The US Green Building Council - St. Louis Regional Chapter is accepting abstracts for presentations at their fifth annual “Greening the Heartland Conference,” which will be held in St. Louis June 22 to 24. They’re looking for submissions from the architecture, building and planning fields, corporate policy makers and facility/real estate managers, green innovators on school campuses, public officials, planners, lawmakers and others involved in sustainable programs and processes.

The deadline for submitting abstracts is this Friday, January 11, 2008. For details, visit www.greeningtheheartland2008.org or call 1-866-933-4GRN.

After two consecutive months of decline, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) has rebounded and is up just over two points compared to its previous mark, according to the American Institute of Architects, which sees the report as an encouraging sign for the construction industry.

The index is a leading economic indicator of construction activity, providing a glimpse into the future of nonresidential construction activity. The typical lag time between architecture billings and construction spending is nine to twelve months.

Regionally, billings growth continued to slow at firms in the Northeast and South. Business conditions fell for two consecutive months in the West for the first time in nearly three years, but billings growth has picked up slightly in the Midwest, continuing to rebound from a late summer slowdown.”

Source:  Building Design+Construction

Public Architecture, a nonprofit advocate for pro bono design, recently launched phase two of “The 1%,” a program created in 2005 to challenge architecture and design firms to pledge 1 percent of their billable hours to pro bono work. More than 200 design and architecture firms have signed on.

Seventy percent of of architects say client demand is driving green building, and owners and developers are demanding greener buildings to reduce operating costs, according to the third annual Green Index. The survey of green building practices by Autodesk, Inc. and the American Institute of Architects looked at the motivations and acceptance of nearly 350 practicing architects in the United States.

According to study results published in Building Design + Management, less than half of architects were incorporating sustainable design practices into their projects five years ago. Today, 90% of architects expect to incorporate some sustainable elements by 2012.

Source: Building Design + Management

Nonresidential construction grew in November and accelerating hiring by architects and engineers suggests future growth, according to Ken Simonson, Chief Economist for The Associated General
Contractors of America (AGC). Simonson was quoted in the November 6 issue of Building Design & Construction News.

According to AGC, residential construction spending was down 16 percent from the year before while nonresidential was up almost 17 percent. That means that residential construction workers - as many as 400,000 of them - were doing nonresidential work.

Architectural and engineering employment rose 3.7 percent in the past 12 months, triple the growth in the overall economy, AGC reported.

Source: Building Design & Construction News

Phase I construction on Market at McKnight, a $95 million mixed-use development in Rock Hill, will be complete this month. The project is being developed by Novus Development, with The Lawrence Group providing master planning for the entire project and complete architectural services for the first phase. Hensley Construction is general contractor.

Phase I includes 126,000 square feet of retail space. Stein Mart will be the anchor with additional tenants including Starbucks Coffee, Clarkson Eye Care, Cartridge World and Bandana’s.
Phase II will include 150,000 square feet of retail space, 50,000 square feet of office space and 150,000 square feet of residential space. Completion is scheduled for 2010.

Source: REBusiness Online