Construction is nearly complete on a new and innovative building in the US, which has been designed to generate its own electricity.

The environmentally-friendly building has been dubbed The Delta and was put together by private firm Voltaic Solaire, in cooperation with Ikea, Sharp, Samsung, Eemax and Kingston Block.

Originally proposed back in 2010, the building will feature a bed and breakfast facility, alongside restaurants and apartment spaces.

Built in on the corner of Hamilton Avenue and 9th Street in the Carroll Gardens district of New York, the structure will also serve as a showcase for green building technologies and is widely expected to provide a marker for future carbon-neutral and net-zero energy construction plans.

Solar Powered Building

Costing around $700,000 (£445,000) to build, the Delta is designed to utilise both solar and wind energy to generate heat, electricity and hot water.

Solar panels adorn two sides of the building, with a total of seventy panels flat against the structure. An additional 12-and-a-half hang above the windows and on a metal rack attached to the roof.

These solar panels provide approximately 12 megawatt-hours of electricity each year, which equates to around 25 per cent more than the building would be expected to use. An additional power generated is sold onto a local power grid, which the building will be able to draw from in less sunny weather conditions.

Elsewhere, everything that has gone into the design of the building is environmentally-focused, with the front façade of the Delta built using sun-deflecting red bricks made from recycled glass and cement.

New York Solar Building

This is also evident in the “thermal brake” system deployed in the structural design of the building. In this instance, a one-and-a-half inch space is created between the red brick exterior of structure and any Cinder blocks and insulation. This additional layer helps trap cool air in the summer and heat in the winter. Double-pane windows with thick rubber seals also provide extra heat savings.

Lighting has also been designed to environmentally friendly standards with 40 energy-saving LED light bulbs fitted to the ceilings of the buildings five floors. A roof-mounted cylindrical wind turbine also provides some structural power.

The most advanced system of all comes with the hot water supply. This is managed via a series of vertical glass tubes on the Delta’s western wall. Containing a mixture of water and trimethylene glycol, when heated by the sun, this chemical warms up water which is stored in a large cylindrical tank in the shared hallway of the building – thus allowing for warm showers and baths.

Alternatively, in cold weather, guests can flip and switch and enjoy water heated by the building’s electricity reserve. The Delta was an expensive project to develop, but investors estimate that the solar panels fitted to the structure will have paid for themselves within three-and-a-half years time. The structure opens this September.

Image Copyright AngMoKio Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The London 2012 Olympic Games has given a massive boost to the UK construction industry, with an estimated £1.5bn in contracts waiting to be awarded for follow-up work related to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

The firms involved in the erection of the London Olympics' key structures - visited by millions in person and seen by billions more on TV - are expected to ride the wave of success generated by what's been described as an ‘outstanding' sporting event.

It's already known that the Rio 2016 Olympic Park will be designed by Aecom, while the 2014 Winter Olympics' stadium's design was carried out by Populous. For UK firms, a huge degree of construction involvement in both events is now forecast.

London 2012 Construction

"It's not only our athletes who have shown themselves to be world-class - British businesses have played a key role in delivering our most successful games in history", Nick Clegg - Britain's Deputy Prime Minister - explained in a statement on the London 2012 construction boom.

He continued: "Producing the most spectacular show on earth has given UK companies the skills and expertise to support Brazil as the baton is passed to Rio 2016. We have identified huge opportunities for UK firms to work on the next Olympic games in Sochi and Rio - a golden boost to British businesses that will create jobs and support economic growth."

UK Olympics Construction Boost

In comments that coincided with the UK Olympics construction boost announcement, the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee's (SOCOG's) CEO and President, Dmitry Chernyshenko, recently highlighted the challenges involved in constructing this venue's new Olympic structures.

Considered the largest resort in Russia, Sochi lies on the Black Sea coast and was announced as the 2014 Winter Olympics host venue in 2007. The following year, the Russian government announced that $12bn would be invested into a venue construction programme.

"We are building an Olympic structure in the middle of nowhere", said Chernyshenko. "It's like a painter with a blank canvas painting a masterpiece. We are [also] building a new city with more than 100,000 hotel beds"

Image copyright Julian Osley - Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Civil engineering experts in Peru have developed a new type of building technology which could provide a construction solution to areas at risk to regular seismic movements. The system has been created by Professor Francisco Ginocchio of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) and could soon be rolled out in the region, following successful testing.

These innovative new constructions see structures developed using prefabricated steel bars, which operate as trusses alongside triangular support structures thatare welded together to create grid that forms the basis of the walls and ceiling of the house.

