Can Buildings Last 16,000 Years? New Concrete Will Help
from Greentech Media
When nano-scale particles in concrete rearrange themselves, the life of a building can be shortened. Luckily, researchers have figured out how to make buildings stronger. It's one more element in the changing world of concrete. More

Moscow to Build Almost 300 Hotels for 76,000 Guests in Next Eight-10 Years
from Building Design & Construction
The new Moskva Hotel will be commissioned in 2011, Moscow First Vice-Mayor Vladimir Resin said. It was planned earlier to commission the hotel by the Moscow City Day in early fall 2009, then by late 2010. The city administration continues to build and modernize the hotel network. The Tsentralnaya Hotel is being renovated on Tverskaya Street, and Altai, Turist and other accommodation facilities built in the 1950s will be repaired next. Almost 300 hotels for 76,000 guests will be built in Moscow within the next eight to 10 years, Resin said. In his words, 21 hotels will open this year alone, and six of them are ready. More

Safety in the Workplace is Paramount
from Examiner
Have you ever been injured on the job? It costs both you and your employer time and money. Thousands of workplace accidents occur each year at a cost of millions of dollars. More than 80 percent of those were avoidable. Safety is an attitude we must all adopt. Safety is a joint effort between employer and employee. Every accident could be avoided if only we were well-informed and cautious. Accident prevention doesn’t just happen though. It takes a bit of thought and training. More

Solid-State Lighting is a Bright Idea for Energy Efficiency, Study Says
from GreenerBuildings
It is imperative for society to move to solid-state lighting to save money in the built environment and lessen the impacts to the broader environment—but in the U.S. it may take a policy change to force the nation to use more sustainable lighting, according to a recent study by Carnegie Mellon engineering and public policy researchers. More

Representing more than 600 million square feet, Operations and Maintenance Benchmarks
from Inhabitat
XTEN Architecture recently unveiled an elegantly spiraling observation tower that stands to make an incredible new addition to Dubai’s skyline. Dubbed the ZPO Tower, the structure features a beautiful latticed façade inspired by traditional motifs, and includes plans for solar film, geothermal heating and cooling, a green roof and grey water recycling. The tower is designed to be constructed from mostly recycled materials at net zero energy, and it can generate enough solar energy to completely power itself. More

High-altitude Wind Machines Could Power New York City
from CNN
The wind blowing through the streets of Manhattan couldn't power the city, but wind machines placed thousands of feet above the city theoretically could. The first rigorous, worldwide study of high-altitude wind power estimates that there is enough wind energy at altitudes of about 1,600 to 40,000 feet to meet global electricity demand a hundred times over. More

Africa's Sun to Power Europe's Homes?
from United Press International
A group of 20 German companies wants to invest US$555 billion in concentrated solar power plants in northern Africa to sell green power to Europe and make the continent less dependent on oil and gas imports.It would be one of the world's biggest private renewable energy projects: Some 20 German companies are planning to join forces to build CSP plants in northern Africa and transport the electricity to Europe via new, direct current power grids. More

Generation Y Poised To Dominate the Workplace
from Financial Post
There are 85 million baby boomers and 50 million Generation X'ers in the U.S. For baby boomers, it's the juggling act between job and family. For Generation X (1965-1980), it means moving in and out of the workforce to accommodate kids and outside interests. Now there's 76 million members of Generation Y (1981-1999) or Millennials as they're called, are coming into the workforce. A yawning generation gap among American workers—particularly in their ideas of work-life balance—has arrived. More

Flower Power: World's First Hybrid Solar-Gas Turbine Turning on Soon
from Fast Company
The world's first solar hybrid power plant is set to open on June 24 at Kibbutz Samar outside Eilat in southern Israel. When operating at full capacity, the flower-like AORA plant will supply 100 kilowatts of electric power—enough for 70 households—and 170 kilowatts of solar thermal energy. AORA's structure is based on technology developed at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science. More

500-m India Skyscraper Faces Height Hurdle
from Mid-Day
It will be India's tallest building and will have everything from shopping malls and entertainment zones to commercial offices. The 500-m-tall Iconic Tower Project proposed by the MMRDA and the state government in Wadala is set to match the majesty of the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia and the Taipei 101 in Taiwan. There's just one hurdle. The area comes in the aircraft-flying zone and the MMRDA and the state government will need special permission from the civil aviation ministry to raise the permissible height of the iconic structure to 500 meters. More