The Ghosts of Gabon

I’ve recently taken up assignment with a multinational EPC firm in West Africa. The opportunity to explore construction means and methods in such a remote part of the world, where virtually all equipment and supplies are imported, has provided many opportunities for reflection. Highest among those is the proliferation of unfinished projects in the capital city of Libreville, Gabon.

Abandoned Sheraton Project

Metropol Parasol Opens in Seville, Spain

Exciting news, the Metropol Parasol has officially opened in Seville, Spain! I had a chance to visit this exciting piece of innovative green architecture last year as part of a class trip through the School of Architecture at Virginia Tech. We did a site tour with the lead engineer and talked about different aspects and challenges of it's construction. It is neat to see the well-laid plans finally realized. See my March, 2010 post for construction photos I took on-site.

Read More at Inhabitat

Chilean Green

Green design and construction truly has become a global phenomenon. While the American press has focused almost exclusively on design and construction trends within our own borders, we have been slow to admire the progress that has been made in other parts of the world. I was keenly aware of this fact on a recent trip to Santiago, Chile where evidence of green design in recent construction was hard to miss. Keeping tabs on green trends in the international construction industry will allow good ideas to flow more quickly as the need to combat climate change grows more urgent by the day.


As is my tradition, I spent the first day on the ground in Santiago walking. And walking. And walking. Getting the “lay of the land” is a good way to scope out spots for potential deeper exploration as well as a good excuse to shed the jet-lag. In so doing I stumbled upon several good examples of good planning and was smacked in the face with some totally unexpected green building. In this city more known for its wine and smog, I was so pleasantly surprised with this observation I decided to report on it here.

Green Roofing - It's American

As one of the first beautiful days of spring in the mid-Atlantic settled in, a group of 40+ volunteers from the Urban Land Institute, U.S Green Building Council, and DC Greenworks gathered to assist American University with retrofitting one of four green roof projects on their campus in the District of Columbia. The day began with a talk on crane and roof safety, a tour of an existing green roof at the University, and a speech by the Director of Sustainability describing American University's aggressive goal of going carbon neutral by 2020. With that accomplished, the volunteers were separated into working groups and organized for the day of construction.

Mature Green Roof at American University

Blowin' (Cellulose) in the Wind

Friday, October 22 marks the first day of insulation at The Village at Tom's Creek lot 210. The homeowners have worked with Progress Street Builders to select an insulation portfolio that will utilize blown cellulose in all exterior walls and expanded polystyrene foam in the roof-line, band, tub surrounds and behind interior fireplaces. According to the project superintendent, insulation can begin once roofing progress reaches 75% and all exterior weatherproofing is in place to make sure that no moisture will penetrate the foam, cellulose or fiberglass and cause mold issues later on. The following pictures show the process of blowing cellulose insulation into exterior walls:

Coming Out of the Ground

Village at Tom's Creek - Lot114

Fresh pictures from the jobsite!

On Friday, September 10th a subcontractor was on-site to install the concrete formwork in peparation to pour the foundation walls. The work took roughly a day and utilized a large crew of laborers. The concrete crew was onsite the following Monday to pour the walls, and the formwork was removed on Wednesday. Check out the following pictures to see the process as it evolved in front of my eyes. Unfortunately, I was not on-site to capture the actual pouring of the cement - my favorite step in the process.

VT Academic and Student Affairs Building - Foundation Observations

The new Academic and Student Affairs Building at Virginia Tech is under construction just a short walk from the Department of Building Construction. What a great opportunity to observe the construction process from ground breaking onward. The finished building will include 77,301 finished square feet in 3 stories and will house two floors of dining and one floor of classroom space at a cost of just over $45,000,000. The schematic photos of the building show a green roof and rain gardens, leading me to the conclusion that cutting edge green technology was an integral part of the design process. Although construction is scheduled to take until summer 2012, I will be chronicling some of the important milestones as the foundations are constructed through December 2010.