This truss system, which is described as an integral masonry system, has already been used and patented by Spanish constructions firms.

Earthquake Construction Technology

However, sensing that it could be used differently, Professor Ginocchio's colleague, Architecture professor Joseph Adell, who also authored the study, put forward an alternative. Instead of standard brickwork, these structures are instead filled with adobe, a material that mixes clay, sand, natural fibres and water to fill in the shape of the building in question.

Widely used in the developing world, some academics expressed concerns that structures made from the substance would crumble in earthquakes.

However, tests at the at the PUCP's Anti-seismic Structure Laboratory, which were conducted in collaboration with the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), between 2008 and 2011 proved otherwise.

According to the findings, which were published in the online journal Materiales de Construcciónearlier this year, they found that two-storey buildings constructed using the reinforced trusses system could withstand even severe earthquakes.

The development could have far-reaching effect for less-developed areas, where earthquakes leaving governments with mounting repair work concerns. It follows the recent unveiling of a new construction method which could see robots take responsibility for the construction of cheap housing, using a special framework tool.

The system "is not complicated at all, and any qualified construction worker could do it", Francisco Ginocchio, a professor of civil engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), told SciDev.Net.

It was tested at PUCP's Anti-seismic Structure Laboratory, in collaboration with the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), between 2008 and 2011. Tests were carried out on two-storey buildings, some of them built at full scale, constructed using cheap local materials such as adobe and hollow brick.

The results were published in the online journal Materiales de Construcciónearlier this year.

Image copyright Mike Gonzalez Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

US building has hit a record of 10.3GW of wind projects, racing to complete by the end of this year.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) revealed the activity in a second quarter report. This period showed a 14.6% increase in wind power capacity from this time last year, installing 1.2GW. The first half of 2012 saw a growth of 34% compared to the same period in 2011.

The total US wind capacity installations now stands at 49.8GW.

The report incorporates data from 30 states and Puerto Rico. Texas has the largest capacity at 1.5GW, and Kansas and California are close behind with over 1GW each. Michigan, Iowa and Oklahoma are constructing at least 500MW.

US Wind Construction Record

This is a record in wind construction in the US. Only in 2008 did capacity near these levels.

The race in construction is to qualify for a production tax credit (PTC), which extends to building completed and connected to the grid by the 31st December 2012. However, a bill has been approved by the Senate Finance Committee to provide a 1-year extension, also allowing projects that have started but not necessarily finished by the end of 2013 to be included.

The bill is estimated to cost $135 million over 10 years.

Jin Lenard, president of Washington-based industry group Offshore Wind Development Coalition said that the vote was "a critical step towards the establishment of a sustainable and robust offshore wind industry.

"The offshore wind industry has the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs, invest billions of dollars in new, domestic renewable energy production and help support efforts to reduce carbon emissions and sea-level rise," he continued.

Under the legislation, developers of renewable energy could be rewarded with a 30% ITC over the 10-year period. The entitlement for PTC is only available after the installation begins to generate energy.

The bill still requires the full Senate's vote and the House of Representatives - the latter unlikely to address the issue until after the national election on November 6.

Chris Chwastyk, AWEA vice president of federal legislative affairs, describes the industry as "light years ahead of where we were just a week ago", after the committee approval.

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A US academic is working on a new type of building technology that could see the role of the construction worker rendered obsolete.

Behrokh Khoshnevis is a professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California. Over the past 15 years, the robotics and mechatronics expert has been developing a machine that utilises something he has called Contour Crafting to create buildings from nothing.

A prototype of the system has been developed, showing how quick-setting, concrete-style material is first used to form the walls of the structure, layer-by-layer before a crane is used to fit floors and ceilings.

Printed Buildings

Structural components, wiring, plumbing and utilities are fitted during the building process, with the technology even allowing for consumer devices like televisions or stereos to be built as part of the plans.

It could have far-reaching effects for the industry, with the technology reportedly faster than any conventional building methods on the market today – including prefab construction work.

Professor Khoshnevis also noted that the process is cheaper and uses less energy than standard methods with the electrically powered crane at the heart of the system producing little construction waste compared to standard construction vehicles, which can create up to seven tons of material waste, according to The Science Channel.

Contour Crafting could also offer unprecedented flexibility when it comes to building design, with plans simply programmed into a computer, which then sets about constructing the plans.

Printer that Prints Buildings

Professor Khoshnevis's technology is focused primarily on rapid home development, with the system offering an effective solution to the rebuilding work required after natural disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis.

