Construction

Prepare for what’s next with leading construction economists.

U.S. economic recovery continues, clouded by labor, supply and inflation challenges. Highlights from the latest construction forecasts.

The overall U.S. economy will most likely enter recession in the coming months, with nonresidential construction beginning to feel the effects in late 2024, says Connor Lokar, senior forecaster, ITR Economics, who returned to the Glazing Executives Forum at GlassBuild America to deliver the event’s…

To minimize risk of damage and to ensure glass is intact for the final builders’ clean, it needs to be protected on the jobsite.

The 26-story, 750,000 square foot Ally Charlotte Center is the first building in Charlotte, North Carolina to be completed with a long-span, high-load polycarbonate glazing panel system.

Total construction starts rose nine percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.013 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. Nonresidential building starts swelled 32 percent due to the start of three large manufacturing facilities. By contrast, residential starts fell…

Ripple effects of the Baby Boomer generation retiring, compounded by a sizzling hot housing and labor market, drove average pay for non-managerial construction laborers up six percent from the same time in 2021, according to preliminary wage survey data released in February by the U.S. Bureau of…

The key port cities Odessa and Mariupol in Ukraine have suspended most operations, leaving over 1,000 commercial sailors unable to move cargo containers through the Kerch Straight and the Black Sea. The glass manufacturing and other commercial construction industry sectors that rely on Eastern…

Glaziers tackle incredible challenges with a remarkable building material, sometimes at extraordinary heights. We asked glaziers to submit jobsite photos and selfies to be included on this wall, and they responded with amazing work!

Green building and occupant wellness shape post-pandemic commercial building.

As a confluence of forces has made holistic sustainability a priority for new commercial construction, architects need to balance cost and long-term durability of specified components to make it a reality.

These key players—architect, owner, general contractor, glazing subcontractor, consultant, manufacturer and academic—operate in silos, often not seeming to speak the same language when communicating with each other. There is frequently confusion when trying to understand each other’s perspectives.

Construction starts moved 37 percent higher from October to November, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $988.9 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.

This year, I had the opportunity to participate in a leadership conference—and yes, it happened to be geared towards women working the construction industry. However, I would say that the key takeaways I got from this two-day conference and networking event would benefit not just women, but anybody…

From slips and falls to cuts and breaks, accidents and injuries in the glass and glazing industry run the gamut. It’s a common assumption that getting hurt on the job in this industry is inevitable, but that can’t be further from the truth. While dangers will always exist, being aware of those…

The quality level of all manufactured goods assembled and delivered in the curtain wall supply chain flow downhill from design and engineering decision-making, whether good or bad. The assembled system of products that is a “curtain wall system” applied uniquely to each building type and layout is…

Project Snapshot: The Siemens corporate headquarters in Munich exemplifies sustainable building. The company, which announced plans to achieve a carbon neutral footprint by 2030, built its head office to consume 90 percent less electricity and about 75 percent less water as a regular building.…

Construction may be going bionic. Sarcos Robotics, a global technology firm that designs robotic systems, announced in November 2018 that the company developed a" full-body, powered industrial exoskeleton robotic system," the Guardian XO Max, according to a company release. The technology, the…

As the construction market continues to flourish, acoustic performance is becoming a prominent consideration in the development of new and retrofit projects. The growth in population, urbanization and a thriving construction industry continue to drive the market forward. LEED specifications also…

The new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas features a complex façade of about 2,790 square meters of insulating glass that was cold-bent onsite. J.E. Berkowitz was the glass fabricator on the project; Quanex supplied the insulating glass spacer system. Photo by J Rick Martin.  The possibilities in…

The building industry is shifting in its demands for thermal performance and thermal analysis on wall systems. More projects require thermal analysis, factors such as dew point and edge-of-glass U-values have become more important, and collaboration across the project team is on the rise. In this…

According to AARP, 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day. Combine this with the CDC’s statistic that one out of every five adults in the U.S. lives with a disability, and the trend toward designing for accessibility is a growing one. The Americans with Disabilities Act was established in 1990 by…

Economic news in the United States has been positive throughout 2016, including within the construction industry. However, many within the industry, including those in glass and glazing, continue to face one major challenge that could hinder recovery: a worker shortage. In a CMD webinar, “…

In the CMD iSqFt webinar, “Construction 2016: How Sustainable is the Construction Economic Recovery?” several leading construction economists addressed the challenges of the labor shortage in construction and manufacturing. To combat the shortage of skilled labor, economists noted opportunities in…

When the economy shattered eight years ago, many people were forced to leave their homes though foreclosures or simple economic pressures. This resulted in an increased demand for the development of apartment buildings. Now, many of these apartment buildings are converting into condominiums,…

Unitized curtain walls have become the preferred method for enclosing buildings, as more building owners, architects and contractors see the benefits of this type of construction. Unitized systems allow buildings to be enclosed quickly, which can help to speed up the construction process leading…

CRL-U.S. Aluminum IT451 thermal storefront system with Series 400-T thermal entrance doors. Photo by Derek Lepper. Storefront systems can drastically enhance commercial and retail environments by improving brand identity and visibility for various types of businesses. They provide architects…

The slower construction market has created a challenging bidding environment increasingly defined by fierce competition and pressure to compete on price. Glazing subcontractors have been forced to perform a complicated balancing act of maintaining survivable profit margins while remaining…

Ever increasing in popularity, minimally supported glass, such as glass canopies and balustrades, find their way into many commercial construction projects. These applications require designers to confirm that the glass meets the appropriate design loads. Whatever the situation, strength of glass…

The installation of a curtain wall system begins long before the glazier ever gets to the job site. The general contractor has selected your company to install the wall. The arrangements have been made for the materials to be delivered to the job site and the wall components have been shipped.…

Third in a series Glass-and-metal curtain walls can provide an attractive, durable and cost-effective cladding solution, but in many buildings, they are plagued with problems ranging from air and water leakage to falling trim covers. The first two articles in this series—on Page 82 of April Glass…