November 2012 Newsletter

Social Media: What’s the Point?

The results are in. ZweigWhite, a well known independent consulting firm, recently released the results of its AEC survey regarding the use of social media. http://www.zweigwhite.com/pressitem.aspx?pressID=289 The conclusion is that social media is not extensively used, or even well understood, especially as compared to the “rest of the business world.”

Does this mean you shouldn’t bother? Or does it mean that it is a missed opportunity and perhaps there is a way to distinguish your firm from all the others out there?

From “Don’t care a whit” to “it’s the next big thing,” a wide variety of opinions exist in the AEC community. There’s also confusion about how social media can help. In truth, it likely won’t immediately bring you that big mega project. If used correctly, what it tends to do though is humanize your company, help you create and reinforce ‘brand’ and relationships, connect with clients and prospects, as well as funnel traffic/interest to your website (if that is a goal).

As with any marketing effort, the question becomes how to consistently provide relevant and engaging content. That content tends to be news, pictures, and videos - recent contracts, key projects, events, awards, blogs or thoughts on topics of interest to your firm’s clientele. It’s all about strengthening relationships and demonstrating expertise.

If you use social media, one question that always surfaces is ‘who controls it’? You want to humanize an online experience but at the same time not make faux pas that can reflect poorly on your company or even increase liability. Because of this, companies have employed quite varied strategies – from having a single point of contact for all online content to the other extreme of allowing every person in the firm to post.

Someone needs to oversee your effort. This is interesting because that person doesn’t have to be a top marketing expert. In fact it might be better if they aren’t. Find someone in your firm who you think will represent you well - probably a younger person who is already familiar with social media on a personal level – and with some guidelines, task them with setting up and monitoring your presence. Guidance is good, but you’ve got to have some trust to let this person be creative. Consider this: there are roughly 80 million in the ‘Millennial’ (age 17 – 34) consumer group (estimated spending power of $170 billion) and for many, social media is a way of life.

Brainstorm with others in your firm about content and set up a schedule well in advance with different people responsible for content generation. The whole idea of social media is to remain in contact with your clientele, so you want to maintain some flexibility and definitely have someone who responds to feedback, requests for information, etc… in a timely manner.

Some of the tools out there: Twitter, Facebook, youtube, Google+, Linkedln, Tumblr, WordPress (for blogs), Pinterest, Buffer, Slideshare, Scribd,Social Cam, Tweetdeck, and Hootsuite. Some of these you are probably already familiar with, but a few words about the rest. Hootsuite or Tweetdeck can be used to handle multiple accounts from one place. Twitter lists can help you monitor activity from customers and others. Pinterest is a pinboard and could be especially useful for posting pictures of projects. Slideshare and Scribd are good for posting presentations. Socialcam was purchased by Autodesk this Summer (for $60 million) and is an app that lets you instantly share quick video content.

A few hints from those who have gone before: Use consistent branding it so that it is perfectly clear who you are; be persistent, so once you start using a media don’t just suddenly stop without explanation; always give your postings relevant tags to make them easier for others to find; and always respond to comments or suggestions – the sooner the better. You can also use polls, puzzles, contests, and/or prizes to help engage your customers.

To stay on top of current trends, ‘follow’ others, not only clients but also competitors. Follow news sources as part of your social media campaign: for instance you can use Google Alerts to provide articles on specific topics.

Social Media won’t be going away anytime soon so perhaps it’s time to put it to work for your firm.

Beginner’s Guide to Social Cam
http://mashable.com/2012/07/28/socialcam-for-beginners/

An Interior Designer shares her use of Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and Word Press:
www.architizer.com/en_us/blog/dyn/50369/should-architecture-firms-use-pinterest-a-testimonial-from-studio-oa/

Bluebeam Workflow Webinar Punch and RFI Processes 

There are no limits to what you can achieve with your paperless workflow. Learn how Bluebeam® Revu® 10 can provide you a tool to streamline your punch and RFI workflow.  We will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, November 14th at 12:00PM CST to give you an idea of the capabilities you can leverage from Bluebeam® Revu® 10.  Click Here to register for the webinar and then grab a sandwich, kick back, and discover the power of Bluebeam® Revu® 10.  Hurry, Space is Limited!

