Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

The electric water heater market is slated to observe heavy growth in the coming years owing to the growing electrification rate, majorly across developing economies. Increasing investments by governments towards their infrastructural development would also add up to the overall market growth through the forecast timespan.

Apart from these trends, increasing preference towards the implementation of energy-efficient electric appliances due to the ever-increasing electric bills would further complement industry outlook through 2026.

Similarly, significant improvement in product performance and design would increase the deployment of electric water heaters. Additionally, strong competition among the electric water heater market counterparts would further complement its growth.

Moreover, improvement in crucial issues including dry firing, calcium deposition, and standby heat losses would augment the product deployment. Furthermore, the development of smart water heaters with integrated AI applications and improved UI capabilities would further support product penetration across several sectors.

Europe is known for its extreme climatic conditions, especially during winters. The region has witnessed a significant adoption of water heating technologies over the years. Regulatory norms also play a key role in the regional growth.

The European government has introduced stringent eco-design norms as well as building standards to promote the adoption of energy-efficient electrical appliances. Europe electric water heater market is slated to witness a notable growth owing to strong product demand across both residential and commercial applications.

In addition, product differentiation through extensive features like remote controlling, voice activation, and leakage detection is likely to encourage product deployment in coming years.

Flexible installation and easy repair as well as maintenance of currently used electrical circuits are projected to impel product deployment in the residential sector. In addition, major market players are increasingly focusing on the forward integration of these systems and also provide customers with extensive post-sale services for their convenience.

Moreover, availability of several capacities and designs that are suitable for a number of user demands is pushing the adoption of electric water heaters in the residential sector. The addition of novel technologies with enhanced performance would also add up to the segment growth and augment overall electric water heater market.

All in all, increasing deployment across residential and commercial sectors, stringent government norms regarding electricity usage, growing technological advancements, and a healthy competitive landscape are overtly indicative of massive growth opportunities for the electric water heater market.

Some of the major market players contributing to the overall market growth include Rinnai, Bosch, Bradford, A.O Smith, and Rheem Manufacturing among others.

Some Points From Table Of Content:

Chapter 4 Electric Water Heater Market, By Product

4.1 Electric water heater industry share by product, 2019 & 2026

4.2 Instant

4.2.1 Global market from instant, 2015 2026

4.2.2 Global market from instant, by region, 2015 2026

4.3 Storage

4.3.1 Global market from storage, 2015 2026

4.3.2 Global market from storage, by region, 2015 2026

Chapter 5 Electric Water Heater Market, By Capacity

5.1 Electric water heater industry share by capacity, 2019 & 2026

5.2 <30 Liters

5.2.1 Global market from <30 liters, 2015 2026

5.2.2 Global market from <30 liters, by region, 2015 2026

5.3 30-100 liters

5.3.1 Global market from 30-100 liters, 2015 2026

5.3.2 Global market from 30-100 liters, by region, 2015 2026

5.4 100-250 liters

5.4.1 Global market from 100-250 liters, 2015 2026

5.4.2 Global market from 100-250 liters, by region, 2015 2026

5.5 250-400 liters

5.5.1 Global market from 250-400 liters, 2015 2026

5.5.2 Global market from 250-400 liters, by region, 2015 2026

5.6 >400 liters

5.6.1 Global market from >400 liters, 2015 2026

5.6.2 Global market from >400 liters, by region, 2015 2026

Chapter 6 Electric Water Heater Market, By Application

6.1 Electric water heater industry share by application, 2019 & 2026

6.2 Residential

6.2.1 Global market from residential, 2015 2026

6.2.2 Global market from residential, by region, 2015 2026

6.3 Commercial

6.3.1 Global market from commercial, 2015 2026

6.3.2 Global market from commercial, by region, 2015 2026

6.3.3 College/university

6.3.3.1 Global market from college/university, 2015 2026

6.3.3.2 Global market from college/university, by region, 2015 2026

6.3.4 Offices

6.3.4.1 Global market from offices, 2015 2026

6.3.4.2 Global market from offices, by region, 2015 2026

6.3.5 Government/Military

6.3.5.1 Global market from government/military, 2015 2026

6.3.5.2 Global market from government/military, by region, 2015 2026

6.3.6 Others

6.3.6.1 Global market from others, 2015 2026

6.3.6.2 Global market from others, by region, 2015 2026

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Electric Water Heater Market Geographical Segmentation, Comprehensive Analysis to 2026 - Cole of Duty

Things are about to get weird in here.

German luxury cars are renowned for the breadth of their options sheets. On one hand, this means you can get your next BMW 5 Series configured exactly how you want it. On the other hand, it means you'll often wind up paying for extra for seemingly basic things like, say, a spare tire. Now, BMW is raising the ante by making many car options into software services enabled whenever you want them. The disconcerting part? They can be disabled, too.

