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How Homeowners Prepare For Power Outages / Architecture and the Genius of Place / Election 2015: A Chance to be More Radical?
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Also in this month’s issue... How an Architecture Firm Sold Out… by Not Selling Out The Future of Green Building in Hong Kong Textura Launches PerformanceTracker™ Build Magazine Issue One: May 2015
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Contents 4. News
Reading List 10. Context: Architecture and the Genius of Place
Construction 16. Zortrax Announces Inventure - A New 3D Printer for Professionals in All Industries 18. Briggs & Stratton Corporation Harris Poll Survey: How Homeowners Prepare For Power Outages 20. Lend Lease Achieves Better Buildings Challenge Goal for Greater Energy Efficiency 22. Memorial Hermann Breaks Ground on $650 Million Texas Medical Centre Renovation and Expansion Project
Architecture 26. How an Architecture Firm Sold Out‌ by Not Selling Out
Eco Building 30. The Future of Green Building in Hong Kong
Products & Innovation 34. Textura Launches PerformanceTracker Solution to Improve Contractor Performance Management
Real Estate 38. NAR Member Survey Reveals Slight Dip in RealtorÂŽ Business in 2014
Comments 44. Election 2015: A Chance to be More Radical? Build Magazine
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News Toronto green building leader receives prestigious Canadian Green Building Award Greening Homes recognised for transforming post war house into one of the most energy efficient in Canada. Greening Homes has announced that its Beechwood Project – a deep energy retrofit of a postWorld War II bungalow in Toronto’s East York area – is the recipient of the prestigious Canadian Green Building Award in the residential project category. Christopher Phillips and Steven Gray, Greening Homes’ respective President and Construction Manager, accepted the award today at the National Conference of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Greening Homes is recognised for transforming an aging bungalow on Beechwood Crescent into one of the most highly efficient residential buildings in the country. The renovated two-story house surpassed Passive House air-tightness requirements for new construction, with an air tightness level of 0.44 air changes per hour (ACH). The lower the number of air changes, the less energy is required to keep air at a comfortable temperature. The Passive House standard for new construction is 0.6 ACH. For renovations the standard is 1 ACH. “We went from a house with no insulation or ventilation to one that is evenly heated from basement to second floor and with fresh healthy air all the time,” says Andrew Hellebust who with his wife Maria Riedstra owns the home. “The house is now fossil fuel free with an electric heat pump drawing heat from the soil right beneath the basement floor. We didn’t even have to turn on backup throughout this unusually cold and long winter. Our electrical bills are less than our old heating bills, even with a larger house.”
“The Beechwood home showcases what can be done for Toronto’s aging building stock,” says Mr. Phillips. “It also demonstrates what can be achieved when everyone – from the homeowner to the trades people - commit to creating a high performance building. We are truly honoured that the Canada Green Building Council has recognized this ground-breaking retrofit.” The Beechwood house underwent an integrated design process involving an architect, sustainability consultant, third party testers, mechanical engineer, builder, and other professionals from the high-performance building industry. Through this process, the home’s geometry, glazing, insulation, mechanical system, air barrier detailing and constructability were optimized for energy efficiency, high indoor air quality and low water consumption. Other retrofit features include: Forest Stewardship Council framing lumber; triple paned, argon-filled fibreglass windows; recycled denim batt sound insulation; hydronic in-ceiling heating and cooling; drain water heat recovery; WaterSense Certified lowflow fixtures and LED lighting throughout; sub-slab geothermal loop; durable and recyclable cool metal roof, and, high recycled content locally produced drywall. The retrofit also achieved 80 percent total project waste diversion. Along with the other winning projects, details of the Beechwood Project will be displayed at the IIDEX show in Toronto in December. The Canadian Green Building Awards, a joint program of SABMag and the Canada Green Building Council, recognise excellence in the design and execution of Canadian residential and non-residential buildings of all types, including new construction, existing buildings, renovations and interior design projects. In the fall of 2014, the CaGBC’s Toronto Chapter awarded the Beechwood Deep Energy Retrofit with an Innovation in LEED Award in the Innovation in Sustainability category. In November last year, Greening Homes was also recognised for its commitment to waste reduction, receiving the Excellence in Corporate Responsibility Award in the Waste Diversion and Recycling category, coordinated by Green Living.
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Pure Technologies Announces New Multi-Year Contract Worth Up To US$60 Million Pure Technologies Ltd. Has announced that Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission has awarded a new contract to Pure Engineering Services Inc., the Company’s wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, to provide proprietary services that support WSSC’s ongoing pipeline management program. The contract has a maximum value of US$20 million over two years, with two option terms each with a two year duration. Including the option terms, the total contract value is not to exceed US$60 million over six years. Under the contract, Pure will provide inspection, condition assessment and long term GIS-based monitoring and management to assist WSSC in the administration of a portion of their large-diameter pipeline inventory. Pure’s proprietary and patented technologies to be deployed under the contract include the SmartBall® leak detection system, PureEM™ electromagnetic technology, and the Company’s SoundPrint® Acoustic Fiber Optic (AFO) monitoring system.
KONE Wins Order for Austin’s Green Water Redevelopment KONE, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, has won an order to provide 14 elevators at 500 West 2nd Street, the office tower that is part of the redevelopment of the decommissioned Thomas C. Green Water Treatment Plant site in Austin, Texas. KONE solutions will include eight KONE MonoSpace® machine room-less elevators, and six KONE EcoSystem MR™ machine room elevators. All of the elevators will be equipped with the energy-efficient KONE EcoDisc® hoisting machine. The KONE Polaris™ destination control system (DCS) will also be utilized on 10 of the office elevators. This dispatching system significantly improves efficiency of the elevator system, and also will interface with the building’s access control system to provide the most efficient People Flow for customers and workers at the site. Originally opened in 1925, the site of Austin’s first water treatment plant is being redeveloped to include 500 West 2nd Street, a 32-story, 537,134 square-foot office tower. Green Water is the largest
privately-developed project in Austin’s history. Gensler did the master planning and Trammell Crow is developing this mixed-use site, which includes two residential towers, a boutique hotel and the office tower building. The Beck Group leads construction of the 16-level office tower, which sits atop 14 levels of parking. “We’re excited to partner with a progressive and innovative company like KONE on 500 West 2nd Street,” said Tom Woods, Project Executive from The Beck Group. “With the use of elevator technology that will help efficiently get people to their desired floors quickly and safely, we look forward to bringing this project to life for the city of Austin.” “Being part of Austin’s economic growth is an exciting opportunity for KONE and we’re proud to be working with Gensler, Trammell Crow and The Beck Group,” said Larry Wash, Executive Vice President for KONE Americas. “We’re especially proud to be part of a development such as Green Water, where KONE can help contribute to redeveloping a nearly century-old part of the city.”
