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Posts Tagged: Engineering

Industry / Voices — No Comments
15
Jun 12

Green Building at Its Finest

Imagine a world where city buildings are capable of self-cleaning themselves and the air pollutants around them. Sounds like something out of the future, right? Turns out, that future is already here!

 

ALCOA, a world leading integrated aluminum company, has developed a product called Reynobond® with EcoClean™. This proprietary process leverages HYDROTECT™ technology from TOTO® to apply a titanium dioxide coating, called EcoClean™, to the pre-painted aluminum surface of Reynobond®. The result is the first coil-coated aluminum architectural panel that cleans itself and the air around it by utilizing natural components like sunlight, water vapor and oxygen.

 

 

In the United States, carbon dioxide, a leading cause of smog, is the most common greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere. Nearly 40% of that comes from buildings alone, and according to experts, total U.S. carbon emission are projected to grow by 16% between 2006 and 2030. With numbers like that, it’s clear how valuable green technology like Reynobond® with EcoClean™ is becoming to the construction industry and society as a whole.

 

The Reynobond® with EcoClean™ process is so effective that 1,000 sqm / 10,000 sq ft² of it on your building can have approximately enough cleansing power to offset the smog created by the pollution output of four cars every day, which is the equivalent air cleansing power of 80 trees every day. Neat, right?

 

Here’s hoping this green technology soon shifts from an innovative idea to an industry standard.

 

Sources:

http://www.alcoa.com/bcs/aap_eastman/ecoclean/en/home.asp

http://www.good.is/post/superb-idea-buildings-that-eat-smog/

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2008/5/carbon%20footprint%20sarzynski/carbonfootprint_brief.pdf

Community / Traffic — No Comments
11
Apr 12

MetroRapid Comes to Austin in 2014

MetroRapid

Just a few weeks after celebrating MetroRail’s two-year anniversary, Capital Metro made public their latest transportation initiative. So, what’s on the horizon for the City of Austin?

 

On Tuesday, April 10, the general public was invited to downtown’s Republic Square to hear from Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff about the next big thing in Austin transportation.

 

Capital Metro President and CEO Linda Watson, Capital Metro Chairman and Council Member Mike Martinez, and Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell were present for the event, during which Peter Rogoff announced the $38 Million Federal grant to provide MetroRapid service.

 

MetroRapid is Capital Metro’s bus rapid transit (BRT) with service scheduled to begin operating 40 buses in 2014.  BRT is a positive addition to Austin’s transportation infrastructure in many ways. Signal prioritization hardware is included in each MetroRapid bus, allowing for fewer delays at signal lights while driving on city roads. In some areas, the buses will likely have dedicated lanes. The buses are large and comfortable, and oftentimes have amenities that are attractive to business commuters, such as small tabletops and Wi-Fi.

 

Other cities, such as Houston, allow BRT vehicles to travel in HOV/HOT (high occupancy vehicle/ high occupancy toll) lanes to make trips in and out of the City core faster. When these lanes eventually do come to Austin, we can likely expect the same.

 

BRT focuses on commuter travel in and out of the City core and keeping connections available to other modes of transportation, including local bus service, rail, car rentals (such as Car to Go), or bike rental stations.

 

Valerie KaiserEngineer Associate Valerie Kaiser and Project Engineer Tony Estes, two of Bury’s transportation team members, attended Tuesday morning’s announcement and even had the opportunity to board one of the model buses. Valerie said, “As a traffic engineer, I am excited to see Austin take this next step. MetroRapid offers a convenient and affordable solution to what is too often a long and difficult commute to and from home and work.”

 

One viable solution to traffic woes would be to incorporate additional rail lines in Austin. However, the taxpayer benefit of the MetroRapid service is that more vehicles will be off the road as they choose to ride the BRT, without the expenses associated with purchasing and building on additional right of way.

 

On Tuesday, Administrator Rogoff also awarded Capital Metro a $3 Million grant to upgrade the existing local bus fleet, which has an average age of 15 years. Capital Metro was founded in January of 1985 and has the highest per capita ridership in Texas.

 

Read more from local news coverage of the event, or check out photos from the event on our Bury Facebook page.