In a VR presentation streamed from Germany today, BMW ran through a series of digital updates to its cars, including more details on the new BMW digital key service announced with Apple at last week's WWDC and confirming that current model cars will be fully software upgradeable over the air, a la Tesla. The first such update will hit BMW Operating System 7 cars in July. Packages are said to be approximately 1GB in size and will take roughly 20 minutes to install.

But, the most notable part of the day's presentation was the new plan to turn many options into software services. BMW mentioned everything from advanced safety systems like adaptive cruise and automatic high-beams to other, more discrete options like heated seats.

These options will be enabled via the car or the new My BMW app. While some will be permanent and assigned to the car, others will be temporary, with mentioned periods ranging from three months to three years. Some, presumably, will be permanent, but during the stream's Q&A portion BMW representatives demurred on the details.

So, yes, you could theoretically only pay for heated seats in the colder months if you like, or perhaps save a few bucks by only enabling automatic high-beams on those seasons when the days are shortest.

You may recall, BMW already demoed a program like this in 2018 by charging for limited-time access to Apple CarPlay. At the time I called this "next-level gouging" and I wasn't in the minority, the reaction being so negative that BMW eventually scrapped the program.

Yet this new move basically takes that approach and brings it to another level. Imagine pressing the seat heater button only to be prompted to renew your subscription, or having to pay extra to get an engine note on your new M4 that suits your sensibilities. All this is possible -- and likely. And, frankly, ugly.

This "vehicle as a platform" approach may indeed save some consumers money, particularly in the lease-heavy luxury sedan space where average ownership intervals are measured in months, not years. Also, this approach could open the door even further into letting consumers get exactly the specification they want, instead of bundling discrete options into packages in the name of streamlining manufacturing processes.

However, the potential downsides are troubling, particularly when it comes to used car sales. BMW representatives indicated that upgraded features will apply to the car, not the user, but indicated that all the details on used car sales are still being worked out. Again, there are some positives here, like being able to have a better-equipped second-hand car than the original owner, but it's hard to not see this as simply another shot of revenue for BMW in a transaction that might otherwise not involve the company at all.

Tesla recently found itself in hot water for disabling Autopilot on a used car. This is just the beginning, and how consumers react will be key, though at the end of the day this sort of thing feels inevitable. Service-based pricing is taking over everything from what we're watching tonight to what we're having for dinner. Why not what's sitting in our driveway, too?

Link:
Your next BMW might only have heated seats for 3 months - CNET

What's behind the door of this beautifully updated, 2-story home? A spacious, open floor plan on the main level. Complete with living room, dining room, half bath, fabulous kitchen, & main-floor laundry. New wood floors in the living and dining rooms. In the show-stopping kitchen/breakfast room: porcelain tile floors, sparkling, quartz counter tops, LG Stainless Steel appliances (double oven and a pot filler!), Grecian, polished marble, mosaic backsplash, and MAIN FLOOR LAUNDRY! All leading to the expansive deck, over looking the subdivision. On the second floor- all new carpet, FOUR bedrooms, including a master suite with a full bath and HUGE walk-in closet. Plus, three additional bedrooms, all served by an updated, full bathroom. Don't forget the partially finished, walk-out basement with new laminate flooring, another half bath, and laundry/utility/storage room. Perfect for a family room, entertainment space, play room, office, fitness center-possibilities are endless. Welcome Home!

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Homes Recently Listed in the St. Louis Area - Quad-Cities Online

From Mission Creek on the west to the Lester River on the east, the city is crossed by streams that start high over the hill and tumble down to the St. Louis River or Lake Superior.

Jeff Jasperson of Duluth likes to snorkel in these shallow, cool streams and look behind old logs in the water. Hes finding not only small brook trout babies but also some bigger, breeding stock fish, in places that dont necessarily look like the trout streams we see in fly-fishing magazines or movies.

I don't think many people in Duluth realize how many of these local streams still have wild trout in them, said Jasperson, a biologist for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in Duluth. Its not just the bigger rivers. Were finding trout in tiny, cold-water tributaries you could jump across in one step.

When Jasperson isnt snorkeling for fun or monitoring streams as part of his day job, he likes catching trout with his kids. Hes even captured some great underwater video of urban trout on his Go-Pro.

The fact we can walk from our house in Duluth and catch a few trout and cook them up for dinner, the kids think thats so cool. So do I, he said.

Owen Jasperson of Duluth releasing a brook trout on Tischer Creek in Duluth. Jeff Jasperson photo.

