3D Printer Constructs 10 Buildings In One Day From Recycled Materials

What would you say if someone told you that future skyscrapers could be built using a 3D printer and recycled building materials? Well that day is not far off! With the capabilities to build the shell of a 2,000 sq. ft. house in under 20 hours, this new technology could provide a tremendous breakthrough in the future.

Computerworld.com

A Chinese company has become the first to construct multiple buildings using 3D printers that extrude recycled building materials at breakneck speed.

Using four huge 3D printers, Yingchuang New Materials Inc. was able to print the shells of 10 one-room structures in 24 hours and at a cost of only about $5,000 per building. The buildings had to harden at the factory and then be transported and assembled on site.

The 3D printed buildings will be used as offices at a Shanghai industrial park.

The printers, supplied by WinSun Decoration Design Engineering, are 20 feet tall, 33 feet wide and 132 feet long.

Like their desktop counterparts, the construction-grade WinSun 3D printers use a fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology to deposit materials one layer at a time in a process that's similar to squeezing frosting from a pastry bag.

To read the full article and watch a brief video, click here. 

Doctors Overlook Positive Impacts of Healthy Building Design, Construction & Maintenance

Exterior building cleanliness isn't the only type of cleanliness that matters when it comes to measuring overall health. According to this Marketwatch article, green buildings have real, proven health benefits including improved employee productivity, lower health care costs and reduced absenteeism. Learn more about the great link between buildings and people's health.

Flickr.com 

NEW YORK, June 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The critical connection between a healthy building environment and patient health is often missed by the one group of professionals who may matter most - physicians, according to a new SmartMarket report by McGraw Hill Construction , sponsored by the American Institute of Architects and United Technologies. The survey results were announced today at the opening session of the American Institute of Architects 2014 National Convention & Design Exposition in Chicago.

The report, "The Drive Toward Healthier Buildings: The Market Drivers and Impact of Building Design on Occupant Health, Well-Being and Productivity," finds that though 18% of homeowners say that doctors are their primary source for information on healthy home products and decisions, only 53% of pediatricians, 32% of family doctors/general practitioners and 40% of psychiatrists believe that buildings even impact patient health. Only 15% report receiving any information on this connection, but the results also reveal that a key challenge is not just getting information to them but gaining their attention in ways that would alter their perspective, with nearly a quarter (22%) reporting that more information would likely not change what they do today.

The study suggests that getting more information to this group is essential to help create demand for more healthy building design and construction, given the limited understanding that physicians demonstrate of building health impacts. Physician awareness and recommendation of more fundamental healthy building design and construction practices that connect with the health risks of most concern to public health -- lack of exercise, chronic stress, poor diet and obesity -- could help create the market demand needed to drive investment, but only if physicians expand their engagement with these issues.

Today, the only issue the medical practitioners agree is a link between buildings and health is around mold and mildew, but that is only one of a plethora of factors in building decisions that could impact health.

To read the full article, follow this link. 

The Impact of Climate on High-Performance Facades

When constructing a high-performance building, different climate zones require different design strategies. This Buildings article explains the impact that high-performance windows can make because they allow for natural ventilation. 

Buildings.com

When the common man imagines a building, he likely pictures a four-sided brick box. But the energy-minded owner and architect have to think outside that construction.

To maximize the effectiveness of the facade, it is likely that no side of it will look the same. Different climate zones require different design strategies, and those strategies entail taking a unique approach to the building’s orientation. Special treatment should be given to each aspect of the system.

CLIMATE CONSIDERATIONS
The U.S. is divided into eight climate zones, and each can be generally described as either hot, cold, or mixed. From there, classifications splinter into three sub-zones: humid, dry, or mixed. General principles pertain to each categorization, but it’s recommended to consider each city’s specific climate data before taking on a project, says Ajla Aksamija, assistant professor of architecture and design at University of Massachusetts Amherst and author of Sustainable Facades: Design Methods for High-Performance Building Envelopes.

“For hot climates, you need to protect the building from sunshine, reduce solar heat gain, provide shading, and orient it so that you’re not maximizing east and west exposure, but instead north and south,” she explains. “Everyone wants to maximize daylight, and that can be challenging while minimizing heat transfer with shading. Skylights and light shelves can be effective.”

In cold climates, some of the same general principles apply. Buildings in cold regions should also minimize east and west exposure while maximizing north and south. But heat transfer is mitigated from the inside to the outside with increased building mass and insulation levels, Aksamija explains.