Awarding Excellence

A wide variety of projects, both domestic and abroad, have recently won awards - from tall to sustainable buildings, from the humble to the grandiose - as well as honors for some individual accomplishments.

The 2012 European Prize for Architecture was awarded to a young Norwegian firm, Tyin tegnestue, for their humanitarian work in third world countries. The firm uses local materials and actively involves the locals in their design and building. They also attempt to leave some basic knowledge which hopefully can be used in the future to improve the lives of those with whom they are working. Their projects have included a training center for cinnamon farmers in Sumatra; housing, library, and bath house for orphanages in SE Asia, a community gathering center and a market library in a desperately poor area of Bangkok; and other projects in Haiti and Uganda as well as their native Norway. www.europeanarch.eu

Above: The Cassia Co-op training structure is made up of only 10 simple construction details, and has already withstood multiple major earthquakes. The construction crew consisted of Hanstad, Gjertsen (Tyin’s principals), 70 untrained workers, and eight water buffalo. http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670974/world-class-buildings-for-the-underserved-at-under-10k#1

A low density resort in the remote south of Oman along the Indian Ocean, the Gunoot Eco Resort received a future project award at the 2012 World Architecture Festival.

Using a super Adobe technique developed by the California Institute of Earth Architecutre, the project uses local labor without heavy equipment. Self supporting domes are being built, then daubed over with plaster. It uses a wind tower and almost 20 inch thick walls for passive energy reduction, but also active solar energy. www.detail-online.com/daily/earthly-delights-gunoot-eco-resort-7276

Gunoot Dome Under Construction

Gunoot Dome Exterior

Gunoot Dome Interior

The 2012 Building of the Year from the World Architecture Festival went to Singapore’s Cooled Conservatories called Gardens by the Bay. (see above) A computer-controlled shading system and carbon neutral cooling technologies have been integrated into the fabric of the building to efficiently maintain the climate within. The roof has sensor-operated ‘retractable sails’. Water cooled piping runs under the ground. Solar supertrees and a CHP steam turbine generate power.
www.worldarchitecturefestival.com/winners.cfm?eventYear=2012

Inside one of the Greenhouses – Gardens by the Bay

Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) named Doha Tower in Qatar as 2012 best Tall Building. It also reports that the 88 towers with heights over 200 meters completed throughout the world in 2011 sets a new record. 96 more are projected to complete this year, with most in China and the Middle East.

The Doha tower, with a height of 238m, is the first tall building to use reinforced concrete columns in a cross shape, leaving the central core open. Its outstanding façade provides a connection with the local culture. It is made of aluminum bris-soleils based on mashrabiyas - traditional Islamic geometric screens – which brings a lovely pattern of light into the building while reducing the harsh impact of the Middle Eastern sun.

Above: Façade and Below: Interior Light [photos Ateliers Jean Nouvel]

CTBUH also gave lifetime achievement recognition to architect Helmut Jahn and structural engineers Charles Thornton and Richard Tomasetti. http://blog.archpaper.com/wordpress/archives/48628

UK’s Stirling prize went to the Sainsbury laboratory at Cambridge – the popular choice had been the Olympic Stadium
www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/oct/13/stirling-prize-2012-cambridge-sainsbury-laboratory

NY architect Deborah Burke wins first $100,000 Berkeley Rupp Prize for sustainability and support for advancement of women in architecture: http://rupp.ced.berkeley.edu/news/deborah-berke-awarded-berkeley-rupp-prize/

News to Use

Images of abandoned mid-century modern homes: http://www.flavorwire.com/336928/stunning-photos-of-abandoned-mid-century-modern-homes?all=1

Good news: AIA’s ABI Billing Index at highest in two years http://www.architectmagazine.com/business/0912-abi.aspx