But most of Duluths urban trout streams are impaired, in some sort of trouble caused by the trappings of city life: Too much sediment from runoff, salt from winter road clearing and E. coli bacteria contamination from people and animals.

All that concrete and blacktop in town means water runs off, doesnt soak in, and is often too warm and too dirty, or turbid, to meet trout standards. Some Duluth streams are already too warm at times for trout to live. Worse, most are forecast by mid-century just 30 years from now to warm to levels that are fatal to trout, thanks to a warming climate.

Thats why the PCA has developed a report on the status of those streams and released a plan on how to make 11 of them more hospitable to fish. The 11 are the streams with enough long-term data available to show what impairments are an issue.

The name is a mouthful the Duluth Urban Streams Total Maximum Daily Load part of the sometimes-obtuse federal mandate to apply the Clean Water Act to ground-level waterways. The effort establishes the amount of each pollutant, the load, that each stream can accept and still meet water quality standards. The process provides a snapshot of where streams are today and lays out a road map on how to improve water quality over the next 10-30 years. But its going to take more than a plan to get there. Local governments, watershed districts and especially residents will have to spend time, money and effort.

Its not saying that by 2030 or even 2050 everything is going to be fine. But its identifying the issues and offering a plan on how to improve, said Karen Evens, who is leading the effort for the PCA. And it gives us a way to measure the progress along the way.

There are no trout police to enforce the effort.

"Its not prescriptive. We cant order the community to do these things, Evens noted. It has to be collaborative.

A brook trout caught on Tischer Creek in Duluth. Jeff Jasperson photo.

Fixes included more and better street sweeping by cities to keep polluted sediment from flushing into the streams with each rain; better stormwater storage and management; cleaning sediment traps in storm sewers; protecting small, cold-water tributaries that keep the bigger streams cold and oxygenated enough for trout; limiting or at least better planning for development near streams; and preserving vegetation along the waterways.

E.coli bacteria in streams washes in not just from humans, but also pets and wild animals. On the human side, fixing leaking sewer pipes and replacing failing septic systems are key. Adding more and better restrooms in city parks would help. Reducing pet waste remains a huge issue. There may be areas where nuisance wild animal populations raccoons, deer, beaver, etc. need to be reduced or where birds like geese and ducks need to be encouraged to stay away.

While many people perceive brook trout to be a hyper-sensitive species that needs pristine waters to survive, Jasperson says Duluth brook trout have adapted over the last century of intense development, with the strongest fish passing on their genes.

The surviving fish know where the cold water springs and tributaries are; Ive seen fish really packed around those. They also know where to go in August, or in a drought year like right now, to hang out when the flows are really low, he said.

That's how Miller Creek can flow right through the uber-developed Miller Hill Mall district and still have a viable population of wild brook trout. But fluctuations in the creek's population from as high as 448 trout per 1,000 feet in 1993 to just 34 in 2005 show problems remain: Salt, sediment, a lack of cold-water hiding places and runoff from the massive parking lots and ribbons of road in the area.

When people realize that these arent just drainage ditches running through town. When you show them they are a functioning, living systems with real fish maybe not functioning as well as they could be most people are willing to help, Jasperson said. But a lot of people dont know. Ive talked to landowners who didnt even know they had a cold-water stream on their land, let alone a population of wild brook trout. Some of them are just floored when I tell them.

Over 30 years, to do all the suggested work in the PCA plan could cost the community between $100 and $130 million to save its trout streams, Evens said. But its not an all-or-nothing proposition.

We want to target efforts to where they are going to have the most bang for the buck, she said. Thats why we want to incorporate stream (protections) into projects that are already going to happen.

That means UMD plans ahead to improve campus stormwater control efforts as part of its new dormitory construction project. City officials incorporate stream protection efforts as they rebuild city streets and sewers. Slowing and storing warm, dirty water on developed sites is a big step toward cleaner streams. So is protecting wetlands and springs high on Duluths hill, the sources of each stream, using conservation easements and tougher construction rules.

Jeff Jasperson likes to snorkel in small Duluth streams to find out where the fish hang out, such as near old logs. Here he found several small brook trout near where a coldwater spring seeps into the stream. Jeff Jasperson photo.

Deserae Hendrickson, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Duluth area fisheries supervisor, said reclaiming more natural stream channels also is key for trout, and restoration projects that followed the massive 2012 flood have done wonders. Chester Creek, for example, has seen a transformation from a dammed, channeled stream slowed by a pond to a more natural, free-flowing waterway thanks to a project by the South St. Louis County Soil and Water Conservation District. The effort also has helped the stream stay within its natural floodplain during major flood events.