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The work will continue to be managed from Pure’s Columbia, Maryland office. The Company has been working with WSSC on their large-diameter pipeline management program since January 2009. WSSC has approximately 335 miles of prestressed concrete pipelines greater than 16-inches in diameter in its system. To date, Pure has inspected and is monitoring, over 85 miles of pipeline in diameters ranging from 36-inches to 96-inches. About Pure Technologies Ltd Pure Technologies Ltd. is an international asset management, technology and services company which has developed patented technologies for inspection, monitoring and management of critical infrastructure around the world. Pure’s business model incorporates four distinct but complementary business streams: • • •
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Sales of proprietary monitoring technologies for pipelines, bridges and structures; Recurring revenue from data analysis, site maintenance, and from technology licensing; Premium technical services including pipeline inspection, leak detection and condition assessment; Specialized engineering services in asset management, non-revenue water and condition assessment for water and wastewater infrastructure.
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Hertz Announces Equipment Rental Leadership Transition Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. has announced that Lawrence (Larry) H. Silber has been appointed President and CEO of Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation (HERC), replacing Brian MacDonald, who has stepped down, effective immediately. On May 14, 2015, the Company reiterated its intention to separate the equipment and car rental businesses into two publicly traded companies. John Tague, Hertz President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “HERC is one of the world’s leading equipment rental businesses, and we are confident that Larry’s leadership and experience, as well as his reputation as a great operator, will reenergize HERC’s performance on the topline and importantly in dollar value utilization, which is a key performance driver for this industry.”
Bechtel is Top-Ranked U.S. Contractor for 17th Consecutive Year
Silber began his career in sales and took on his first P & L responsibility as GM of the Material Handling Division of Ingersoll Rand in 1994. Later, he reenergized Ingersoll Rand’s focus on equipment sales to the rental industry sector and ran its company store network, including establishing a remarketing and remanufacturing business unit for used equipment. In his last role at Ingersoll Rand, Silber was President of the Utility Equipment Group, later leading the divestiture and transition of this and other related businesses for the company. He also was the Chairman and CEO of Ingersoll Rand Canada Inc.
For the 17th year running, Bechtel has been named the top U.S. contractor by Engineering News-Record (ENR), a leading publication for the engineering and construction industry.
“Given his deep set of experiences in the heavy equipment sector, we are excited to have Larry Silber lead HERC’s business transformation, while also helping us navigate through the HERC separation process,” said Mr. Tague. Silber said, “It’s an honour to join the Hertz team at this critical time in HERC’s history as it prepares for a future as an independent company. I have long been associated with HERC and am excited to be joining the premier global equipment rental company. We will position HERC for stronger, more diversified growth with the most efficient cost structure possible. HERC’s customers and investors should be confident that the company will be a long-term competitive and reliable force in the market.”
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In addition to ranking #1 on ENR’s annual Top 400 Contractors list, Bechtel ranked first on the following specialized lists: • Top 20 Petroleum • Top 20 Transportation • Top 20 Power • Top 20 Industrial • Top 20 Hazardous Waste • Top 50 Contractors Working Abroad “We’re honored to hold the top rank in what has been a challenging economic environment for all of us in engineering and construction,” said Brendan Bechtel, the company’s president and COO. “We’re dedicated to leading our industry with innovative approaches that deliver the complex, unique projects upon which our customers depend. The 58,000 men and women who work at Bechtel are committed to safely executing high-quality projects – ahead of schedule and within budget – that will improve the world.” Bechtel is currently partnered with customers worldwide on hundreds of projects, including: • •
Four LNG plants in Australia—part of Bechtel’s buildout of 1/3 of global LNG capacity under construction Two major lines of the Riyadh Metro -- helping
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Saudi Arabia revitalize its rail and transport infrastructure Twin 13-mile rail tunnels beneath London – part of Crossrail, Europe’s largest infrastructure project A first-of-a-kind sustainable water-supply system, linking the Pacific to a mine in Chile’s Atacama Desert Two natural gas-fired combined-cycle power facilities in Texas and one in Virginia A pilot plant in Pueblo, Colorado, for eliminating large U.S. chemical weapons stockpiles Completion of Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear power station in Tennessee, the first new U.S. plant since 1996
Through its commitment to environmental, social and economic sustainability issues, Bechtel has long helped improve the quality of life in communities where it works. The company’s recently completed Hamad International Airport in Qatar and the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California are just a few examples. “We’re focused on delivering landmark projects that foster sustainable progress and help local economies,” said Bechtel. He noted that the company provides funding to five non-profits that benefit communities around the world. These Signature Programs include: DiscoverE, Engineers Without Borders, FIRST, Robotics, Junior Achievement, and Ocean Exploration Trust.
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News
European Inspired Mansion in Houston To Sell To The Highest Bidder at Auction June 25th, 2015 Sleepy Oaks Chateau is a stately, European-inspired manor home that perfectly marries modern luxury and old-world elegance. It will be offered at luxury auction, selling without reserve on June 25th with Supreme Auctions in cooperation with Martha Adger of Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty. Upon rounding the three-tiered fountain in the circular driveway and first seeing the grand and welcoming motor court, one begins to understand that no expense was spared during the construction of this incredible residence. John Sullivan of Sullivan, Stevens, and Henry Architecture prepared drawings for the home, which L-D Custom Homes designed and built it in 2014. “The estate is located in the affluent community of Hunters Creek Village, one of the Memorial Villages near Houston named by Forbes as a ‘Top Suburb to Live Well’,” said Jennie Heal, president of Supreme Auctions. “Following our recent record sale in The Woodlands, TX, we are looking forward to welcoming a new owner to this magnificent property.”
