Effects Cost of Labor and Building Materials As levies broke and water from Lake Pontchartrain flowed into downtown New Orleans and merged with Lake Maurepas, workers in the construction industry readied themselves for gas, lumber and labor prices to soar. In past hurricanes, the cost of lumber jumped to an average of 20 percent in the weeks following. Already Hurricane Katrina has caused a 5-10 percent hike in lumber prices across the nation, which will soon steady itself only to spike again during reconstruction.1 more... Cross-Discipline Collaboration with Building Information Modeling Systems In an industry where time is money and deadlines are imperative, design technology is an extremely valuable asset. For years now A/E/C professionals have been using computer aided drafting (CAD) to save time, improve documentation and increase productivity. In 2005, CAD efficiency has been taken to the next level. "In 2005 it's all CAD, all 3D," said William A. Berry & Son, Inc. CAD Operator/Engineer Jason Giampa. "Design data can be created faster and more accurately than ever before with 3D CAD software." more... Robotic Parking At the start of the 20th century, America had only 8,000 cars driving on 144 miles of paved road.1 At that time, most Americans who were fortunate enough to be working did so in the community they resided in. There was no need to commute, and most families remained close to home. more...