The flood itself has some surprising benefits. When a man-made debris barrier blew out of Mission Creek in western Duluth during the flood, it opened up the upper stream for fish. Now, steelhead trout from Lake Superior are spawning far upstream for the first time in half a century, Hendrickson said.

The flood did a lot of damage, certainly. But where it blew out (small culverts and small bridges) it allowed us to get larger passages replaced in those areas. So we saw a lot of re-connectivity there, opening up new areas for trout, she said.

In a few western Duluth streams, the DNR found cool water but no wild trout remaining. So they stocked the creeks and now the trout are reproducing on their own.

But problem areas remain. Tischer Creek just below Hartley Nature Area now is a warm water dead zone for trout, Hendrickson noted, in large part because the creek is dammed to create Hartley Pond. Removing the dam would help trout but destroy the pond, a favorite spot for local residents. There are possible solutions, such as separating the creek from the pond so the stream water can flow faster.

We have stretches of streams that are impaired and need attention," Hendrickson said. But we also have a lot of stream runs that, despite what weve done to them over the years, somehow hang on and support trout.

The PCAs Evens agreed.

These trout, even if you dont fish for them, are part of Duluths identity, part of the quality of life, she said. Having trout streams in our city is part of why people want to live here.

Keene Creek E. coli bacteria

Kingsbury Creek Poor invertebrate population

Miller Creek Salt; poor invertebrate population; warm water; E.coli

Sargent Creek E. coli bacteria

Stewart Creek E. coli bacteria

Merritt Creek E. coli bacteria

Tischer Creek E. coli bacteria

Chester Creek E. coli bacteria

Amity Creek Sediment turbidity

Amity Creek East Branch Sediment turbidity

Lester River Sediment turbidity

The PCA is asking for public comments on the TMDL report, which is available on the projects web page at http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/total-maximum-daily-load-tmdl-projects or at PCAs Duluth office. You can get more information or send written comments to Karen Evens 218-302-6644, PCA, 525 Lake Avenue South, Suite 400, Duluth, MN 55802, by July 22.

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Duluth's urban trout streams hanging on, but need help - Duluth News Tribune

It can often feel like the best prime real estate in the United States is in New York, California or Florida, with the exception of a few jaw-dropping ranches in the West. In reality, every state has its own nuanced marketplace and high-end towns and neighborhoods. In Arizona, its the picturesque Paradise Valley, while in South Carolina its the oceanfront escape of Kiawah Island.

Often, a states most expensive home is a vacation residence: lake houses, mansions with beach frontage or an estate with a really, really big pool. Others are historic homes that offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a part of the past, like an $18.5 million estate with an Antebellum mansion in Alabama, which dates back to the 1800s, or the Shell House in Delaware, which was built by one of the states ruling families in the 1920s. Then there are those like the $500 million One in California, the most expensive home in the country, that are so over-the-top it boggles the mind.

What unifies all of these offerings is ambitionwhether its a particularly gutsy new construction or a meticulous restoration of a beloved Gilded Age home. Blood, sweat and tears went into all of these spectacular homes, not to mention a lot of money. So, what do these properties look like from state to state? We decided to find out. Below, in alphabetical order, are the most expensive homes in all 50 states, along with the priciest place in Washington, DC.

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From Alabama to Wyoming: The Most Expensive Home for Sale in Every State - Robb Report

Watermark Residential, a wholly owned affiliate of Thompson Thrift and one of the nations leading multifamily developers, announced today the acquisition of 10 acres of land for $5.5 million in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert, Ariz. The company will develop The Wyatt by Watermark, a $43 million Class A garden-style multifamily community on the land with an expected completion date of late 2021.

Located at 1205 South Gilbert Road, the site conveniently sits at the core of thriving downtown Gilbert, within walking distance to numerous high-end retail shops and restaurants and only a short drive to the entertainment and dining options available at Gilbert Heritage District and San Tan Village.

According to data from the National Multifamily Housing Council, the greater Phoenix area needs 11,000 new apartments per year to meet demand, said Josh Purvis, managing partner of Watermark Residential. Watermark Residential looks forward to helping fill the need for quality housing options with one of our innovative and aesthetically pleasing apartment communities.

The Wyatt by Watermark will consist of 216 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes averaging 978 square feet. The apartment homes will feature upgraded finishes including gourmet bar-kitchens with granite countertops, stainless steel appliance packages, walk-in closets and full-size washers and dryers. Community amenities will include a clubhouse, 24-hour fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment, a resort-quality swimming pool with cabana and pet-friendly bark park and doggie spa.

Residents will enjoy easy access to the 202 loop with the ability to reach all four of Gilberts major employment centers within 20 minutes. Additionally, the site is located within the Gilbert Public School District, the 4th Best School District in America, according to the National Council for Home Safety and Security.