The home is sited on 1.1 acres of landscaped grounds and features magnificent gardens, complete with a custom arboretum and sparkling 50’ heated pool and spa with cascading waterfall. A covered summer kitchen with wood-burning pizza oven make the residence’s outdoor spaces perfect for entertaining. The home features rich wood paneling, handcarved mantels, and Mohawk hardwood flooring throughout its spacious design. Offering a rare sense of refinement, including a stunning two-story study and library. Sleepy Oaks Chateau offers “smart house” technology that offers whole-house control of security, audio, video, lighting, and more from a smartphone or tablet. Luxury real estate auctions without reserve are still a rare occurrence; however, they are becoming increasingly popular with both sellers and buyers. “We were not interested in letting the home sit on the market for long, so we knew that a luxury auction with Supreme Auctions was best way to achieve our selling goal,” said the current owner of the home. “The opportunity to purchase Sleepy Oaks Chateau at auction without reserve is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and will certainly appeal to buyers,” said listing agent Martha Adger. “This is a rare opportunity to own an outstanding property in Hunters Creek Village.” With Houston only nine miles to the southeast, Hunters Creek Village provides easy access to the entertainment, culture, fine dining, boutique shopping, and professional sporting venues for which Houston is so well known.
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Context Extract from: Context: Architecture and the Genius of Place AD Primer, by Eric Parry, Published by Wiley, May 2015, £27.99, Paperback and e-book, ISBN: 9781119952718
here are a growing number of remarkable projects reflecting a widening global appetite and audience for architectural adventure. When Frank Gehry’s Bilbao Guggenheim Museum opened in 1997, the cherry on the urban renewal cake, it did more at a stroke than the massive infrastructure projects that preceded it, to reinvent the image of that city. Many others have followed suit, calling on the undoubted talents of a battalion of architects who spend as much time in airports as in their offices.
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At the same time interest in the city as an urban and social science project has burgeoned with the exponential rate of global urban expansion. Deyan Sudjic’s book The 100 Mile City (1992) explored the reality of the megacity with a breathtaking pace to mirror its subject. The Urban Age project, centred at the London School of Economics and supported generously by the Deutsche Bank’s Alfred Herrhausen Fund, has allowed eminent academics from the fields of law, economics, urban policy, urban design, politics and sociology to circumnavigate the globe to assess
the comparative conditions of some of the most influential cities. This work reached a peak of public attention with the Venice Architecture Biennale curated by Ricky Burdett in 2010. The Corderie (the long chain of former naval rope factory buildings where the Biennale’s main themed exhibition is held) were packed with comparative statistics, diagnoses of relative infrastructure successes and failures and above all harrowing projections of future growth. It represented an extraordinary effort and contained a huge amount of useful information for the next generation of policy makers, but given that vast space I came away overfed on facts but starved of the qualitative and haptic sense of what makes the world of cities the essential storehouse of human existence. I had contemplated gathering some of the intense urban narrative accumulated in piecemeal fashion by architectural projects that have preoccupied me for a couple of decades into a navigable order, when Helen Castle asked me if I would add Context as a title in Wiley’s series of books aimed primarily at both students and lecturers involved in the business of architectural education.
As a former studio teacher and lecturer, now fully preoccupied by practice, I started to muse on the bridges between the two worlds. There are some things that are difficult and intangible in the school studio, two of the most important being the material and tectonic issues that the building crafts and industry offer to the designer’s palette and then additionally the collective nature of architectural design. The latter involves the specialist knowledge of many fields from landscape design to engineering with which architecture forms a synthesising and catalysing voice.
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11 cdrin / Shutterstock.com
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The broad theoretical territory embodied in the book’s structure reflects my own wavering between art, architecture and anthropology. Additionally I can trace the roots of my interest in the European city to the lectures and seminars of two of my former teachers: Dalibor Vesely at the Architectural Association in 1978–9 and Kenneth Frampton at the Royal College of Art in 1976–7. Indeed it was Frampton’s references to Vesely during a remarkable set of two-hour lectures at the RCA that galvanised me to attend the AA at a time when almost all studios were absorbed by a heated discourse about the contemporary city, fermented by the director of the school, Alvin Boyarsky. While we can rummage through the history of city planning to ascertain where critical plans emerged, in the case of chapter four the street and the cities under scrutiny, it remains an obvious contradiction to so much muscular architectural effort today that the silent contributors are more often than not anonymous – like the unattributed poet ‘unknown’. And yet in their anonymity they have created a framework that is celebrated every day in the most liveable, communicative, entertaining and sophisticated sections of cities on earth.
On the question of the future shaping of the city, those archetypes that are as fundamental as eating, sleeping and conversing remain its shared spaces: the streets, the urban block, the square and the public garden. In order to move towards an understanding of the street, the ground on which it is cast seemed an obvious starting point for the first chapter. The making of streets is taken for granted but actually it absorbs a huge quantum of the city dweller’s field of vision, constantly dangerous, engaging and subject to all the wear and tear that citizens can muster. Choice of material is resolved by proximity, continuities of tradition and context, and the differences are so clear that is it often possible to locate a place from the traces of its surface alone.
The concern for a perceptual field rather than a focus on particular objects gave rise to the framing of the second chapter, ‘Horizon’. In it the vexed question of the city skyline and who determines it is ever present because tall buildings are inescapable – as Roland Barthes’s opening quotation in his 1964 essay ‘The Eiffel Tower’ makes clear: ‘Maupassant often lunched at the restaurant in the tower, though he didn’t care much for the food: “It’s the only place in Paris,” he used to say, “where I don’t have to see it”.’ Equally loss of horizon is one of the most terrifying conditions to the living, as the Chilean miners’ incarceration made vivid in 2010. One of the most outstanding contributions of 20th-century contemporary architecture has been the structural ability to manipulate the datum and thus to create multiple horizons, which is developed through some fine precedents. The spatial and cultural layering that design can engender lies at the heart of the third chapter, titled ‘Simultaneity’: every society holds different nuances to these proximities, and their combinations are at work at every scale from the room to the make-up of the city itself. The chapter I hope serves as an introduction to one of the most useful ways of thinking about design beyond the object. The final chapter, ‘Artifice’, is structured around the paradoxical character of the urban public garden as a place of play and encounter. The restorative power of nature drawn through artifice into the urban landscape has created places of real communicative power that symbolise the particularity and fragility of context as an essential part of human habitation.