For mixed climates throughout the Midwest and into some areas of the Northeast and Northwest, it’s best to take a balanced and nuanced approach.

To read more, follow this link. 

Determining A Standard For "Clean"

This CleanLink article deals with the big question many people ask - "What is the standard for clean?" While there can be many expectations, Sky Pro's clean window standard will satisfy any customer.

Life would be far simpler if every area could be cleaned the same way to the same standard but that is not the case. One illustration I like to give in my workshops is to ask attendees if the room we are in is “clean.” The following discussion proves the point that each person in the room has their own opinion of whether is it clean enough to meet their expectations.

When I ask if the room is clean enough to delivery a baby, make microchips or work on a truck, the discussion focuses on many different factors including use of the room, health standards, age of building and even how it should be serviced.

Remember that the final judge on “clean enough” is the customer. Unfortunately they can have as many different opinions as the prior mentioned class when it comes to what is clean. A wise BSC will interview the key tenants to determine what are their “hot buttons.” These usually include items such as front door glass, entrance matting, corners and of course rest rooms (both stocking and/or cleanliness). As stated before, a restroom that smells dirty is dirty in the mind of the user regardless of the time spent servicing it. It will do the BSC little good to argue that they cleaned it as per the contract if the results are unsatisfactory in odor or appearance outcome.

Click here to read the entire article.

Positive Customer Experiences Can Trump Price Tags

Cheaper isn's always better. According to this Clean Link article, when customers look back on their experience with a distributor or product, they rarely put price at the top of their list. Instead they focus on how the sales rep was able to help boost the bottom line and provide a positive service. "At the end of the day, that's what distributors should strive for."

Christopher Sessums, Flickr.com

Even when customers present cost comparisons for comparable products, it’s best for distributors to stay firm on price, says Charles Moody, president of Solutex in Sterling, Va.

He says he has steered away from providing steep discounts to customers by proving that competitors don’t always come out on top when comparing apples-to-apples.

For example, Moody points to “nominal gauging” (an indication of varying product weight) and “cheater sheets” of toilet tissue and paper towels, as examples of how competitors mislead customers with lower prices. Moody also shines a light on longer delivery cycles, shipping costs and chemical concentration to help customers see the differences. Then he reiterates his value.

“A lot of times what appears to be less in price is not the case,” says Moody. “I never want them to buy from me because I am the cheapest guy. We want a little bit of the decision to be based upon how well we do our job and service. A lot of distributors sell lower out of fear.”

To read the full article, click here.

Minnesota Bans Anti-Bacterial Chemical from Soaps

While this headline might appear shocking, Minnesota Gov Mark Dayton and others believe this chemical doesn't provide any greater benefits than traditional hand washing with soap and water. According to this Pharmaceutical Processing article, Minnesota is the first of the 50 states to sign this practice into law, but many pharmaceutical companies are trying to slowly phase this chemical out of production as well. 

Peter Taylor, Flickr.com

It's widely used nationwide as a germ-killing ingredient in soaps, deodorants and even toothpaste, but it's being banned in Minnesota.

Gov. Mark Dayton on Friday signed a bill to make Minnesota the first state to prohibit the use of triclosan in most retail consumer hygiene products. The Minnesota House and Senate passed it earlier last week because of health and environmental concerns about the chemical. The ban isn't due to take effect until Jan. 1, 2017, but one of its lead sponsors, state Sen. John Marty, predicted Monday that the odds are good that most manufacturers will phase out triclosan by then anyway.

"While this is an effort to ban triclosan from one of the 50 states, I think it will have a greater impact than that," Marty said.

The Roseville Democrat said other states and the federal government are likely to act, too. And he said come companies are already catching on that there's no marketing advantage to keeping triclosan in its products. He noted that Procter & Gamble's Crest toothpaste is now marketing itself as triclosan-free.

Click here to read the full article.

The Evolution Of Chemical-free Cleaning

Sky Pro has always valued clean, pure, chemical free water and prides themselves in using this water in their window cleaning. Over time, the world of chemical-free cleaning has evolved and grown into what we see in the market today. This Cleaning and Maintenance Management article describes new options, a safer industry and the new generation that is arising, as well as proof that it works and taking the next step towards this way of cleaning. 

Geir Tonnessen, Flickr.com

Over the past several years, green cleaning products have become increasingly less toxic while delivering comparable results to their traditional counterparts.

