Construction

NPR: Haitians take rubble removal into own hands

By / January 13, 2011

(Credit: Jonathan Pankau/Wikimedia Commons.) Last week we had about a report from researchers at Georgia Tech who show how concrete rubble from the earthquake can be safely recycled into stronger…

Read More

Aerogel plaster to restore historic buildings [updated]

By / January 11, 2011

Aerogel plaster is sprayed onto walls of historic buildings. (Credit: Empa) Renovating any historic structure is a project that comes with numerous challenges, one of which is how to insulate…

Read More

Rebuilding in Haiti can be faster, stronger and less expensive using concrete made of recycled materials, says Georgia Tech group

By / January 4, 2011

Credit: ACerS Bulletin/Reginald DesRoches It’s nearly the one-year anniversary of the huge earthquake that crumbled Port-au-Prince and other parts of Haiti, and, unfortunately, reconstruction has taken place only on a…

Read More

Toilets make their kitchen debut, so to speak

By / January 4, 2011

Toilets in the kitchen isn’t quite as unsanitary as it sounds. Fireclay Tile has introduced its Debris Collection, which is made from over 60 percent recycled toilets, more than 50…

Read More

Soladigm windows get $30M infusion, upping electrochromics competition

By / December 14, 2010

Last month we had a story about Saint-Gobain Glass’s $80 million investment in Sage Electrochromics. Today, another electrochromic window maker, Soladigm, announced via press release that it had received $30…

Read More

A method to defeat damage propagation autonomously in self-healing materials

By / December 10, 2010

a) Digital image correlation showing the recovery strain due to the shape memory effect around the crack location.b) Schematic of complete flow for the combination of active toughening with active…

Read More

UPDATE: Video of the week: Chemistry of concrete

By / November 19, 2010

We’ve received a lot of feedback questioning some of the science presented in this video. I forwarded some of the comments on to the producers and requested a response. I…

Read More

Saint-Gobain invests $80M in Sage Electrochromics

By / November 10, 2010

SAGE Electrochromics, Inc. headquarters in Faribault, Minn. This is a pretty strong endorsement: Saint-Gobain Glass has acquired 50 percent of the equity of Sage Electrochromics for the large-scale manufacture of electrochromic…

Read More

Lux: Existing nanotech could slash energy use by 12% in U.S., Germany and Japan

By / November 2, 2010

R50 vacuum insulation panel, 30x48x1 inch. Credit: ThermalVisions. Nano R&D is opening up new energy-conservation vistas, but a new report from Lux Research claims that the adoption of existing nano-enabled…

Read More

Berkeley Lab nets stewardship for U.S.–China energy-efficient construction consortium

By / October 8, 2010

Prototype energy-efficient home designed by Michelle Kaufmann, on display at theMuseum of Science and Industry, Chicago. Credit: Kaufmann and Wikipedia Commons. The DOE has announced the details on the third…

Read More