McGraw-Hill forecasts 6% construction starts increase in 2013 http://enr.construction.com/business_management/finance/2012/1024-mcgrawhill-forecasts-6-construction-increase-in-2013.asp

Young Architect disillusionment/burned out/under-utilized? Or is it just that the real world isn’t like the ideal environment of college? http://crosscut.com/2012/09/25/architecture/110494/architectural-jobs-interns-economy-recession-/?page=single

Meanwhile McGraw Hill forecasts a shortage of qualified and skilled designers in the U.S. by 2014 http://archrecord.construction.com/news/2012/09/120925-Survey-Predicts-Architecture-Shortage-by-2014.asp

BIM aps in the field http://www.constructech.com/news/articles/article.aspx?article_id=9396&SECTION=1

Use of BIM in Panama Canal Expansion project http://www.gostructural.com/magazine-article-gostructural.com-10-2012-bim_canal-9027.html

Trend: Architecture offices moving to storefronts – office as showroom: http://www.world-architects.com/en/pages/storefronts-for-architects

Will Prefab Skyscrapers Lead to Zombie Architecture? http://designbuildsource.com.au/prefab-skyscrapers-prove-zombie-building-theory-correct

Architizer Call for Entries (deadline Dec 21) in many categories http://awards.architizer.com/about/awards/

Architect Magazine’s top 50 rankings http://www.architectmagazine.com/business/architect-50/

US Wood Design Awards accepting nominations http://woodworks.org/wood-design-awards/

Industry Events

Nov 13:  BIM Association Nashville Owner's Townhall Meeting  Click Here for Information

Nov 14 – 16: Greenbuild International – San Francisco http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/expo/international-expo.aspx

Nov 19: SMPS Nashville 11:00AM - 1:00PM Click Here for Information

Nov 27 - 29:  Autodesk University  Click Here for Information

Dec 3 – 7: National BIM Conference – Washington DC http://www.aececobuild.com/bim-conference

Dec 3 – 7: EcoBuild – Washington DC http://aececobuild.com

Jan 22 – 24: NAHB International Builders’ Show – Las Vegas http://www.buildersshow.com/Home/

Feb 4 – 8: World of Concrete -Las Vegas http://www.worldofconcrete.com/

Nasuni Enables Enterprises to Centrally Manage and Securely Share the Storage of Recently Acquired Companies in Days, Not Months

NATICK, Mass. – May 29, 2012 – Nasuni®, a provider of enterprise storage to large, distributed organizations, now offers a storage solution for organizations that are rapidly growing through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). With Nasuni, it takes days, not months, to bring the data of acquired companies and new offices under secure management while at the same time providing full read-write access to those files throughout entire global organizations. Nasuni is the only storage solution that effortlessly integrates with multiple Active Directories to enable secure, simple sharing of files across remote and branch offices.

When one organization acquires another, integrating the file storage systems has traditionally required an enormous amount of time consuming, expensive work.  Each organization has its own unique Active Directory setup and, depending upon the number of locations, may also have an extensive WAN optimization or replication scheme to give users shared access to files. Integrating different file storage and file sharing systems has typically required IT teams to transfer massive amounts of data, tediously and slowly reconfigure the Active Directory settings and re-architect the file system. The process can take weeks, even months to complete, and, until it is finished, the two businesses do not have common access to critical files.

With Nasuni, organizations need only install an instance of Nasuni’s on-site appliance at each location. Within hours, every location with a Nasuni appliance will have complete read-write access to all files, and all files will be under secure, central management.

“We are a global business with several companies located throughout the world, and we need to share files quickly between our businesses,” said Jason Benway, Data Center Architect at JSJ Corporation. “This has been complicated by our complex Active Directory Forest, but with Nasuni’s multiple domain support, we can easily share files across globe. So when we open a new office, I can easily give them local speeds to the global file system. Nasuni saves my team an astonishing amount of time and headaches.”