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Construction
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Announces Inventure - A New 3D Printer for Professionals in All Industries
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Construction
Soluble Support and Heated Chamber Provide High-Quality in Entry Level Printer.
Zortrax, a leading global manufacturer of 3D printers, has announced Zortrax Inventure, a compact and precise 3D printer suitable for any office. Features previously only found in the highest-quality 3D printers have been applied to Inventure, ensuring a streamlined, high caliber experience. Distinctive features, functionality and enhancements include: • Soluble support allows users to print more complicated objects and movable models, because printed models do not require manual processing. Essentially, the material is removed in a special solution which dissolves any unnecessary parts within a few hours • A fixed printing temperature from a heated chamber guarantees high dimensional precision of printed models • A closed casing with a HEPA filter ensures safety of work • Double heads provide simultaneous printing from basic and support materials • Cartridges deliver easy removal or replacement of printing materials • An embedded display with a notification system allows the ability to control the printing process • The 130x130x130 working area allows the user to print the majority of typical 3D models without the necessity of dividing them into parts
“Inventure stands out thanks to its price/ quality ratio and its ease of use. It’s our hope that Inventure’s plug and print ability will allow more professionals to access and regularly use 3D print technology” said Rafal Tomasiak, Zortrax CEO and one of the printer’s designers. “3D print technology can be used wherever fast prototyping or production of a small number of copies of a given object
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is required. The most common users of 3D printers are engineers, designers and architects, but the list of users has been constantly expanding. We receive more and more inquiries from educational institutions as well as the medical and automotive industries,” added Tomasiak. To appeal to customers across varying industries, Zortrax focused on the devices’ design, pulling several features from the award-winning M200 printer. As a result, the printers are not only easy to use but also have a distinctive exterior. Inventure was designed to suit any office space, e.g. architectural studios. The printer is compact in size, has a closed printing chamber and a sleek, clean look. New printing material, Z-ULTRAT Plus, has been enhanced for Inventure printers. This thermoplastic substance is particularly resistant to damages and can be used for both industrial prototyping as well as printing final objects. The models made of this material are suitable for pre-production tests as their quality is close to the products made with injection mold technology. Inventure printers are equipped with every element needed to start printing right after taking the device from the box and plugging it in. The package includes useful tools, a cartridge with Z-ULTRAT Plus and support material as well as instructions for downloading Z-SUITE software. This program helps users by facilitating preparation of 3D models for printing (e.g. by determining their size or position on the printer’s platform) and, along with the printer and printing materials, constitutes a closed ecosystem to ensure the highest quality for precise printouts. Zortrax’s Inventure will be available in the US later this year.
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Two-thirds of U.S. homeowners having experienced a prolonged power outage said they were motivated by their time in the dark to prepare differently for a future outage, according to results of a Harris Poll conducted last spring sponsored by Briggs & Stratton.
The survey found that one out of every four homeowners had lost power to their home for 12 hours or longer at least once in the last two years. Roughly 66 percent of those having endured a prolonged outage would alter their approach prior to the next outage, according to the survey. “May 24 marks the beginning of Hurricane Preparedness Week, and while it’s good to see homeowners are motivated to take better precaution after having endured a prolonged outage event, we really want to use this week to teach homeowners how they can prepare their homes properly now without needing that extra motivation of sitting in the dark,” said Dan Roche, Director of Marketing – Portable Power and cleaning systems, at Briggs & Stratton.
“While hurricane season is quickly approaching, the good news is there is still time for families living in hurricane-prone areas to prepare their homes and equip their families with the right tools to best endure the effects of a hurricane storm” Hurricane Preparedness Week is sponsored by the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Centre. Hurricane season officially starts June 1 and goes until Nov. 30. What Homeowners Do to Prepare for Hurricane Season & Power Outages According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, if families do nothing else to prepare before hurricane season begins, they should at least make an emergency preparedness kit and have a family communications plan. There is plenty more homeowners can do to prepare before the next hurricane makes its way towards land. For example, a hurricane or strong storm will likely leave neighbourhoods and communities without power, so it is important to prepare for power outages.
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Returning utility power to a neighbourhood after a hurricane can take a long time as hurricane-force winds can damage trees and block roads, making power line repair a difficult task. Portable generators and home standby generators prevent power interruption to a home and deliver backup power to help return a sense of normalcy for a family. These two types of backup generators offer different features. For those needing an immediate solution to power select appliances during an outage, a portable generator, is the perfect solution. Portable generators can power a homeowner’s power tools to help clear a property of storm-related debris. Depending on the generator’s capacity, they can also power some key home appliances for comfort. We recommend that a transfer switch be installed at the home. Some portable generators available today are even coupled with step-bystep start-up, shutdown and storage instructions, like the Briggs & Stratton® Storm Responder, to maximise ease of use. Simple diagrams indicate the correct oil and fuel to use, which appliances can be plugged in and where the unit should be placed while in use. Standby generators automatically keep the power on when a home’s primary power source goes out utilising an automatic transfer switch. Fuelled by propane or natural gas, they allow homeowners to run appliances like air conditioners, heaters, refrigerators, sump pumps, clothes washers/dryers and lights. The Briggs & Stratton 8- or 10-kW1 Standby Generators are affordable options for families trying to prepare for power outages, even ones caused by a hurricane. The compact design gives homeowners more placement options, while the powerful Briggs & Stratton Engine helps ensure all of the home’s basic appliances are covered by backup power.