 

KXAN – MetroRapid gets $38M federal grant
Austin Business Journal – MetroRapid bus project gets $38M grant
Community Impact News – Federal agency green-lights rapid transit bus routes

Voices — No Comments
16
Feb 12

National Recognition for Teravista Community

Teravista Community
 
Master planned communities date back to the mid-1960s, when Arizona city planners developed the McCormick Ranch community in Scottsdale. It was the first of its kind and differed from traditional subdivisions in the many extra amenities it offered its residents.
 
Today, master planned communities continue to attract individuals and families looking for more than just a neighborhood. Whether they seek golf courses, fitness facilities, parks and trails, or nearby offices and retail, master planned communities are specifically designed to meet their lifestyle needs.
 
Bury+Partners is honored and excited that one of our recent master planned projects, Teravista, was named one of the 50 Top-Selling U.S. Master Planned Communities by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.
 
Teravista is located in Round Rock, Texas, adjacent to the Round Rock Premium Outlets, just 15 miles north of Downtown Austin, and features:

  • 3,000 homes, 550 apartments and a 135-acre business park
  • A 7,200-yard, 18-hole championship golf course, recently named the top “Beginner Friendly Course” by National Golf Course Owners Association and tied for “Top Course in Austin” by Texas Outside
  • A Scott & White University Medical Campus across the street
  • Round Rock ISD and Georgetown ISD schools
  • Easy access to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport via Texas 130 Tollway and IH-45
  • More than 5 miles of landscaped trails
  • Residents Club with Junior Olympic pool and state of the art fitness center

 
Bury provided several civil engineering services for this master planned community, including roadways, drainage, water quality features, water and sewer lines, pedestrian paths, erosion control, survey and zoning. In addition, Bury worked with the City of Georgetown to design two lift stations for the community.
 
The list was ranked by John Burns Real Estate Consulting and is based on the number of home sales each from 2011. You can view the full report here. Also, you can take a virtual tour of the Teravista Community on their website.
 
Congratulations to the developer, Newland Communities, and everyone who had a hand in the successful planning and development!

  • Fugro (Geotechnical Services)
  • Bontempo Structural Engineering, Inc. (Structural)
  • TBG Partners (Land Planning)

 

Voices — No Comments
25
Jan 12

Living Building Challenge

Could the Living Building Challenge soon be the new industry standard for green building?

 

 

Over recent years, the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program has emerged as the industry standard for rating green buildings. Though the program has been considered widely successful, there are many in the A/E/C community who have stressed that LEED simply does not go as far as it could. From these green idealists, the movement behind the Living Building Challenge was born.

 

What if every single act of design and construction made the world a better place? That question is what the Living Building Challenge (LBC) poses to all involved in the future of green building. The LBC was founded with the sole purpose of creating a higher level of sustainable building by expanding and improving upon current standards of green design and construction.

 

One of the main proponents behind the LBC is Jason McLennan, LEED AP, a Canadian-born architect who was involved with LEED from its early onset. McLennan, who served as Project Manager in the first 10 pilot LEED projects, began outlining the concepts behind living buildings in the late 1990s. By the mid 2000s he began devising the living building idea into a construction standard. In 2006, McLennan brought the intellectual property of the Living Building Challenge to the Cascadia Green Building Council and from this, later formed the International Living Future Institute (IFLI).

 

 

The ILFI describes the Living Building Challenge as “a philosophy, advocacy platform, and certification program.” The LBC founded its standards around seven “petals” which are: site, water, energy, heat, materials, equity and beauty. The first five of the seven petals match up with LEED’s current credit structure. Unlike LEED, however, teams cannot choose which petals to highlight, since there are no credits and just prerequisites.

 

The materials component seems to be the hardest petal to comply with since the LBC has a “Red List” of materials that cannot be used in any form of a project. However, individuals who have been involved in early LBC projects, like Stan Richardson, feel that “The materials component is the hardest to comply with, and it takes more time up front, but it will eventually be overcome.” In fact, there are hopes that manufactures will rise to the occasion and produce more materials that meet the Red List requirements.

 

 

So, the question remains. Will living buildings eventually replace the LEED program as the standard rating system for new green buildings? The answer is more than likely no. Most experts hope the LBC will emerge as a complimentary and not competitive program to LEED. In fact, according to architect  Dan Hellmuth, AIA “LEED is trickier for smaller projects and is better for $2 million and higher projects.” Pilot projects for the LBC have used LEED Platinum as a baseline and aimed for the LBC as the ideal goal.

