Thinking Ahead: How Rio Plans to Reuse 2016 Olympic Structures in the Future

August 24, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Rio's Olympic Aquatic Stadium.  Photo by Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, CC BY 2.0 — Rio's Olympic Aquatic Stadium. Photo by Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, CC BY 2.0

Billions of dollars are spent by cities and countries to prepare for summer and winter Olympics. Many stadiums, housing and other infrastructure are built to not only be able to handle the games, but also the enormous amount of people that will eventually inhabit the city for a few weeks. But, that’s just it, it’s only for a few weeks. What happens after the games are over and there’s no longer a need for an International Broadcast Center or a handball venue? In the past, the answer has been to let the area rot away and be a hotbed of vandalism, but Rio has taken a different approach.

The Next Green Construction Material: Recycled Plastic Bottles

August 16, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Principal Engineer with RePlast blocks made of recycled plastic.  Photo via ByFusion — Principal Engineer with RePlast blocks made of recycled plastic. Photo via ByFusion

Plastic bottles are probably inside more buildings than we’d care to know about, as I’ve personally (and unfortunately) been on enough job sites to see way too many bottles thrown around the job site, outside of trash containers. A large percentage of the bottles that are lucky enough to make it in a dumpster, end up in a landfill where it takes them an estimated 500 years to fully decompose! In an effort to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in our nation’s landfills, one startup company is hoping to turn recycled plastic into the next green construction material.

Missouri is Testing Out Solar Roadways Along Historic Route 66

July 12, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Imagine a world where the millions upon millions of square feet of roadway and parking lots across the world actually served a greater purpose than a flat surface to drive and park a vehicle. That’s the world that Scott and Julie Brusaw, creators of Solar Roadways, imagine and their dream is becoming closer to reality after years of testing and research.

[Infographic] 8 of the Most Incredible Green Office Buildings From Across the World

July 7, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Green construction isn’t just a fad, it’s becoming a large part of the construction industry. It has been estimated that 1/3 of all construction projects in the United States will be green by 2018, which is now just a short 2 years away. It’s not just an American thing either, countries all over the world have embraced the trend and have brought incredible new designs and green features to light.Green construction isn’t just a fad, it’s becoming a large part of the construction industry. It has been estimated that 1/3 of all construction projects in the United States will be green by 2018, which is now just a short 2 years away. It’s not just an American thing either, countries all over the world have embraced the trend and have brought incredible new designs and green features to light.

How Building Green Can Help Your Company and the Customer

June 16, 2016 Shane Hedmond

[Guest Post] Green innovations have served to change the construction industry in many ways. Building green is the way of the future, so adapting can have benefits for both construction firms and the customers that will use the new buildings. While materials may cost more and it may take a little effort to acquire certifications for green building, having the ability to offer green building expertise can help construction firms stand out. Operating from a green building can also help clients in several ways.

World’s First 3D Printed Office Completed in 19 days

June 1, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Back in June of 2015, Dubai announced their plans to design and build the World’s first fully functional 3D printed office building. On May 23, 2016, that office building has officially opened, as announced by the Government of Dubai. The building was a part of Dubai’s 3d Printing Strategy, which they hope will propel the country to World leader status in that arena

Researchers Create Transparent Wood, Want it to Replace Glass Windows

April 7, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Photo courtesy of KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

“You make a better door than a window!” I’m sure your parents hollered that at you all throughout your childhood as you were unaware that you were obstructing their view of their favorite TV show. That phrase may surprisingly not make sense to future generations with the recent discovery of a process that can make wood transparent. Seems crazy, I know.

Scientists Create Solar Cell Lighter Than a Soap Bubble

March 28, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Photo by PROMalte Sörensen, CC BY 2.0 — Photo by PRO Malte Sörensen, CC BY 2.0

Harnessing the power of the sun has been on the top of many scientists’ lists for quite some time. It’s just hanging out up there, making everything warm, so it’s a seemingly endless supply of wireless energy. The problem is, we haven’t been able to make them cheap, powerful, or light enough to make them economically feasible. A team of researchers believes they solved one of those problems as they’ve revealed a solar cell so light that it can rest on a soap bubble without popping it.

“Reversible Concrete” Demolishes Structure With the Pull of a String

March 14, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Concrete, the world’s most widely used construction material, has a giant target on its back and plenty of people want to take a piece of its pie. It’s cheap and strong, which has, so far held off many would-be competitors from getting popular. One of concrete’s major drawbacks and one of its most vulnerable areas is the fact that it’s extremely time consuming and difficult to demolish.

One of Concrete’s Oldest Mysteries Has Been Solved

March 9, 2016 Shane Hedmond

Photo by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York , CC BY 2.0 — Photo by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York , CC BY 2.0

Even though concrete is the world’s most highly used construction material, scientists have failed to understand very important fundamental aspect of the material, until now.