This, in part, is due to the emerging science of using plant, bio-based and simple tap water formulations that target soils and harmful bacteria instead of eradicating large swaths of microorganisms.

We are slowly realizing that nature can also provide us with some of what we need to safely and effectively clean surfaces without the use of toxic substances.

Taking the notion of environmentally preferable cleaning a step further, some companies have developed non-toxic, chemical-free innovations.

This industry has begun to explore this idea of less harmful cleaning strategies, including completely non-toxic, chemical-free substitutes and technologies that use no chemicals — natural or otherwise — to achieve more effective cleaning results.

We are evolving beyond green to extreme green to chemical-free cleaning.

New Options
Things like electrolyzed water, which separates tap water into positive and negative streams that attract soils and render harmful bacteria inert, have emerged as the new go-to solutions.

Other cosmopolitan, chemical-free technologies like steam vapor and ultraviolet light have begun to emerge as viable solutions to clean sensitive environments such as hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

A recent literature review entitled “Control of the Environment,” which focused on steam vapor as a chemical-free disinfectant, concluded that steam cleaning is effective for periodic deep cleaning of hospital environments.


To read the full article, click here.

28th Street Apartments | Notes of Interest

It's National Architecture Week! This American Institute of Architects article takes a look at one person's unconventional decision to restore an old building to meet todays modern demands. Located in a neighborhood with historic homes, Koning Eizenberg’s design for 28th Street Apartments successfully restored this former YMCA building, which now houses two nonprofits.

Andy Smith, Flickr.com

The 28th St Apartments restores and adds to a distressed historic building (a former YMCA) in south Los Angeles. The project now houses two synergistic programs run by two nonprofits who co-purchased the building: The neighborhood youth training and employment program is housed in 8,000sf of the historic activity spaces and 49 units of supportive housing (serving youth exiting foster care, the mentally ill and the chronically homeless) occupies the remaining space. Supportive services are offered on site and residents have access to a roof garden, laundry and lounge.

The owners developed the program and relied on us to create a setting that both supported informal social interaction to build community and accommodated the privacy and security needed for the two separate but synergistic uses to operate effectively. Together we reached out to the community to gauge interest in the neighborhood programs, expectations for the restoration and identification of neighborhood needs through a series of noticed meetings and focus groups including the family of the building’s well known architect- Paul R Williams. Bringing the building back to life and respecting the historic legacy was key to community acceptance.

The building is on a limited 17,214sf urban site of cultural significance. The context is a chronically underserved neighborhood with a demographic that has shifted from predominantly African American to Hispanic. The historic front entry of the structure forms a neighborhood porch where community kids gather and ice cream trucks pass while the new addition creates a less formal side entry to the housing units above. The existing historic building spawned an efficient urban strategy on a small vacant sliver of land on the back of the building to add square footage for new updated unit types while not triggering costly parking. The project demonstrates that it is possible to provide community amenity, and achieve good innovative architectural design compatible within the context of an historic building in a neighborhood of historic homes and streets.

To view this article online, click here.

The Life of a Window Cleaner

This article was originally posted in Blogger News.

According to those who did it, window cleaners have “adventurous jobs.” Others would call it dangerous. These people hang out over the sides of buildings on wooden platforms and safety ropes, keeping clean the numerous windows found on everything from skyscrapers to low-rise office buildings and shops. The people who undertake this task must not only have to know how to clean windows well but be up to the challenge of getting to these windows.

Window cleaners are in high demand. This is because architects keep trying to outdo each other by creating complex and admired buildings, making window cleaning a more difficult and more needed job. There are also risks involved in the job. About five to 10 window cleaners die each year in the United States. Despite this, window cleaners don’t worry much about falling or getting killed on the job. They take necessary safety precautions. Plus they are protected by the International Window Cleaning Association, a non-profit trade association that works to maintain the safety and quality of window washers among all kinds of window washing jobs.

Despite the risks, window washers generally enjoy their jobs. They like the freedom of not having a boss looking over them throughout the day. They enjoy the adventure of hanging from large heights. They also like the pay. Window cleaners can make between $10 to $12 to start. This can increase to $25 for more experienced workers, making it an ideal profession for young people and immigrants. In saying this, their services are expensive. A 25-story building can cost $100,000 a year for two or three cleanings. Smaller buildings cost about $4,000. Because of this, window washers must maintain a professional attitude in their work. At the end of each work day, they line up their gear like firefighters, organized and prepared for the next day of wherever a window may need washed.