“Rapidly growing organizations should not have to put their business on pause because their storage systems can’t work at the same speed,” said Andres Rodriguez, CEO of Nasuni. “With Nasuni, the day after the acquisition closes, IT can bring the acquisition’s files into the fold and give all employees full read-write access to the combined organization’s files.”

About Nasuni
Nasuni is an enterprise storage company that dramatically reduces the cost, risk, and complexity of providing globally distributed remote and branch offices with access to critical business data. Nasuni’s unique service combines on-premise hardware with cloud storage to provide a secure, all-in-one data storage and protection solution with the performance of local storage. The Nasuni solution simplifies and centralizes management of remote storage infrastructure while delivering on the promise of a global fileshare, giving end-users access to critical business data from anywhere in the world.

Bluebeam® Software to Show AIA 2012 Attendees that 'Anything is Possible' with Revu® 10

New Features Push the Limits of Cloud Storage, Collaboration and Project Communication

Pasadena, CA (May 17, 2012)

Today attendees at the 2012 AIA Conference & Expo will have an opportunity to see the newly released Bluebeam Revu 10 in action. Revu 10, which has already received several positive reviews by users and industry experts, will be on display in booth #2543 today through Saturday, May 19th at AIA, taking place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington DC. This ground-breaking new edition of Revu offers architects and their project team members new features that push the limits of cloud storage, collaboration and project communication, proving there are no limits to what they can achieve with their digital workflow.

"Revu 10 is an exciting release that brings project teams more closely together than ever before," said Stephani Haynes, VP, Global Marketing at Bluebeam Software. "With Revu 10 and the introduction of our free PDF viewer Bluebeam Vu, architects and project team members now have one solution for storing and sharing project files in the cloud, collaborating with anyone in real time, and communicating issues effectively with revolutionary 3D PDF creation and markup technology."

Leveraging the cloud for file storage and collaboration

With Revu 10, architects can create, store and share PDFs and any other project file in the cloud with up to 5GB of free storage with Bluebeam Studio™ projects. Invited users can check out documents, edit and apply markups and check documents back in with changes tracked to keep everyone on the same page. Multiple team members can simultaneously review documents during Studio sessions, and even non-Revu users - including Owners, consultants, engineers, GCs and subs - can view files stored in projects or join real-time collaboration sessions with Bluebeam's new free PDF viewer, Bluebeam Vu™.

Sharing 3D data in a simple format that everyone can access

Revu's innovative 3D PDF creation and markup capabilities make it easier for architects to share 3D data with project partners downstream. With Revu CAD and eXtreme™ architects can create 3D PDFs through plug-ins for Revit®, Navisworks® Manage and Navisworks Simulate. Revu allows teams to extract 3D models from these BIM applications to identify and share design conflicts with the entire team in 3D PDF. Even more, all Revu users can add markups to 3D views to communicate instructions about complex design changes, essentially creating the next generation of RFIs. Together, Revu's new 3D PDF capabilities eliminate the need for every team member to have access to expensive 3D applications, allowing anyone to share and collaborate on the data in the PDF format.

Making all project data just one click away

Revu's Links feature puts complete project data within reach by managing hyperlinks to pertinent information, including RFIs, material specs and other details. Users can view and edit all document hyperlinks quickly and easily in the Places section of the Links tab, and any time a hyperlink is changed, Revu can update all instances throughout the document automatically, saving significant time and reducing errors.

Automatically assigning locations to markups

The new Spaces feature enables teams to redline PDFs and automatically assign markups to specified areas or rooms. When a markup is placed in a defined Space, the location is tracked in the Markups list, which can be sorted, filtered and summarized to CSV, XML or PDF - perfect for punchlists, bids and other workflows in which knowing the exact location of an issue or material is key.

Bluebeam representatives will be on hand at Booth #2543 throughout the AIA 2012 National Convention and Design Exposition to offer live demonstrations of Revu 10 and give AIA attendees a chance to test-drive Revu 10 to see how this next-generation solution can streamline and improve jobsite and project productivity. To learn more about Bluebeam, go to www.bluebeam.com.

