Global warming will sink our city and poison our kids if we don't take action now. #GreenNewDeal pic.twitter.com/yECT393VEQ
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 25, 2019
This week, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to introduce the New Green Deal, a bill that would ban the construction of new glass towers in the city in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent across the city. De Blasio also called for updating existing glass skyscrapers to ensure they meet stricter environmental guidelines, powering city operations with clean energy, phasing out processed meat and single-use plastic, and mandatory organics recycling, according to the Associated Press. "Global warming will sink our city and poison our kids if we don't take action now," de Blasio wrote in a tweet. [AP]
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced the winners of the 2019 COTE Top Ten Awards, which are conferred by AIA's Committee on the Environment (COTE). Each year, the program recognizes 10 projects that integrate design excellence and environmental performance, with one winner being elevated to COTE Top Ten Plus—an indication of exemplary proven energy performance and post-occupancy lessons. [ARCHITECT]
Following its recent acquisition by building software giant Autodesk, construction productivity software PlanGrid is unveiling a new Autodesk Revit integration program called PlanGrid BIM, which allows users to access 2D or 3D BIM files on their mobile devices. According to a company press release, this technology will help users avoid data loss that can occur when files are "flattened down" into PDFs, which are often shared for use on jobsites. [PlanGrid]
Dutch 3D printing company Concr3de released a proposal for repurposing the debris from the fire at Notre Dame into a 3D printable powder to be used for the historic cathedral's reconstruction. "The powder will have the color of the Parisian stone yellowish gray, mixed with the charred remains of the wood," the company writes in a blog post. "We can then use this powder, together with the existing 3D scans, and directly 3D print the lost parts of the Notre Dame." According to Concr3de, once the components are printed, they can be installed by local artisans. Concr3de founders Eric Geboers and Matteo Baldassari report that this work would only take a matter of months to complete. [Medium]
Despite the relatively high cost of carbon fiber, architects and engineers have started using it to construct buildings and infrastructural projects. Contributor Blaine Brownell, AIA, reviews recent applications of the material technology and its utility in environmentally conscious construction. [ARCHITECT]
The deadline for ARCHITECT's 13th annual R+D Awards has been extended to May 1, 2019. Winners will be featured in our July print issue and online. [ARCHITECT]