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Construction
Briggs & Stratton Corporation Harris Poll Survey: How Homeowners Prepare For Power Outages
Jannis Tobias Werner / Shutterstock.com Build Magazine
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Lend Lease Achieves Better Buildings Challenge Goal for Greater Energy Efficiency
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Savings Contribute to Better Buildings Challenge 2015 Results: Partners Save $840 Million and 94 Trillion BTUs
The Energy Department has recognised Lend Lease (US) Public Partnerships as a goal achiever in the Better Buildings Challenge. Lend Lease has exceeded its goal of 20 percent energy savings, and has achieved 26% savings five years ahead of schedule. As a result the organization has saved over 877,967,910 kBTUs and 177,426 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Lend Lease is one of eleven goal achievers announced this year for meeting its goal ahead of schedule. Since President Obama launched the Better Buildings Challenge in 2011, over 250 partners have saved $840 million and saved 94 TBTUs of energy which represents 6 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
“Our partnership through the Better Buildings Challenge has helped further our focus on sustainability and energy efficiency solutions and positioned us to achieve outstanding results. This is a true testament to our global Sustainability Framework in action,” said James Stawniczy, Regional Head of Sustainability Americas. “The DoE provided world class support and access to a network of industry leading experts. This allowed our team to create innovative solutions to drive residential energy savings programs that enhanced our operations while actively engaging our stakeholders,” said Marc Sierra, Managing Director Lend Lease Public Partnerships. “The Better Buildings Challenge has been a catalyst in developing our ability to commit to energy reduction targets for our portfolio, and for our clients, backed by our execution track record and know-how to go above and beyond towards even more ambitious energy goals. Lend Lease’s energy development business is delivering clean, reliable and affordable energy solutions
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that holistically incorporate turn-key guaranteed demand-side reduction with surety of supply side generation. Our integrated approach combines distributed generation solutions with energy conservation measures and smart building energy management systems. Beyond the impressive technical engineering outcomes, we have been positively surprised by the impact from resident behavioural changes through real-time energy awareness,” said Craig Carson, General Manager, Energy Development. Energy savings across the portfolio have been achieved through a focused combination of demand load reduction and solutions generation. Improvements include green retrofits of legacy homes (air sealing, insulation, etc.), enhanced design of new builds to meet LEED Silver standards, procurement of more energy efficient appliances, and commitment to renewable energy solutions like solar panel arrays and solar thermal water heating systems. Also, a focused resident energy education and awareness program, part of utility billing, coupled with a new Building Energy Management System (BEMS) installed in homes has helped reduce consumption. “As the Better Buildings Initiative enters its fourth year, leaders continue to showcase how saving energy saves money, creates jobs, and most importantly accelerates the nation’s competitiveness in the clean energy economy while preserving our environment for generations to come,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
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Memorial Hermann Breaks Ground on $650 Million Texas Medical Centre Renovation and Expansion Project Memorial Hermann has broken ground on the $650 million expansion and renovation of its Texas Medical Centre (TMC) Campus. As the Houston region’s only full-service health system, this expansion will enable Memorial Hermann to stay ahead of the fast-growing advances in medicine, keep pace with the extraordinary growth of the city and, most importantly, meet the health needs of the community for years to come.
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Local dignitaries, community leaders, affiliated UTHealth physicians and Memorial Hermann leadership all gathered Wednesday night to celebrate the official ground-breaking event. In attendance were: Rep. Al Green; President and CEO of the Texas Medical Centre, Dr. Robert Robbins; Houston City Council Members Jack Christie and Ellen Cohen; numerous staff representatives of local, state and federal officials; Dr. Giuseppe Colasurdo, President of UTHealth and Dean of UTHealth Medical School; Memorial Hermann Health System Board Chairman Will Williams and several other Memorial Hermann System and Foundation board members; and key representatives of Memorial Hermann leadership including President and CEO Dan Wolterman.
“I am proud to stand with the leadership of Memorial Hermann as they begin the $650 million expansion and renovation of the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Centre Campus,” said Rep. Green. “For nearly a century, Memorial Hermann-TMC has diligently served the community and remained a leader in the fields of medical technology, research and innovation. With the completion of this additional 1.34 million square feet, Memorial Hermann-TMC will be able to be better address the growing healthcare needs of the Greater Houston Metropolitan Region as well as continue to provide access to quality health care for countless individuals.” At the event, Rep. Green presented Memorial Hermann-TMC with a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition that saluted the hospital’s “continued commitment to providing the latest medical innovations and procedures for treating patients as well as your dedication to exceptional patient care.” The Breaking New Ground expansion and renovation project began in fall 2014 and is expected to be completed in 2019. Highlighting the project will be the construction of a new patient care building and an additional building that will include parking and infrastructure capabilities to support the new growth.
