Industry News

Shanghai Tower Construction and Development Corporation broke ground on the 128-story Shanghai Tower on November 28, 2008. Designed by Gensler, the project will stand 2,074 feet tall and will be the tallest building in China. Housing offices, retail, and a hotel, the double-skinned building will feature an unenclosed observation deck, windmill generators, and rainwater collection facilities.

Florida State University is planning to build the Energy and Sustainability Center in Harmony, Fla. The research facility will be sited in the 100-acre Florida Energy Research Park in the green-certified Harmony development, which will include sustainable commercial, residential, and retail facilities. Created in partnership with Starwood Energy Group and Harmony Development Company, FSU's Energy and Sustainability Center will support research and training in solar, wind, hydrogen, and biomass technologies.

Natural Resources Canada broke ground on the new CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory in Hamilton, Ontario, in December of 2008. Located in the McMaster Innovation Park, the LEED-certified facility will accommodate research and development in structural metals and alloys, materials design, pilot-scale processing, and performance evaluation. CANMET-MTL is a Government of Canada laboratory previously located in Ottawa. The new facility, created in partnership with McMaster University, will open in 2010.

Georgia State University is building the $150 million Parker H. Petit Science Teaching Laboratory in Atlanta. Designed Heery International, the 350,000-sf facility will house multidisciplinary research and instruction space for biology, chemistry, neuroscience, and the College of Health and Human Services. Completion is slated for spring of 2010.

Hamilton Hospital broke ground on the $45 million Critical Access Hospital in Webster City, Iowa, in December of 2008. The 86,000-sf, 25-bed replacement hospital is slated for completion in July of 2010.