About Bluebeam Software, Inc.

Not your typical software company, Bluebeam Software makes smart, simple solutions for paperless workflows based on the PDF format. Founded in 2002 in Pasadena, California, Bluebeam's award-winning PDF creation, markup and collaboration solutions are used today by the world's top architectural, engineering and construction firms, as well as government agencies, accountants and even attorneys, as an intuitive, easy-to-use, PDF-based software solution for dramatically improved workflow and more sustainable, paperless operations. Bluebeam supports customers in over 50 countries directly through its Account Services team in addition to an extensive reseller network. For more information, visit www.bluebeam.com.

About Lellyett & Rogers Services Lellyett & Rogers Service Co., LLC specializes in information management and technology solutions for the building industry. Our mission is to make our customers’ professionals more productive. We offer best of breed solutions from Autodesk, McGraw-Hill PDM, Blue Beam, Sharefile, Dell, Boxx , Nasuni, 3^rd Light and efi.

Lellyett & Rogers Services To Offer Autodesk’s 2013 Building and Civil Infrastructure Software

Updates for Autodesk Suites and Cloud Services Help Tackle Today’s Design, Engineering and Business Challenges
.. .Lellyett & Rogers Services Autodesk Silver A/E/C Reseller Nashville, TN

“The 2013 software portfolio offers significant additions to the design suites, as well as expanded web services that allow our customers to collaborate more effectively and access information from anywhere at any time.”
Nashville,TN (PRWEB) May 08, 2012

Lellyett & Rogers Services today announced it will offer the 2013 software portfolio for building design, infrastructure and construction industries from Autodesk, a leader in 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets.

Enhancements for Autodesk Building Design Suite 2013, Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2013 and Autodesk Plant Design Suite 2013, together with expanded cloud services and improved collaboration and data management tools, are aimed at helping design, engineering and construction professionals address today’s business challenges with enhanced Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows.

Since 1974, Lellyett & Rogers AEC Division has strategically focused on “making our client’s professionals more productive” by creating innovative ways of managing complex information for the construction industry. Lellyett & Rogers pioneered techniques in manual overlay drafting, color offset printing, CADD standards, and on-line document management. We are involved in managing information on construction projects around the globe and delivering that information when needed in the format that is required by the consumer of the information.

“Working with Autodesk we are able to help our customers achieve better collaboration and workflow on major projects which involve multiple, often dispersed firms. The value of building information created in Revit is maximized when sharing the project information is fast and easy,” said Paul Dougherty, Chief Technology Officer, Lellyett & Rogers Services.

Lellyett & Rogers Services will be offering the 2013 versions of the following Autodesk products: Building Design Suites, Infrastructure Design Suites, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Civil 3D, and AutoCAD Navisworks.

“Our design suites and cloud services help meet the demand for BIM by providing access to a broad set of tools that support projects from conception to construction,” said Amar Hanspal, senior vice president, Information Modeling and Platform Products Group, Autodesk. “The 2013 software portfolio offers significant additions to the design suites, as well as expanded web services that allow our customers to collaborate more effectively and access information from anywhere at any time.”

Expanded Cloud Services
The 2013 software and services portfolio includes access to Autodesk 360, a cloud computing platform that helps users more dramatically improve the way project teams design, visualize, simulate, and share work. Autodesk 360 offers secure access to project data anytime, anywhere, while taking advantage of nearly infinite computing power through a broad range of cloud-based services. Autodesk 360 is now available to all Autodesk Design Suite customers, with additional capabilities available to design suite customers who purchase an Autodesk Subscription.