Gilbert has experienced a population increase of 20 percent during the past decade and growth is expected to continue at double the national average over the next five years. In addition, the Phoenix suburb has been recognized for many awards recently including:

3rd Most Livable City in the U.S., according to SmartAsset

6th Safest City in the U.S., according to WalletHub

Arizonas Fastest Growing City, according to WalletHub

The Wyatt by Watermark is the third of six to be funded by the Watermark 3G Development Fund II, which closed in late 2019. In addition, it will be the second multifamily community for Watermark in Gilbert, who also owns the 250-unit Watermark at Gateway Place.

Since 2010 Watermark Residential has constructed more than 40 communities totaling over 11,000 multifamily apartment homes. The company has consistently focused on developments in areas experiencing rapid job growth, increased rental demand and barriers to new supply.

More here:
$43M Wyatt by Watermark will be developed in Gilbert - AZ Big Media

kubo tsushima architects has renovated and extended edoyu, a spa and bathhouse facility in tokyos kamezawa district. as the site is located in close proximity to the sumida hokusai museum an institution dedicated to katsushika hokusai the design of the spa is inspired by the work of the famous artist. while staying true to hokusais world, in our design, we also tried to emphasize the concept of the word yu in edo-yu, which means freely wandering and enjoying, explains the design team.

all images by koji fujii / nacasa and partners

externally, kubo tsushima architects added a faade to the building that is reminiscent of bathhouse curtains blowing in the wind. this entrance to edoyu is made up of four tall aluminum panels that hide the junction between the existing building and a new annex that doubles the spas floor space. the panels have been punctured with a seigaiha pattern that gradually disappears as the elevation ascends. passing through the curtain-like faade symbolizes the transition from the city to the spa retreat.

thanks to its reinforced concrete structure, the annex has no columns or beams. this gave the architects more freedom in determining the interior layout. we designed small spaces through the use of bathtubs, furniture, finishing materials, ceilings and differences in lighting environments all so that they would form a continuous sequence, says the design team. although the spa can accommodate up to 400 visitors, the architects designed the spaces so that all guests can find their own private areas.

the womens bathing area has been designed to evoke the feeling of floating in the clouds. the tubs are set at different heights, while apertures cut into the ceiling take the form of clouds. other areas of the scheme, including a co-working space and a restaurant, are contained within the previously existing building. while our inspiration derives from hokusais world, our goal was to construct the edo world from a modern, or perhaps even near future, perspective, say the architects. read our interview with hideaki kubo and yumi tsushima here.

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kubo tsushima architects renovates and extends 'edoyu' spa in tokyo - Designboom

ST. PETERSBURG The citys Pier District, its 26-acres parceled into walkable segments, with features such as a solar-shaded marketplace and an occulus with water views through a man-made sloping lawn, owes its design to the collaborative efforts of architects from St. Petersburg, Tampa and New York.

The main teams original concepts survived an opinionated public concerned about what would replace the iconic inverted pyramid Pier of 1973. Four massive caissons from the pyramid survived to form the base of the new Piers fishing deck. Historic Pier pilings also were incorporated into the architects design, leaving them exposed in front of Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Centers wet classroom, an amphitheater-style seating area leading down to the bay.

It was five years ago that a committee selected the team of Rogers Partners Architects and Urban Designers and lead landscape designer Ken Smith Workshop from New York, along with Tampas ASD/SKY Architects, to design the main section of the project. They produced the five-level Pier head building that includes a fourth-floor restaurant, roof-top bar and a bay-level fishing deck.

The team also created such elements as the coastal thicket, an over-the-water deck through a landscape of native trees, shrubs and grasses.

Rob Rogers, founding partner of Rogers Partners, is pleased with the options the new $92 million Pier offers.

I think our goal would be that there is such a diversity of experiences and opportunity that you are going to want to go back over and over. And if youre a resident, you are going to go to the beach, the environmental center. You might fish out at the end, he said.

Vince Lee, an associate partner at Rogers Partners, and project director, said there are a number of ways to experience the Pier head building. It is kind of a microcosm of the whole Pier, in that there are multiple ways to use it and move through it, providing different experiences and views along the way.

Rogers Partners teamed up with ASD/SKY, which was responsible for renovations at Al Lang Stadium and is working at Sparkmans Wharf in Tampa.

As a team here locally, we were able to patiently manage all the public input and address many of the voices we heard, said ASD/SKYs John Curran, principal in charge and project director.

Our role as design partner was not only as a partner from a design standpoint, but taking our Florida experience in Florida construction and putting this into planning a building over water. We were there every day. ... I am pleased that my hand prints are all over it. And my kids are terribly excited.