“With this renovation and expansion project, we are ensuring that the communities we serve have access to a critical care infrastructure that Memorial Hermann uniquely provides,” said Wolterman. “We are taking a forward-looking approach to establishing this infrastructure that will effectively meet the health needs of future generations.” Founded in 1925 as the first hospital in the now world-renowned Texas Medical Centre, the original facility was only 200,000 square feet. Today, Memorial Hermann’s flagship hospital encompasses more than 2.5 million square feet. With this expansion, the Campus will grow to 3.84 million square feet. “For nearly a century, our staff and affiliated physicians have set new standards of care in Texas and the nation through advances in medicine and surgery,” said Craig Cordola, Regional President for Memorial Hermann. “This project will add to our legacy by supporting our ongoing drive to be a leader in the industry while delivering the highest-quality and safest healthcare to our community for many decades to come.” The Memorial Hermann Health System board unanimously approved the Breaking New Ground expansion in March 2014, which builds upon the tremendous growth at Memorial Hermann-TMC over the last year. The expansion will also provide: 160 additional beds (plus 71 replacement beds); 24 operating rooms (19 replacement and five new); 16 additional emergency room bays; 750 new parking spaces; and a 335-seat café. The 15-story patient care tower will also house the Memorial Hermann Texas Trauma Institute and Memorial Hermann Life Flight®, including the John S. Dunn Helistop and the dispatch centre, as well as the John S. Dunn Burn Centre – the only comprehensive burn centre in Houston verified by the American Burn Association – which
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will expand to 20 beds. In addition, seven shelled floors and six shelled operating rooms will be constructed to accommodate future growth with the potential of adding 264 beds. Memorial Hermann is investing significant resources into this expansion and renovation project but is also seeking the partnership of the philanthropic community to assist in these efforts. Associated with Breaking New Ground is a $200 million philanthropic campaign to support this effort. The campaign includes $150 million for renovation and expansion, with the additional $50 million earmarked for programmatic needs associated with the Texas Trauma Institute. Speaking at the ground-breaking, Councilwoman Cohen – whose district includes a portion of the Texas Medical Centre – noted that “it takes a monumental amount of resources, both private and public, to ensure our community has the level of care necessary for those who need it.” She added that “this investment and expansion by Memorial Hermann will help support the growth necessary to best serve the Southeast Texas region and I’m grateful for their commitment to our community.” Part of the Memorial Hermann Health System, Memorial Hermann-TMC is one of few hospitals in the country to provide a full continuum of expert critical care services for both adults and children. Internationally recognised for treating the highest-acuity patients, Memorial Hermann-TMC is home to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and the most advanced and comprehensive intensive care units (ICUs) in the Greater Houston region. Patients recovering from a critical illness or injury may also benefit from one of the country’s leading rehabilitation hospitals – TIRR Memorial Hermann. The ability to provide this full spectrum of care for the critically ill or injured is a distinguishing feature that sets Memorial Hermann-TMC apart from other providers.
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Architecture
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How an Architecture Firm Sold Out… by Not Selling Out Architecture firm Ayers Saint Gross finds a creative solution to its own business succession, transferring ownership to employees via an ESOP
ationally known for its innovative design work in higher education, Ayers Saint Gross is using an equally innovative approach - an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) – to transition management and ownership of the firm.
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To ensure the firm’s legacy of creativity and enable continued growth and success, Ayers Saint Gross’ leadership team of Adam Gross, FAIA, Principal; Jim Wheeler, AIA, LEED AP, President; and Glenn Birx, FAIA, LEED AP, Principal and Vice President, went looking for an out-of-the-ordinary solution to succession. That solution was an ESOP, an under-utilised business transition tool that can reward both owners and employees and smooth the segue from one generation to the next. While Gross, Wheeler and Birx will continue to play integral roles, they have identified the next generation leader. Effective January 1, 2016, Luanne Greene, FAIA, LEED AP, Principal and Director of the Campus Planning Studio, will become President, the first woman to lead the firm in its 100-year history.
Throughout her career, Greene has established new benchmarks in campus planning that have influenced institutions, architects, and planners nationwide by integrating strategic planning, culture and context into campus design, changing the way American universities and cultural institutions understand the power of their “place” to support a culture of excellence. Greene was recently named to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) College of Fellows. Although ESOPs may be little known, in the right circumstances, these vehicles are a mutually beneficial option for leadership and employees. ESOPs are when the company buys some or all of the stock of a company and creates a trust for the long-term benefit of the employees. Research shows that when ESOPs are well structured and managed, they out perform other companies. Employee participants in an ESOP typically earn five to 12% more in wages and three times more in retirement assets than non-ESOP counterparts.
About Ayers Saint Gross Founded in 1912, Ayers Saint Gross is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland with offices in Washington, DC and Tempe, Arizona. Ayers Saint Gross employs an interdisciplinary staff of 150 professionals. The 102-year-old firm specialises in planning, building architecture, graphic designs and landscapes for institutional clients. Ayers Saint Gross projects can now be seen at 250 college campuses in 18 countries, as well as at leading national and international institutions. For more information about Ayers Saint Gross, visit www.asg-architects.com
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Architecture
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Eco Building
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The Future of Green Building in Hong Kong
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Eco Building
The future is green for Hong Kong, as sustainability initiatives advance for the region’s growing urban population. For the first time, the city hosted a Distinguished Sustainability Lecture Series event convened by United Technologies’ industry-leading brands Carrier, Otis and Chubb, with support from the Hong Kong Green Building Council. Carrier, the world’s leader in high-technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions, Otis, the world’s leading manufacturer of elevators and escalators, and Chubb, a leading provider of security and fire-safety solutions for businesses and industry, are parts of UTC Building & Industrial Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp.
Approximately 150 international thought leaders and green building professionals discussed the growing demand for green buildings around the world, and particularly in Hong Kong, while highlighting their environmental and economic value. Hong Kong’s government has set several policy initiatives, including recently announcing its first energy saving plan for the built environment, which sets a new target to reduce energy intensity by 40%, the equivalent of reducing energy use by 6%, over the next 10 years. The campaign encourages residents to be “Energy Aware” and “Energy Wise” and has received support from the Hong Kong Green Building Council, which plans to participate in the plan’s stakeholder dialogue platform, bringing together a wide range of green building stakeholders to accelerate the adoption of green building by the private sector. This is in addition to Hong Kong’s use of sustainable building products for public works projects, commitment to a recycling fund to encourage further sustainability in the recycling industry and plans to reduce carbon emissions by reducing food waste in landfills by 40%.
“Hong Kong has an incredible reputation for preserving its natural resources and recognizes that these efforts must continue as its urban population grows, especially for the future of buildings and food,” said John Mandyck, chief sustainability officer, UTC Building & Industrial Systems. “Green buildings are the best solution for growing cities around the globe, providing an excellent business and environmental value for business owners and residents alike. With strong governmental support and understanding of these benefits, Hong Kong is poised for success in its continuing journey toward a more sustainable future.”
