Construction + Economy

Increases in stimulus-funded projects and growing demand for single family construction helped boost monthly construction employment in 29 states between March and April, according to a new analysis of federal employment figures released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Despite the recent gains, 46 states and the District of Columbia lost construction jobs over [...]

The AIA and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected the top 10 examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment. The COTE Top Ten Green Projects program, now in its 14th year, celebrates projects that are the result of a thoroughly integrated approach to architecture, natural systems [...]

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has reached agreement on a five-year integrated media partnership with Hanley Wood, LLC, publishers of Architect Magazine. The existing agreement with McGraw-Hill, publishers of Architectural Record Magazine, expires at the end of this year. Effective January 1, 2011, the agreement creates an integrated media offering that encompasses print, online, [...]

On the heels of a more than 2-point gain in February, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) was up again in March. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate 9- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the March ABI [...]

Architect Magazine measures architecture firms of all sizes according to their profitability, commitment to sustainability, and caliber of design, and ranks them in the latest issue here.

The economic environment facing electrical equipment manufacturers continued to show strong improvement in April, according to respondents to NEMA’s latest business confidence survey. While the Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions was unchanged in April at 71.7, it matched its highest monthly level since May 2004. Readings above 50 are typically [...]

As a former magazine guy (editor and later publisher of Architectural Lighting Magazine from 1995-2001), this is really depressing … In July 2009, Reed Elsevier announced that the RBI-US controlled circulation magazines and certain other print titles, representing approximately 45% of the revenues of RBI-US, were to be divested. Since then, a number of titles [...]

Reed’s construction economist Jim Haughey looks at the economic data and speculates that hotel construction is near the bottom for this building cycle after a 64% collapse since mid-2008. But a real recovery may not begin until 2012. See his column here.

From the film The Lake House. http://www.youtube.com/v/YDcGIyaj5sM&hl=en_US&fs=1&