Wannemacher Jensen Architects in St. Petersburg was the other local firm that had a part in creating the new district. The firm collaborated with W Architecture and Landscape Architecture of Brooklyn to design the area that links the Pier to downtown.

We complement each other, said Jason Jensen, Wannemacher Jensens president, noting that W Architectures focus is on parks and the environment.

Barbara Wilks, founder of the New York firm, said she was honored to work with the dedicated and passionate community of St Pete to re-imagine the new district. I am proud that we made a place that everyone can enjoy, while surrounded by native plants and animals of the Tampa Bay.

Jensen said his firm assisted with the master planning of the Pier approach, specifically the marketplace and Doc Fords Rum Bar and Grille. A goal was to create a space to appeal to a cross-section of the community, with a variety of experiences throughout the park, he said.

He said his firm believed that the marketplace should be a shaded structure and close to downtown and that it would be a fantastic way to initially present our city to visitors.

That the playground and family park did not exist in the original downtown master plan, he said, but he believed they were important elements to include to be a truly inclusive, family friendly district. The $1 million playground is shaded. We integrated it into the trees, Jensen said.

The installation of artist Nathan Mabrys 10-foot, origami-style metal pelican at the Piers entrance was purposeful. We worked with the artist and W (Architecture) to focus on that location as an entry plaza and to basically welcome visitors to the Pier with the market directly behind that feature, Jensen said. He predicts that it will become a premiere meeting point.

Their design also evolved to incorporate the Piers signature public art, Janet Echelmans aerial net sculpture that floats above the family park.

The placement of everything is unfolding a Pier experience for the community, Jensen said. Youre not revealing it all at one time. Sprinkle in the shade of the market, the trees of the playground, the plaza and you are coming across activities at walking-friendly intervals.

Public projects can be the hardest ones, but also the most satisfying, Rogers said.

I am proud of the fact that we maintained the design concept from the beginning, Curran said. The concept has always been strong enough to stay true, the idea of shade, cover and comfort, making sure we had a number of activities throughout the entire Pier, so that it was many experiences and not just a road to the end.

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The new Pier District owes its style to New York and Tampa Bay architectural teams - Tampa Bay Times

How Will Digitalization and Remote Construction Change our Habits as Architects?

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Architects dont make buildings. Architects make drawings of buildings. But of course, someone has to make the building. The construction industry is one of the largest economic sectors and we all interact with the built environment on a daily basis, but the actual work of getting a building from drawing to structure has barely evolved over the decades. While the rest of the world has moved into Industry 4.0, the construction sector has not kept pace. Architecture has begun to embrace some digitalization. After all, not many of us work with mylar on drafting tables anymore. So with the architecture industrys everlasting link to the construction industry, will the latter pick up some new technological tricks by association? And when it does, how will that change the role of the architect?

Large construction projects can often take 20 percent more time than scheduled and when they are finished, as many as 80 percent end up over-budget. Construction is one of the lowest profit-margin industries in todays economy. In the past 75 years, productivity has increased by up to 1,500 percent in the manufacturing, retail, and agriculture fields. Over that same time period, productivity in construction remained almost the same. The emerging field of Construction Technology, or ConTech, aims to change that and bring construction into the 21st century.

Remote work began in technology industries, but even before the current global pandemic, the use of remote working had grown by 400 percent over the years. Today, we all have even more incentive to work as digitally as we can. One of the most well-known technological advancements in the architecture and building world is BIM, Building Information Modeling. The remote collaboration capabilities of BIM are a great start toward doing less work on-site, but BIM goes far beyond a collaborative Revit model. BIM can help project managers make better decisions at every stage of construction, even increasing health and safety on the job site.

By using BIM to access and analyze all the relevant data for a project, including documents, regulatory information, and building manuals, the project team can identify critical health and safety hazards on a construction site ahead of time. Although construction work comprises only 10 percent of the workforce, its responsible for up to 40 percent of workplace deaths, even in industrialized countries.

Using techniques like visualization, simulation, and virtual prototyping, BIM allows architects to preview a series of potential scenarios before the process of building even starts, with the aim or foreseeing any potential dangers for crews before they are even on site. Further BIM tools like compliance checking, scenario planning, pre-fabrication tools, and clash detection minimize the day-to-day construction site risks. BIM can also be used for emergency preparedness and planning, as well as accident analysis in the event that one does take place. In one study about the use of BIM technology in construction, 37 percent of owners and contractors reported more than a 5 percent reduction in reportable incidents.

Beyond BIM, and in tandem with BIM, other technologies not specifically developed for the building industry can also be applied to construction, such as AR, VR, AI and even blockchain, to make remote construction a reality. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) can eliminate the need for architects and owners to make frequent site visits, as well as streamlining the construction process itself. Both AR and VR can help in conducting virtual site visits, saving time and money.