But this could certainly be applied to the residential construction industry, with the demand for housing in the US and beyond continuing to rise. Despite these more obvious applications, as the man himself explained, it could soon be adapted for other uses.

"Contour Crafting will most probably be one of the very few feasible approaches for building structures on other planets, such as the Moon and Mars, which are being targeted for human colonization before the end of the new century," he explained.

The system has certainly caught the eye of US spaces chiefs, with NASA evaluating the use of the technology in the development of bases on Mars and the Moon. It would appear that, when it comes to this innovative construction tool, the sky may not even be the limit.

Image Copyright pasdechat Courtesy stock.xchng

Image for representational purposes only

The Government has pledged almost £500 million to help build 8,000 affordable houses in every region of the country.

It is hoped that the funding will help the housebuilding industry financially as well as by encouraging property developers to take on more apprentices.

Government Funds

The record levels of government funds take the total invested in housebuilding to £3.5 billion pounds in just under nine months.

The funding was announced by Housing Minister John Healey who said: "We have used the power of public investment to ensure that even during the downturn we continued to build the homes this country needs.

"When levels of private housebuilding plummeted, we stepped in with record levels of funding to get Britain building again."

Britain has been suffering from a lack of affordable housing and first-time buyers are struggling to get onto the property ladder but the government's HomeBuy scheme aims to help.

Of the 8,000 new homes, over 3,000 will be put up for sale through the scheme whilst the rest of the homes, totalling nearly 5,000, will be rented accommodation.

Apprentices

The government funding does not come entirely without responsibility as Mr Healey is determined to see the money help bring up apprentices as well as housing levels.

He said: "So, I can confirm I have given the go-ahead to nearly £500million extra funding for Housing Associations to build 8,000 new homes. But I want to make the most of every taxpayer's pound, which is why I am requiring those benefiting from this extra cash to offer local job and apprenticeship opportunities.

"Today's investment in more affordable housing takes total Government help for housebuilding to £3.5billion since June. As the economy continues its recovery, I am determined that this support continues for the industry, for first-time buyers and for families."

The investment should help to secure the future of the industry whilst also helping the next wave of apprentices get onto the career ladder.

Three blocks of eco-flats are to be built in the North West as part of an environmentally-friendly regeneration programme.

The work, to be carried out by regeneration specialists Bramall Construction, aims to provide housing which benefits from the latest range of carbon-reducing technology whilst retaining the architectural flavour of the community.

Eco Regeneration

The first eco regeneration will be taking place at Cumberland Street in Macclesfield where eight flats will be built using a range of environmentally-friendly materials.

The houses will reach level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes by using more efficient insulation in walls, roof and floors combined with energy efficient boilers and water saving features in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Photovoltaic panels will help to generate electricity for the house using solar power and the timber-framed construction will be concealed in a brick cladding which makes the most of local supplies.

All this will help the properties to cut traditional carbon emissions by up to 44 per cent enabling October's new residents to keep their energy bills down.

Arthur Hallworth, Design Manager at Bramall said: "The site used to be one of the offices of Cheshire Peaks & Plains and part of the works was the demolition of their old buildings on the site.

"We have embraced carbon reducing eco technologies as part of this project and have used more modern versions of Victorian features to allow the development to fit in with its surroundings in Macclesfield.

"It is an exciting project as we believe we are the first in the Keepmoat group to use this technology in flats rather than just houses and hope to utilise the experience we have gained to benefit other clients in future."

North West

Elsewhere in the North West, Bramall will construct two new blocks of flats at Honford Court in Handforth, Wilmslow.

The flats, which are part of a £3.3 million contract, will be built to the same Level 4 standard whilst using air source heat pumps as a method of reducing carbon emissions.

Cheshire Peaks & Plains have commissioned the work on both sets of properties and their Development Manager, Nigel Bennett, said: "This is the first new build project for Cheshire Peaks & Plains Housing Trust and we are really pleased to be working with Bramall on this innovative project to provide energy efficient homes for our customers.

"We have been heavily involved with the design process to ensure that our new homes offer whole house environmentally friendly solutions and we are hoping to link with energy suppliers to include renewable technologies and facilities for monitoring energy consumption over time."

New housing developments up and down the country will help safeguard hundreds of construction jobs in the UK.

In Pembrokeshire, 153 new homes could help a small village become a town after a councillor announced that the plans had not received any complaints from the local community.

Nine sites will be constructed in the north-east by house builder Barratt who have opted to continue development in the area on the back of strong demand for new housing.

