Technology

    In the News: Wastewater Agriculture, Rural Broadband, NIMBY Energy

    Wastewater Agriculture Urban farming may have just taken a big step toward scaleable reality. According to Hortidaily, researchers from Clemson University and South Korea’s Gyeongsang National University have developed a low-impact method for growing produce in cities. The system researchers are developing would use an anaerobic membrane bioreactor to filter harmful contaminants out of wastewater while leaving behind nutrients that fertilize plants. The treated water would be used on crops, such as lettuce, that are growing in an indoor, soil-free… Read More »In the News: Wastewater Agriculture, Rural Broadband, NIMBY Energy

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      For Architects, Project Information Management Is a Growing Challenge

      By Donna Laquidara-Carr, Ph.D., LEED AP New research conducted by Dodge Construction Network for Newforma reveals increased challenges in managing project information among architects, but it also reveals that they are more deeply engaged in planning out their future investments to help tackle those challenges. The research, published by Newforma in Finding Common Ground: The Future of Project Information Management, asked architects about their experiences with and strategies for managing project information. The online study is the second in a… Read More »For Architects, Project Information Management Is a Growing Challenge

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        Missteps on the Road to Renewables

        Renewables surpassed fossil fuels as the cheapest energy source in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency. But the development path for solar and wind technology hasn’t always followed a straight line, judging by an Oct. 9 article in The New York Times. “‘Eye of Sauron’: The Dazzling Solar Tower in the Israeli Desert” tells the story of an $800 million experiment in energy generation in Ashalim, Israel: 50,000 mirrors on the desert floor reflect sunlight onto a boiler atop… Read More »Missteps on the Road to Renewables

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          Musk vs. the Monorail (Or, Why Teslas, Tunnels, and Space Ships Won’t Save Us)

          Think Elon Musk holds the key to transportation’s future? Think again, recent articles in Intelligencer and Time suggest. Critic Alissa Walker, writing for Intelligencer, drills into the business practices of Musk’s The Boring Company. His pitch, in essence, is to convince beleaguered city officials that a tunnel network for cars will solve congestion woes. What they get, Walker suggests, is a host of unrealistic and ultimately broken promises. Michael Manville, associate professor of urban planning at the UCLA Luskin School… Read More »Musk vs. the Monorail (Or, Why Teslas, Tunnels, and Space Ships Won’t Save Us)

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            Construction’s Digital Future

            Luddites despair! The digitization of construction is inevitable. That’s just one takeaway from a recent webinar hosted by Geo Week News. The session picks up where the infamous 2016 McKinsey report, Imagining Construction’s Digital Future, left off. Under the title Is Construction (Finally) Ready to Move Into the Digital Age?, the webinar convened four industry leaders to discuss the state of play, and possibilities for the future: Niknaz Aftahi, Founder & CEO, AEC + Tech Steve Holzer, Technology Visionary and Leader… Read More »Construction’s Digital Future

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              When Smart Cities Aren’t So Smart

              The urban IT movement known as “Smart Cities” offers a seemingly infinite toolset for making cities and their infrastructure more efficient. But tech isn’t the point, cautions Riad Meddeb and Calum Handforth of the United Nations Development Programme, in the pages of the MIT Technology Review. Truly smart cities recognize the ambiguity of lives and livelihoods, and they are driven by outcomes beyond the implementation of “solutions.” They are defined by their residents’ talents, relationships, and sense of ownership—not by… Read More »When Smart Cities Aren’t So Smart

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                Construction Equipment Giant Caterpillar Announces Move to Texas

                After nearly a century in Illinois, construction and mining equipment manufacturer Caterpillar has announced its relocation to Irving, Texas, near Dallas. “We believe it’s in the best strategic interest of the company to make this move, which supports Caterpillar’s strategy for profitable growth as we help our customers build a better, more sustainable world,” chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby explained in a statement. According to The Wall Street Journal, Caterpillar is not receiving any incentives from the state to make the… Read More »Construction Equipment Giant Caterpillar Announces Move to Texas

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                  MIT Researchers Develop Lab-Grown Wood Substitute

                  Scientists at MIT have developed a lab-grown, plant-based substitute for wood that can be customized for stiffness, density, and form, the Woodworking Network reports. “The idea is that you can grow these plant materials in exactly the shape that you need, so you don’t need to do any subtractive manufacturing after the fact, which reduces the amount of energy and waste. There is a lot of potential to expand this and grow three-dimensional structures,” said lead author Ashley Beckwith, a… Read More »MIT Researchers Develop Lab-Grown Wood Substitute

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                    The Benefits of BIM For Design Firms

                    By Steve Jones, Senior Director, Industry Insights Research Since 2008 Dodge has been formally studying the adoption and uses of BIM (Building Information Modeling) and model-based technologies that leverage BIM data around the world. These research studies have been published as free reports with the goal of quantifying this rapidly advancing trend and helping everyone better understand how they are participating in the digital transformation that BIM is driving.   Our latest report, Accelerating Digital Transformation Through BIM, is based on… Read More »The Benefits of BIM For Design Firms

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                      Is It Time to Step Up Cybersecurity?

                      By Donna Laquidara-Carr, Ph.D., LEED AP The following article originally appeared on constructionbusinessowner.com. New technologies for use on construction projects have the potential to help contractors deliver better projects on schedule, on budget and more safely. However, that new technology also brings new risks into the construction industry.  Like every other major industry across the globe, contractors need to be concerned about cybersecurity, especially as they shift to more data-driven approaches to managing their projects.  But how prepared is the… Read More »Is It Time to Step Up Cybersecurity?

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