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Rick Fedrizzi, CEO of both the U.S. Green Building Council and the Green Building Certification Institute, discussed strategies to achieve green buildings for everyone within the current generation. “Green buildings reduce consumption of energy, water, precious resources and money,” said Fedrizzi. “Given the world’s finite resources, the best way to accommodate a growing global population is with green buildings – a space for all to live, work, play and learn in.” Bill Browning, founding partner of Terrapin Bright Green, LLC and a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Board of Directors, presented on biophilic design, the connection between the built environment and the natural world, and how neuroscience, endocrinology and evolutionary psychology are changing the design of buildings. “Reconnecting people with nature in the built environment has significant benefits for health, productivity and well-being,” said Browning. “Green buildings are constructed with nature and environmental impacts in mind, but they also provide a healthy, productive space for people who, on average, spend the majority of their days indoors.” The event also featured remarks from Conrad Wong, chairman of the Hong Kong Green Building Council, about green buildings in Hong Kong. He provided insights on how buildings can become more energy-efficient and lessen carbon emissions.
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Products & Innovation
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Textura Launches PerformanceTracker Solution to Improve Contractor Performance Management Textura® Corporation, a leading provider of collaboration solutions for the construction industry, has launched PerformanceTracker™, an online collaboration solution that transforms the performance evaluation process for general contractors to yield data-driven, actionable insights and full visibility into the performance of subcontractors and other project partners.
A cloud-based solution, Textura’s PerformanceTracker streamlines and automates subcontractor performance evaluation, eliminating the inefficient and cumbersome manual processes that have long hindered general contractors’ efforts to collect and leverage critical performance data. The highly customisable solution uses configurable online evaluation forms, workflows and notifications to reduce administrative tasks and to drive completion of all performance evaluation activities.
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PerformanceTracker seamlessly integrates with the Textura-Construction Payment Management® (CPM®) solution, enabling general contractors to easily import subcontractor and project information from Textura’s invoicing and payment solution. In addition, PerformanceTracker can be configured to automatically initiate evaluations when certain events are recorded in CPM, such as invoice submission or approval, or the completion of a contract.
The PerformanceTracker solution provides robust reporting functionality to enable more informed decision making. By synthesising vendor performance data to show key metrics at a glance, the tool lets general contractors see how a vendor is performing on some or all projects. In addition, PerformanceTracker compares the performance of all vendors on a particular project, as well as allowing general contractors to measure and compare the overall performance of their construction projects. To enhance risk management, PerformanceTracker generates alerts to flag safety incidents or critical performance issues to program managers and executives, enabling them to take corrective action before problems worsen. In addition, archiving of evaluation data makes it easy for organisations to access and audit that information if necessary.
“Like all of our solutions, PerformanceTracker arose out of a key business challenge for our clients. We heard from numerous general contractors that they’ve struggled with subcontractor performance evaluations, due to unwieldy processes, significant administrative burdens, and difficulties managing and analysing the information. This new solution addresses those challenges and gives general contractors a powerful new data-driven tool to mitigate risks, improve performance and make more informed decisions about vendor selection,” said Jason Barnes, Product Manager at Textura Corporation. Build Magazine
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Products & Innovation
“PerformanceTracker represents a key step in the realisation of our vision of an integrated platform of collaboration solutions that improve outcomes across the construction project lifecycle,” said Mike Antis, Executive Vice President of Client Services for Textura. “By integrating PerformanceTracker and CPM, we have enabled a flow of project data across key activities. This link unlocks additional value in both solutions, enabling general contractors to better manage their subcontractor relationships in a holistic and strategic way.” More information is available at www.performancetracker.com
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Real Estate
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NAR Member Survey Reveals Slight Dip in Realtor速 Business in 2014 Build Magazine
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Real Estate
After gradually climbing for three consecutive years, the decline in existing-home sales in 2014 resulted in a slight reduction in Realtor® business activity and income last year, according to the 2015 National Association of Realtors® Member Profile. The survey also found that Realtors® are increasingly more comfortable using multiple communication channels, including social media, to connect and interact with their clients.
The survey’s results are representative of the nation’s Realtors®; members of NAR account for about half of the approximately 2 million active real estate licensees in the U.S.* Many non-member licensees are inactive or part time. Realtors® go beyond state licensing requirements by subscribing to NAR’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice and committing to continuing education. NAR members also have access to professional resources to better serve their clients’ needs.
for a median of seven years. Sixty-five percent of the respondents use social or professional networking sites – an increase of 4 percent points from 2013 – and 12 percent have a blog.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says business activity for a typical Realtor® was slightly subdued last year because of lower sales and more members. “Existing-home sales didn’t surpass year-over-year levels until October, which is likely the reason the typical member had 11 transactions last year versus 12 in 2013,” he said. “Slightly fewer transactions resulted in the median gross income of a Realtor® falling to $45,800 from $47,700 in 2013.”
NAR President Chris Polychron, executive broker with 1st Choice Realty in Hot Springs, Ark., says the survey’s findings reveal that Realtors® are continuously adapting to consumers’ online and communication preferences to better serve their needs. “To put it in perspective, only 35 percent of Realtors® used social media in 2008, and text messaging was the preferred method of communication among only 40 percent in 2010,” he said. “Attracting potential clients online and communicating with them through various platforms helps Realtors® stay a step ahead – especially as millennials become more active buyers in the years ahead.”
Adds Yun,
“Despite the modest setback, median gross income last year was still the second highest since the downturn and up over 5 percent from 2012 ($43,500). Furthermore, NAR membership at the end of 2014 stood at 1.1 million, up 5.5 percent from 2013.” As expected, median gross income and number of transactions generally increase with experience. Last year, Realtors® in business for more than 16 years earned $68,200 and made 13 transactions. On the contrary, those with three-to-five years earned less than half that amount ($37,400) and had 10 transactions. Incomes also varied by license type, as members licensed as brokers in 2014 earned $65,300 ($66,300 in 2013), while the median earnings for sales agents decreased $1,100 from the previous year to $33,900. According to the survey, a majority of Realtors® (91 percent) report their firm has an online presence and two-thirds have their own personal website – operational
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Realtors® also use a variety of communications methods when interacting with current clients or customers, with 93 percent preferring e-mail, followed by telephone at 91 percent and text messaging at 85 percent.