Advanced BIM for Building Industry
Autodesk Building Design Suite 2013 is the foundation of the 2013 software portfolio for architects, MEP and structural engineers, and construction professionals. It provides a comprehensive set of tools to help users address a variety of workflow needs, from design, visualization and simulation to documentation and construction. Available in three editions, Standard, Premium and Ultimate, Autodesk Building Design Suite 2013 updates include the addition of Autodesk Revit 2013 software to the Premium and Ultimate editions;Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2013 software for the Premium edition; and Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler 2013 and Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis Professional 2013 software for the Ultimate edition. Autodesk Revit 2013 is a new application only available in the Premium and Ultimate editions combining the capabilities in Autodesk Revit Architecture 2013, Autodesk Revit Structure 2013 and Autodesk Revit MEP 2013 software in a single, more comprehensive application to help users support multidiscipline workflows.

Enhanced BIM for Civil Infrastructure
Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2013 provides civil engineering, GIS, planning and utility design professionals with a comprehensive BIM for infrastructure solution for planning, designing, building and managing civil infrastructure and utility infrastructure projects. Available in three editions, Standard, Premium and Ultimate, Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2013 adds AutoCAD Raster Design 2013 software to all three editions. Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler 2013 software is now included in the Premium and Ultimate editions. AutoCAD Utility Design 2013 and Autodesk Revit Structure 2013 software have been added to the Ultimate edition. With these new tools for conceptual design, utility network design, structural engineering and working with raster imagery, professionals working on transportation, utility, land, and water infrastructure projects can more efficiently explore design options, better analyze project performance, and use visualization to help communicate with project stakeholders.

Enhanced Collaboration and Data Management Applications
The 2013 software portfolio also includes collaboration and data management applications to help provide access to information across the project lifecycle from the office, the web, or the field. Autodesk Vault Collaboration AEC 2013 software provides improved integration with Autodesk design tools, including Autodesk Navisworks Manage 2013, Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2013 and all Autodesk Revit 2013 software. Autodesk Buzzsaw 2013 expands cloud-based collaboration with multi-browser web access for both PC and Mac users. Buzzsaw users can now view Revit and Navisworks models in a browser or on an iPad or iPhone. An Autodesk Buzzsaw mobile app with 2D and 3D DWF viewing capability for Android devices is also now available. The integration between Autodesk Vault Collaboration AEC 2013 and Autodesk Buzzsaw 2013 has been enhanced with options for scheduled and on-demand synchronizations.

Availability
http://www.LRaec.com
Shirley Randolph
615-250-9138
srandolph@lraec.com

About Lellyett & Rogers Services
Lellyett & Rogers Service Co., LLC specializes in information management and technology solutions for the building industry. Our mission is to make our customers’ professionals more productive. We offer best of breed solutions from Autodesk, McGraw-Hill PDM, Blue Beam, Sharefile, Dell, Boxx , Nasuni, 3rd Light and efi. Visit http://www.LRAEC.com for more information.
Autodesk, AutoCAD, Buzzsaw, DWF, Navisworks, Revit, and Robot are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.
© 2012 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

Preventing the Walls From Tumbling Down

We continually hear about the sad state of US infrastructure, and occasionally get catastrophic reminders when a bridge, dam or levee fails.

The US has dropped from #6 in 2008 to #16 in 2012 in a ranking of national infrastructure systems by the World Economic Forum. We spend about 2% of GDP on infrastructure, compared to China’s 9% or Europe’s 5%.

A transportation group chaired by two former Secretaries of Transportation published an extensive study estimating the need to spend a minimum of $134 billion per year over 25 years to rejuvenate our infrastructure. Other estimates have been even higher.

What to fund and how to fund it continues to mystify Congress. The Senate passed a new Transportation Bill in March, but the House failed to come up with its own version. The result is that another status quo extension was passed – this one for 90 days, meaning nothing tangible…yet.

It appears that the Senate version, called Map-21, will be a starting point for discussion between the two Houses. It calls for consolidation of 196 different transportation programs down into about a dozen and gives States more flexibility in setting priorities.

Some observers are concerned that MAP-21 also contains disincentives for partnering with private investors. One of the holdups, as always, is how to fund the expenditures. There is discussion about changing from a gas tax to a VMT tax based on vehicle miles traveled – with much pros and cons.