New Homes

The new homes, to be built in Newcastle, Sunderland and Washington, will safeguard hundreds of job in the area whilst creating more for local workers.

"By building these developments we will be bringing new jobs and creating well-designed, competitively-priced new homes which local people need," said Bernard Rooney, Barratt's north-east managing director.

He added that the demand for houses was well above what was expected which looks like good news for the struggling construction industry.

The sites will cost around £92million to build and come as part of Barratt's trading report from 2009 which states that they will build 12,000 new houses this year despite looking to improve on profit margins.

Barratt have expressed concern about the construction industry but are clearly showing some faith in the housing market with the new developments.

New Town

Elsewhere in the country the village of Johnston in Pembrokeshire may soon become a new town.

The already swelling village is currently experiencing a housing shortage which Johnston county councillor, Ken Rowlands, says could be alleviated by the building of 153 new homes in the area.

He told the Western Telegraph: "We were undoubtedly the biggest village and I think we will now be looking at a township."

He added that local residents had met with developers Beatgrove to discuss the proposed houses and had made no complaints about the plans.

The construction industry has struggled in recent times but the ever increasing demand for new houses is helping to keep and even create construction jobs.

Taylor Wimpey announced in its trading report for last year that 2010 could be a good year for construction as the recession starts to level out.

Plans to build 600 eco homes in four UK towns have received a £60 million Government cash boost.

It is expected that around 2,000 construction jobs will be created at the four sites in Hampshire, Cornwall, Norfolk and Oxfordshire.

Eco Homes

The Government has said that 10,000 eco homes will be created in the areas by 2016 with one site also benefitting from an "eco-standard" sixth form college.

Housing Minister John Healey said of the new developments: "This means people will be able to experience green living for themselves and see how it can change their lives and save money.

"But green living isn't just about homes. That's why this cash will also help transform local schools and create new transport links and energy sources.

"By the time the eco-towns are finished green living will already be a way of life for these communities."

The communities should have a zero-carbon output due to a number of energy saving devices being installed in the homes, including smart meters, renewable energy and charging points for the expected increase in electric cars. They will also feature systems which save the amount of water used.

Work on the houses could start as early as next month with an initial construction of 100 show homes being built in local communities followed by 500 houses on the actual eco-sites in 2011.

Government Backing

Government backing for the projects has received criticism from the shadow housing minister who has noted that the housing estates only have to be built to housing standard level 4 which incorporates high standards of efficiency and insulation.

Grant Shapps said: "The extraordinary thing about these eco-town plans is that the Government is actively backing a scheme which will be less environmentally friendly than all other homes built at the same time.

"Ministers have said that eco-towns must be built to Code Level 4, whereas all regular homes will be Code Level 6 or zero carbon by 2016.

"Ministers need to realise that they are damaging the environmental cause by encouraging sub-standard homes to be built."

The Government defended the eco-towns by pointing out that the overall infrastructure will make the communities capable of zero-carbon output, with green spaces and better public transport links helping to reduce overall CO2 output.

The UK construction industry took a boost today with the announcement that the sector shrank by the smallest amount for 23 months in January.

Even more encouraging was the fact that the improvement came during a month severely disrupted by extreme wintery weather conditions.

Slow Construction Recovery

The slow construction recovery saw the CIPS/Markit construction Purchasing Managers' Index rise from Decembers 47.1 to a new high of 48.6.

The figures indicate that the construction industry is closer to growth now than at any time in the last two years with a score of 50 indicating market growth.

IHS Global Insight's chief UK economist, Howard Archer said: "The overall impression is that the construction sector is stabilising after enduring a major recession, and it will be desperately hoping that the economy can generate significant recovery after crawling out of recession in the fourth quarter of 2009."

Unemployment in the sector also shrank in January which should come as a slight relief to the thousands of construction workers currently struggling to find jobs.

Winter Weather

The extreme winter weather last month was expected to hold the industry back with many predicting that the market could shrink further.

"Construction continues to be the worst performing sector of the UK economy - struggling in the face of credit supply shortages and overall economic uncertainty," said David Noble, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.

He added: "Purchasing managers said the widespread chaos caused by the snow in January didn't help an already fragile industry with new orders which are disappointingly low."

The figures show that new orders were again down after briefly growing in November, but the housebuilding sector defied the trend by growing for a fifth consecutive month.

Manufacturing was another sector which performed better than expected in a market survey, leading Mr Archer to state the combined result would "boost hopes that the UK's nascent, marginal recovery has not been given a serious jolt by January's extreme weather."