Craig DiLouie

The outlook for the general economy is improving, but that doesn’t mean good news for construction yet. Total construction in 2009 and 2010 will be down 14% and 5% respectively, according to FMI economist Heather Jones. Click here to download FMI’s Q309 report free. (post updated on December 2)

Take a tour through the world of the light-emitting diode and learn who invented it, how to use it, and how to make your own with this fascinating short video courtesy of MAKE Magazine:

In the three-year period leading up to the current recession, gross billings at U.S. architecture firms increased nearly $16 billion from 2005 and totaled $44.3 billion in 2008. This equates to 54% growth over the three-year period with annual growth of about 16%. These findings are from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Business of [...]

ZING Communications, Inc. is moving this week, so please excuse the light postings as we settle into our new home!

Take a relaxing ride with Berlin Agency Art+Com‘s kinetic sculpture at the BMW Museum. From Art+Com’s website: The Kinetic Sculpture is a metaphorical translation of the process of form-finding in art and design. 714 metal spheres, hanging from thin steel wires attached to individually-controlled stepper motors and covering the area of six square meters, animate [...]

Bulbrite‘s LED Retrofit Candle features a unique, shimmering, flamelike movement effect due to patented electronics. Its intended market includes a variety of applications including churches, theaters, pubs, hotels, historic homes and buildings, offering a realistic lamp replacement option for 120V lighting fixtures with standard candelabra (E12) sockets. I have not seen one in action yet, [...]

NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions increased for a third straight month—and topped the 50-point threshold indicative of expansion for a second straight month—in September. The index rose 5.3 points to 58.6, its highest reading since April 2006 and more than 50 points above its cyclical low of 8 in [...]

Construction spending during August 2009 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $941.9 billion, 0.8% above the revised July estimate of $934.6 billion and 11.6%, or $124.2 billion, below the August 2008 estimate of $1,066.1 billion. During the first eight months of 2009, construction spending reached $629.5 billion, 11.9% below the $714.3 billion [...]

Lumiette Inc. has announced that it is is donating 300 of its flat panel light fixtures to the Wildlife Conservation Network Solar Project. Shipped out to Africa and Mongolia over the new few months, the lights will help provide low-energy-use, high-intensity illumination for conservationists and scientists working to sustain and protect cheetahs, elephants, lions, snow [...]