Others are trying to find solutions further outside the box. Many ideas are being tossed around. Some support the concept of a federally funded infrastructure bank. The follies of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac make others leery, and opponents point out that investors end up with no risks. They say why not just issue more bonds, now that the cost of bonds is at an all-time low.

Private investment also has pluses and minuses. Obviously only projects with the potential for return can be funded this way. What happens if the private venture fails? Does the airport/bus system/tollway/water system shut down? Who do we want in control of this infrastructure? Contract intricacies are material for headaches…and lawsuits.

Returning to a State based system rather than a Federal system also has proponents. They point out that the Feds became involved in 1956 in order to implement the national interstate highway system. That has now been accomplished and maybe it is time to revert to a State funded system.

Some municipalities have tired of waiting for the Feds and are moving forward on their own. The States complain that Federal requirements slow down projects and make them cost more. Indiana’s governor has publicly stated that the federal system is wasteful, “if we build a walking and bike trail, when we build it with our own money, it’s $250,000 per mile. If there’s one dollar of federal money involved, it’s $1 million a mile. It takes a lot longer. I mean, just extrapolate that to the big projects, and you’ll see the opportunity…”

Infrastructure deficiencies have many less obvious results. For instance, it adds substantial costs to transportation, which in turn hurts exports. Or consider that as the price of gas soars, mass transit all over the country is setting record ridership. But much of the equipment and infrastructure is antiquated. Because of lower tax revenues during the past several years, many municipalities have cut back aid to transit systems. Many are also increasing fares and some are cutting service altogether.

It’s not just a question of rebuilding our sagging infrastructure either…but also about jobs, hundreds of thousands of jobs, at a time when Americans need jobs more than just about anything else.

At Wolf Creek Dam – work is 74% complete in creating a new 275 foot deep, 3800 foot long concrete foundation wall. http://enr.construction.com/infrastructure/transportation/2012/0227-out-of-sight-out-of-mind.asp

Record Setting Bridges

A number of record setting bridges have recently been completed around the world.
Mexico opened the Baluarte River Bridge, the highest cable-stayed bridge In the world at 1321 feet high and the longest cable-stayed span in North America with a 1706 foot span.

It is the centerpiece of a new 500 mile highway between Durango and Mazatlan, which includes more than 60 tunnels as well as seven other bridges over 300 feet.
Evolving materials, computer programs and construction methods are allowing increasing length of cable stayed bridges. An 1104 meter (3622 foot) span crossing the Bosporus Strait will be the longest in the world when it opens next year.

Japan’s 4-lane,1.6 mile long truss-built Tokyo Gate Bridge, nicknamed the ‘Dinosaur’ Bridge because of its awkward look will ease congestion around Tokyo’s waterfront and provides faster access to several man-made islands in Tokyo Bay. Built for well under its original estimate of 140 billion yen, it is predicted to bring around 19 billion yen (around $245 million)/year in additional income. A suspension bridge was not possible because of the nearby Tokyo airport.

The Aizhai has become the world’s highest suspension bridge. With its main span of 3760 feet 1100 feet above the ground, it links China’s Congqing Municipality to Changsha city in Hunan. It is also the world’s highest and longest tunnel-to-tunnel bridge.

Bridging America

According to Transportation For America, over 69,000 bridges in the US are deemed ‘structurally deficient,’ 1255 of them in Tennessee. One of the busiest deficient bridges in the state is on I24-Woodland Creek. This does not mean failure is eminent but it does indicate that maintenance is required, and in some cases, a considerable amount of maintenance, in order to make them safe.

The US has 18,000 bridges built with the same design from the same era as the Minneapolis bridge which collapsed in 2007. They are called fracture-critical bridges, meaning that failure of even one structural element could result in the collapse of the entire bridge, and there is typically no warning. Many were built in the 1950s and 1960s with estimated lives of fifty years, so replacement is becoming critical. How long will we be able to put fingers in the proverbial dikes?