WhenAR capabilities combine with an on-site 3D camera, off-site members of the project team can stream 360 degree video and work through issues in real time, perhaps evenincluding aerial footage with the use of drones. Workers on-site can use AR to send enhanced field notes, videos, and other data to remote colleagues, promoting rapid digital collaboration. The high-quality data and information from the site that can be produced via these technologies can decrease in-person visits, save time and money, and improve knowledge transfer among the team.

Computer-performed analysis of a job site can even identify potential safety risk factors, which has the added benefit of minimizing any delays from dealing with hazards. AR/VR combined with BIM can then allow inspectors to more efficiently identify any remaining worksite danger. AR could also be utilized in the field for job training, for example an overlay that teaches how to use a particular piece of machinery. It could even allow contractors to see through walls as theyre working, streamlining coordination between multiple different trades.

Blockchain, which at first glance has little to do with the construction industry, could in fact eliminate paperwork and increase security throughout a projects completion. The simple definition of blockchain is that it is an incorruptible and decentralized public ledger to store digital information, which could help bring the construction sector into Industry 4.0. The process of bringing a project from concept to building involves a lot of paperwork and documents - bids, contracts, and forms of all types. Project managers could integrate BIM with blockchain technologies to automate and optimize many of these processes, while simultaneously cutting back on paper usage for a sustainable bonus. For example, smart contracts could allow a transparent exchange between parties without the need for a lawyer or a notary, simplifying and shortening the process.

To increase job site security, blockchain technology could be used to track all the workers on site each day through an ID card scan, automatically integrating with their payroll system and creating a secure log of who was on site and when. Sustainability measures such as lifecycle analysis of building materials could also be automated, creating a type of passport for each material to track information like ethical sourcing and embodied carbon. Each of these possibilities for utilizing blockchain technologies serves to streamline architects and project managers tasks and remove busy-work, allowing the team to focus on the bigger picture instead.

Even Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been suggested as a possible way to increase efficiency in the architecture and construction fields. Especially in creative fields like architecture, theres often debate about the real capabilities of AI and whether it could (or should) truly replace human work. In this case, the goal would be to simply automate some of the parts of architecture that dont require a creative touch. AI could compile building site information for example, such as temperature and weather data, or could automatically keep track of material ratings. Even systems such as smart lighting or smart stormwater management could be integrated from the beginning of design, significantly simplifying coordination efforts.

AI could also perform analyses that architects wouldnt otherwise have the time or inclination to consider. When integrated with BIM data, AI could analyze trends and inefficiencies from project to project, allowing architects to gain more insight from each building than theyd typically be able to and increasing the life-span and quality of future buildings. In terms of built structures maintenance, AI could also be utilized to track any facilities issues and monitor for problems and performance. Perhaps eventually AI could use data from how people interact with spaces to extrapolate entire smart city designs.

In most cases, were quite a distance from achieving that, but the technology exists to make it possible. From the beginning of a project, using VR to walk clients through a space, to the end where an AI system performs building commissioning and analysis, the ConTech possibilities are numerous. And whether or not we live to see robot bricklayers become mainstream, certainly there are opportunities to streamline, simplify, and enhance the construction process via digitalization. Architects can save time and money by performing virtual site visits, while the workers on-site can initiate a more productive and efficient discussion about issues via high-quality information capture.

Overall, ConTech advancements would decrease the amount of people on a construction site to the minimum needed to complete the physical work each day, yet not at the expense of seamless collaboration. In fact, technology-enhanced remote communication could improve real-time coordination efforts while embracing the time- and money-savings of remaining digital. Project safety and security would improve, eliminating those worries from the owners, architects, and construction managers. Monotonous, tedious tasks and paperwork could become automated and simplified, taking that off the architect's list of responsibilities as well. In an imagined "remote construction" future, the practice of architecture may be distilled to those tasks at the very heart of the profession, design and collaboration.

Read more about these topics on the dormakaba's blog.

Continued here:
How Will Digitalization and Remote Construction Change our Habits as Architects? - ArchDaily

In 1992, when Los Angeles went up in flames in the wake of the Rodney King verdict, one of the buildings claimed by fire was a bank at the intersection of South Broadway and 45th Street, located on the border of Historic South Central and South Park.

The Broadway Federal Savings & Loan had once been a Woolworths building, but in 1955 it was transformed into a bank by Paul R. Williams the prominent and prolific Los Angeles architect who designed private homes for numerous celebrities (among them, Frank Sinatra, Barbara Stanwyck, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz), as well as churches, hotels, commercial buildings and even the font for the famous Beverly Hills Hotel logo.