Women represent 58 percent of all Realtors®, accounting for 53 percent of brokers and 63 percent of sales agents. More than three-quarters (77 percent) of all members cite real estate as their only occupation, and 84 percent (82 percent in 2014) are certain they will remain in the business for at least two more years. Last year continued the recent trend of more new members to NAR. Although median years of experience in real estate remained at 12 years for the second straight year, more members (17 percent) reported they have been in the business for two years or less (13 percent in 2013). The median age of members inched to 57 years (56 years in 2013), elevated from the 1999 to 2008 range between 51 and 52 years. Two percent of all
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Realtors® are under 30 years of age, 18 percent are between ages 30 and 44, and 25 percent are 65 and older.
“The slight increase in median age last year is likely another example of the overall national trend of baby boomers delaying retirement and staying in the workforce later than previous generations,” says Yun. For the seventh consecutive year, the typical Realtor® said they work 40 hours per week. Over half (58 percent) are licensed as sales agents, 26 percent are brokers, 18 percent broker associates and 3 percent appraisers. Sales agents are more likely to primarily specialize in residential brokerage. While only 18 percent of members have personal assistants, the use of personal assistants is more common among more tenured members, broker-owners and managers. Realtors® are well-educated (50 percent hold a bachelor’s degree or higher), have invested in at least one residential investment property (38 percent), and bring a wide range of expertise and experience to the profession. Only 5 percent began their career in real estate, with the highest share having previous full-time careers in management, business or financial (19 percent) or sales and retail (16 percent). A majority of NAR members own their own home (85 percent), are married (71 percent), are registered to vote (96 percent) and were born in the U.S. (89 percent). Forty-eight percent of those fluent in other languages speak Spanish (41 percent in 2013). Regardless of their experience, Realtors® said several factors limited potential clients’ ability to complete a transaction, with finding the right property (33 percent) followed by obtaining a mortgage (26 percent) cited as the two biggest challenges. Only 20 percent said there weren’t any factors limiting their clients’ ability to close.
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“According to our data, inventory shortages were prevalent in many parts of the country, all-cash purchases were elevated for most of the year and significant lender overlays and loan processing delays were repeatedly reported by members in our monthly Realtors® Confidence Index,” added Yun. “As a result, it’s no surprise finding the right property for their clients and helping them obtain a mortgage were cited as primary challenges for members and their clients – especially for first-time buyers.” A majority of NAR members (80 percent) focus on residential sales and 71 percent (73 percent in 2013) have secondary real estate specialties. Of those members with secondary specialties, residential brokerage is the largest at 34 percent. Both relocation and commercial brokerage were next at 17 percent, followed by residential property management at 16 percent. Smaller percentages were also in counseling, land development, commercial property management and international. As Realtors® gain experience, they also build a client network through referrals of past clients and repeat businesses. Repeat business accounted for a median 20 percent of activity in 2014 and is higher for those with more experience. For members in the business 16 years or more, repeat business was 40 percent of their activity and referrals were an additional 24 percent. Similar to recent years, firm affiliation and compensation structures for Realtors® remained mostly the same in 2014. Sixty-nine percent of respondents are compensated through a split commission arrangement, 17 percent receive all of the commission and another 4 percent receive a commission plus a share of profits; 11 percent received some other form of compensation. Percentage split-commission was more popular with sales agents (78 percent). Furthermore, members with less experience more
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often had percentage split-commission arrangements, as well as those who had lower personal earnings. Eighty-three percent of members work as independent contractors for their firms. The vast majority receive no fringe benefits, although 36 percent (33 percent in 2013) are covered by errors and omissions insurance by their firm. Only 5 percent receive health insurance through their firm – unchanged from a year ago. Fifty-nine percent of RealtorsŽ are affiliated with an independent firm, and 37 percent are with a franchised company; 4 percent are other. Respondents worked for a firm typically with one office (51 percent) and have been with that firm for five years (six years in 2013). Slightly more (11 percent) RealtorsŽ reported their firm was bought by or merged with another firm compared to in 2013 (9 percent).
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Election 2015:
A Chance to be More Radical?
his year’s UK General Election one of the most closely T was contested in recent times. There were a number of eye-catching announcements on property in the party manifestos, as well as related rhetoric from the main parties. As David Cameron settles back into number 10, a key focus for his new government should be on improving incentives to house-builders says Mark Webb, chairman of the property and construction group at Smith & Williamson, the accountancy and investment management group. Among the Conservative party’s pledges was a commitment to: • Introducing Help to Buy ISAs • Extending the Right to Buy scheme for tenants in housing associations in England • Completing a long and wide-ranging review of business rates by the end of 2015 • Building 200,000 homes for first-time buyers, aged under 40, with a 20% discount • Funding £1bn worth of brownfield regeneration to allow for 400,000 new homes. Missing the mark? Many of these policies are relatively easy to implement and could have a short-term
effect. Arguably, however, the focus is doubly wrong. Measures that stoke demand with a centre-led approach, but which can’t react to the subtleties of local development, avoid the root of the problem – the need to encourage more housing supply. Barker, Lyons and other reviews of the housing sector have repeatedly stressed the need for around 250,000 new homes a year. Yet current house-building figures struggle to reach even half this figure. Attempts by some political parties to influence the sector have been laudable, but they skim the surface rather than getting to the crux of the issue. Heart of the matter Cameron’s government will need to overcome a number of obstacles to deliver the required housing including planning problems, local opposition, skills and material shortages. This is perhaps why more straightforward deliverables, such as Help to Buy ISAs or stamp duty, were announced.
There are, of course, individual ways that the Conservatives could begin to tackle these issues, such as decreasing red tape, but changing all relevant issues centrally will be challenging. It may be more beneficial to think radically, perhaps by using financial incentives. For example, house-builders in the private sector could be offered tax incentive arrangements, while for those developing brownfield sites the tax charge on sales could be reduced by resurrecting the policy from enterprise zones. Another incentive might be to allow local authorities to keep the rent from their housing developments, with a binding commitment not to reduce central funding. Bigger picture Some might view any increase to a house-builder’s profits as wholly wrong. However, if we encourage those with knowledge and understanding of building issues at a local and micro level, we may go some way to achieving the macro supply needed. It’s the delivery of housing that’s key. Who benefits is almost peripheral.
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