 

For more information on the Living Building Challenge visit their website, or watch a few feature clips below.

Industry — No Comments
9
Dec 11

Taiwan Tower Seeks to be 21st Century’s Eifel Tower

Great design and ingenuity help distinguish remarkable structures from average, every day buildings. These impressively designed “superstructures,” admired for their beauty, grandeur and other features, can become such a large part of a city culture that it becomes impossible to think of one without the other. For example, when you think of Paris, France, you undoubtedly think of the Eifel Tower.

 
 

Tokyo-based architect Sou Fujimoto may very well have designed Taichung, Taiwan’s very own, future Eifel Tower. The Taiwan Tower, as it’s named, is an incredibly engineered oasis that stands at 1,000ft high with hundreds of steel beams that form a triangular frame. The beams allow for a natural light setting and the arrangement results in a unique, semi-outdoor feel. With renewable energy systems and passive design methodologies, the Taiwan Tower seeks to achieve LEED Gold status. Design team members hope the atrium will serve as a new 21st century landmark, much like the Eifel Tower did for the 20th century.

 
 

To top it all off, the tower plays host to the world’s highest rooftop garden that will be visible from everywhere. Visitors can expect to see vegetation from all over the nation of Taiwan.  The mayor of Taichung hopes the tower will attract many visitors that will bring a large amount of revenue to the City. The building is expected to cost 6.59 Billion Taiwanese Dollars (est. $219 Million) and has an estimated completion date of 2017.

 
 

Kudos to the Sou Fujimoto design team!

 

 

Sources: http://www.evolo.us/architecture/21st-century-oasis-proposal-wins-taiwan-tower-competition-sou-fujimoto/
http://akichiatlas.com/en/archives/taiwan_tower_competition_01.php
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2070773/Taiwan-tower-Steel-superstructure-1000ft-high-roof-garden-built.html

Spotlight — No Comments
22
Nov 11

Safe Engineering: Fried Turkey Edition

If state fairs and Paula Deen have taught us anything, it’s that America loves to gobble up fried food. So really it was only a matter of time before the deep fried turkey replaced Thanksgiving’s traditional oven baked bird on many family tables.

 

Fried turkey – sounds delicious, right? Absolutely – but without proper engineering and maybe a dash of common sense, frying up your own holiday turkey can be dangerous. Just take a look at what happened to these folks.

 

On Thanksgiving Day alone, U.S. fire departments respond to over 1,000 fires that are deep fryer related; and according to State Farm, Texas leads the way for turkey day related fires. When you look at those numbers, it’s pretty clear the engineering behind safely frying your turkey has never been more important.

 

But never fear fried food lovers! For the sake of you and your safety, the engineers at Bury+Partners have outlined a step by step instructional on how to assemble a simple do-it-yourself pulley system that will keep your hair from being burnt to a crisp. Follow the steps below, or for all you visual learners out there, watch one of these videos, and you’ll be on your way to a safe, delicious holiday feast.

 

Disclaimer: Please note that Bury+Partners is not responsible for any turkey accident that may or may not occur while using the pulley system below.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

What You Will Need:

Fryer Kit

Ladder

2′ Piece of Wood

Pulley

3/8′ Rope

 

Step 1: Avoid a fire hazard – Place your fryer outside away from houses and vehicles. Make sure your turkey is properly defrosted, and don’t overfill your pot.

 

Step 2: Set Up – Set up the ladder over the pot. Tie pulley to your board and position over the opening of the pot.

 

Step 3: Rope and Hang – When the oil has reached frying temperature, attach the fryer retrieval handle to the end of an 8-10-in rope and pull through the pulley. Then take a smaller piece of rope and tie it to your board. Place board across rungs of ladder. Tie the other end of your rope off on a rung and hang your turkey.

 

Step 4: Ready, Lower, Fry – Untie end of rope from ladder rung and from a safe distance, slowly lower your turkey in the fryer.

 

Sources of Information:

http://www.statefarm.com/aboutus/_pressreleases/2010/grease-cooking-fires-double-on-thanksgiving.asp

 

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-SAFELY-fry-a-Turkey/#step1