Indeed, after the banks completion, Williams deposited his important papers there for safe-keeping.

So when the building went up in flames during the 92 uprising, so did much of the archival legacy of an architect who helped define the aesthetics of Southern California design though much of the 20th century. Not to mention the legacy of one of the countrys most notable Black architects with a rack of firsts to his name: the first licensed architect in California, the first African American to become a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the first to receive the AIA Gold Medal.

Or at least thats how the story went.

It turns out that the blaze that destroyed the Broadway Federal Savings & Loan didnt, as has long been reported, erase Williams legacy. While some of his business records were indeed lost in that fire, most of the architects thousands of original drawings were safe at another location.

Which means that there is a Paul R. Williams archive and it contains approximately 35,000 architectural plans, 10,000 original drawings, in addition to blueprints, hand-colored renderings, vintage photographs and correspondence. And, on Tuesday morning, the Getty Research Institute (GRI) and USCs School of Architecture are expected to announce a joint acquisition from Williams granddaughter Karen Elyse Hudson, who has long served as the principal steward of Williams work.

The Beverly Hills hotel in 1950, featuring a 1949-1950 addition by architect Paul R. Williams. He also designed the hotels distinctive signage.

(Julius Shulman / Getty Research Institute)

USC architecture dean Milton Curry, who was instrumental in facilitating the acquisition, says the archive helps fill the gaps of Los Angeles Modernism in the 20th century. It will also help illuminate Williams thinking and process.

This is one of the few Black architects operating at the scale and capacity that many of his white peers operated at, says Curry, who added, he accomplished a legacy that very few architects accomplished in their lifetime.

It also helps bring Williams work full circle: A native-born Angeleno, he studied architectural engineering at USC, graduating in 1919.

For the Getty Research Institute, the acquisition adds another important resource to an already prestigious archive that includes many of the key players of Southern California architecture in the 20th and 21st century, including Welton Becket (designer of the Music Center), Pierre Koenig (of the hill-hugging Stahl House), John Lautner (the spaceship-esque Chemosphere) and Frank Gehry (the ebullient Disney Hall).

This will really shed an incredible light on understanding architecture better in Los Angeles that it wasnt just individual architects, but a network of professionals, says Maristella Casciato, the GRIs senior curator of architecture. She notes that though Williams worked independently as the principal of his own studio, he also collaborated with many of the big Los Angeles firms of the era on major projects, including LAX.

A view of the Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz House in Palm Springs, designed by architect Paul Williams and completed in 1954-55.

(Julius Shulman / Getty Research Institute)

His archive also serves as a chronicle of almost a century of architecture in the region.

Williams was born in 1894 and died in 1980 and his career as a designer spans the graceful, undulating forms of Spanish Revival architecture to the more rectilinear shapes of Modernism at mid-century. (Think: the series of intersecting boxes that comprise his firms Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building at W. Adams Boulevard and S. Western Avenue, completed in 1949.)

It captures the beginning of the jet age with the design of LAX, says Casciato. It captures this big change in the profession. It is a richness that I cannot even describe.

On the technical level, the level of detail, the crispness of the drawings ... it could have been drawn yesterday, adds Curry. He had a command.

Williams archive will also function as a cornerstone of the Gettys 2-year-old African American History Initiative. That program, led by curator LeRonn P. Brooks, has already acquired critical documents in other areas, including the archive of Los Angeles artist Betye Saar, a key player in the Black Arts Movement, and the photographic archive of the Johnson Publishing Company, the publishers of Ebony and Jet magazines. (That latter archive was acquired in collaboration with three other philanthropic foundations and is shared by the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture and the GRI.)

A view of the dramatic circular patio at the El Mirador Hotel in Palm Springs, designed by Paul R. Williams in the early 1950s.

(Julius Shulman / Getty Research Institute)

The acquisition couldnt come at a more critical moment as the nation reckons with centuries of structural racism.

Williams, Curry notes, bore the battle scars of racism.

The architect, quite famously, learned how to draw upside down so that he could sketch out ideas for white clients who may not have wanted to sit alongside him. And he often walked around construction sites with his hands clasped behind his back since he was unsure how a handshake from a Black man would be received.

The circumstance around which we find ourselves now give us additional impetus to reflect on the lack of diversity in our discipline, says Curry. At USC, we talk about the citizen architect. We have been pushing the notion that architecture has to be more inclusive. But this is an accelerant for us. The acquisition of Paul Williams archives is the moment to double down on creating diversity in our school.

We shouldnt, he adds, have to wait another 100 years.

From the Archives

Further reading on architect Paul R. Williams

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Architect Paul Williams archive acquired by Getty and USC - Los Angeles Times