Last year engineers discovered fissures on one of these bridges - the Sherman Minton Bridge that straddles the Ohio River, connecting Kentucky and Indiana. The 50-year-old span closed for six months while workers attached 2.4 million pounds of steel plating for reinforcement along the sides of the bridge. It carries 80,000 cars and trucks a day. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-22/americas-broken-bridges

Currently a substantial amount of money ear-marked for bridge maintenance is being shuffled off into other programs. Since funding of any kind is in short supply, this is just another area where some creative solutions will need to come to the forefront.

News to Use

After a decade of planning, a major new bridge over the Tennessee River in Knoxville at Fort Loudoun Dam is finally going out for bid http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/apr/21/plans-for-two-bridges-at-fort-loudoun-dam/

Some of the ins and outs of privatization
www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein

Traffic congestion costs Americans more than $100 billion annually in wasted fuel and lost time
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/story/2012-03-25/wasted-fuel-report/53776164/1

Benchmarking green – down with assumptions, up with facts http://www.sallan.org/Torchlight/2012/04/measuring_up.php

Where to From Here? Architecture after the Recession.
www.archdaily.com/226248/after-the-meltdown-where-does-architecture-go-from-here/

Time lapse video of World Trade Center building as it approaches topping out http://www.observer.com/2012/04/as-the-world-trade-center-approaches-tallest-building-in-new-york-status-watch-it-rise-in-about-a-minute/

Events

May 4^th ESa 18^th Annual Fishing Tournament to benefit Rebuilding Together Nashville

Contact : Adam Gravely adamg@esarch.com

May 4^th 7th Annual Josie Mazzo Children’s Charities Golf Tournament

http://www.josiemazzo.com/Annual_Golf_Tournament.php

May 7 - 11: Lightfair - Las Vegas

www.lightfair.com/lightfair/V40/

May 14^th HHH Charity Golf Tournament

http://www.hhhnashville.org/events.html

Contact: denningmartin@hhhnashville.org

May 17 - 19: AIA National Convention - Washington DC

http://convention.aia.org/

May 21^st SMPS Nashville Networking Event

Event Information

May 24^th AIA Mid-Tennessee Chapter Meeting

http://www.aiamidtn.org/

May 30 - June 2: EDRA 43 – Seattle

http://www.edra.org

June 22-24: 2012 Dwell on Design - Los Angeles

http://dod.dwell.com/

June 23-27 ASHRAE Annual Meeting – San Antonio

http://www.ashrae.org/events/

 Nasuni - Dangers of Cloud Storage

Nasuni’s Bulk Data Migration in the Cloud Report Tests Amazon S3, Microsoft Windows Azure and Rackspace; Finds Transfer of 12 TB Volume From one Cloud to Another Can Take Anywhere from Four Hours to Almost a Week, Depending on Providers

Nasuni^®, an enterprise storage company delivering global data access to organizations, today released the Bulk Data Migration in the Cloud report. In the report, Nasuni provides details and results from tests in which it moved data directly from one cloud to another using cloud compute resources.

Nasuni virtualizes cloud storage and is able to deliver non-disruptive cloud-to-cloud migration in the same manner that traditional storage controllers can virtualize hard drives. During a data transfer from one cloud to another, Nasuni never uses customers’ resources and, in fact, customers experience zero impact on performance or the availability of data during the transfer.

The cloud is an essential component of Nasuni’s solution, which allows Nasuni to deliver a uniform level of protection and access across any number of sites. Just as no IT manager would ever choose to store critical data on raw hard drives, raw cloud storage is unsuitable for business use. Raw cloud storage compromises security and performance, and can hold customers hostage to the whims of a single provider. Nasuni transforms raw cloud storage into a highly reliable system available 100 percent of the time with powerful capabilities that are either not possible or far too costly to implement in a traditional storage array.

As Nasuni developed its non-disruptive cloud-to-cloud migration capabilities, the company’s engineers conducted tests on the top three cloud storage providers from its December State of Cloud Storage Providers report.

Lellyett & Rogers Services awarded Autodesk AEC Silver Authorization.