The principals of St. Louis-based The Lawrence Group architectural firm and SG Blocks plan to recycle used metal cargo shipping containers into sturdy, attractive homes and housing developments. The recycled shipping containers are much stronger than traditional construction in a hurricane or tornado and are very energy efficient. Read more in the April 20 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. And check out photos of the process at www.synergy-pr.com.

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Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Construction Marketing Ideas, which publishes regional construction newspapers in several Canadian and U.S. cities, has reviewed AEC St. Louis and called our blog “the first truly effective regional construction industry marketing blog in the U.S. or Canada.”

After a month of looking for examples, editor Mark Buckshon said that AEC St. Louis is “so far the only example I’ve discovered that combines the blogging model with a solid regional marketing focus.”

We appreciate the kudos, but even more than that, are glad for the feedback that we’re on the right track for our readers in the local architecture, engineering and construction industry.

When an industry embraces an initiative the way architecture has embraced LEED green design and building, it only makes sense there will be a lot of “firsts.” FacilitiesNet reported on the first green law school, the first green building on Capitol Hill, the first green residential high-rise and the first green hotel and conference center.
And now…(drum roll)…the first LEED Gold certified building made out of straw bales.  It’s true and quite impressive! Designed by St. Louis’ own architecture firm Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum, the $20 million sustainable building in Santa Clarita, California serves as an administrative, maintenance and bus washing facility for the city’s new compressed natural gas bus fleet.  In addition to achieving LEED Gold, the facility exceeds California Energy Efficiency Standards by over 40 percent.

While many public agencies and architectural firms are gearing up for green design and LEED certification, developers and owners are slower to embrace the trend.

The Womble Carlyle Construction Blog addresses “Why more people don’t build green” in an April 13 post.

Here are the highlights:

• more expensive
• takes more time to build
• few incentives for developers
• low public demand
• absence of research on the impacts and benefits
• confusion over building standards

Here in St. Louis, The Lawrence Group Architects has successfully renovated The Security Building as a green historic building and is in the process of applying for LEED certification. This year, the Lawrence Group is increasing its number of LEED accredited staff to 40, five times the previous number.

The Lawrence Group occupies several floors of the building and is leasing the rest. As far as we know, the Security Building is the only LEED-designed space available for lease in St. Louis. Kudos to The Lawrence Group for making this project a success!

Better architecture and energy savings in buildings could do more to fight global warming than all curbs on greenhouse gases agreed to under the UN’s Kyoto Protocol, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Sustainable Construction and Building Initiative (SBCI).

The built environment accounts for 30% to 40 % of global energy use, and the right mix of technologies, behavioural change and government regulation could make a huge impact on reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The report estimates that by 2010, more than one-fifth of present energy consumption could be saved by applying more ambitious standards to new and existing buildings.

Since 80% of a building’s energy consumption occurs after it’s built, building design and systems are extremely important. Some solutions include sun shading, natural ventilation, improved insulation, recycled building materials, intelligent lighting and ventilation systems, low temperature heating and cooling systems, energy saving appliances, and energy pricing and financial incentives.

Some countries are considering a phase-out or ban of incandescent light bulbs, which would save 470 million tons of CO2 - more than half the reductions called for by the Kyoto Treaty.

A slideshow of 33 of the best construction photos of the year is available at the ENR website - scroll down to Multimedia: Slideshow Images of the Year. The page also has a link to an article on the challenges of cataloging digital photography. I’ve used the image cataloging software program they recommend - Extensis Portfolio - and I recommend it. Portfolio creates a catalog of thumbnail images that you can scroll and search by keyword. You can download a 30-day trial and a server version also is available for shared files.